Chances are, if you have made a resolution this year, you
will fail. I’m sorry. But I have been there too! So lets talk about ways to
prevent failure by adjusting our goals and behavior.
First off, I
start now. Right now. Don’t wait for New Year’s or anything else.
Second. Start by
eating slowly and chewing your food! The good taste of food only happens on
your tongue, so filling your belly to busting does not let you taste more food.
Eating SLOW lets you get all the taste of food.
Third, fill your
plate with veg first, then go around the buffet.
OK, now lets talk about setting goals. For this section I am
going to reference Foundations of
Professional Personal Training. Let’s talk about setting SMART Goals. Some of you may have seen this
system in various other evaluation formats because it is a popular goal setting
and assessment too. SMART goals are as follows:
S – Specific
M- Measurable
A-Action Oriented
R-Realistic
T-Timed
S – Specific
Do not be wishy washy. Bad examples: get fit. Eat healthy,
lose weight. Good examples:
Increase my cardio and muscle mass, reduce fatty foods and eat vegetables every
meal, get rid of 10 lbs of fat, have a 34 inch waist. Vague goals mean you don’t intend to follow through or it is
so difficult to hold yourself accountable, you wont be able to make or measure
your progress.
M- Measurable
This can be, but not exclusively, a scale or tape measure.
This can also be how you feel, number of days on the calendar you went to the
gym or went for a walk, or your energy level. The main idea though is you are
using some method to track progress and change things that are not working.
A-Action Oriented
There is no goal that does not have an associated ACTION. You must have something to do,
and do it specifically! Think back to other failed resolutions… they failed
because you took no action or the goal you set did not require action. What
actions will lead to you decreasing your body fat? Be specific. Instead of
“going to the gym” your action would be go to 3 group fitness classes every
week and eat a serving of fresh vegetables every meal. Now you have
something to DO and a time to do it.
R-Realistic
This is the big one for me. As a personal trainer, I can tell
which of my clients is most likely to fail at the first meeting. The client
that wants to workout 5 days a week and take up a radical diet wont last a
month. Doing too much in too short of time is a losing proposition. Don’t chase
the look on models for fitness magazines either. Those people (I know a couple)
get the best look they can as a job, and also only look like that for the week
the photos are to be taken. This is not a sustainable body. Try to pick goals
that are sustainable. You change your lifestyle in a manageable way and the
benefits follow.
T-Timed
Ok, don’t do the old
“by this time next year I will be 120 lbs, non-smoker, vegetarian.” You
need to set a goal by the end of the month, end of the quarter, end of the
year. Tracked progress is key. So by the end of week 2 I will have gone to 6
group fitness classes and had some kind of fresh veg for every meal. That is a
great start, Increase the amount of veg next two weeks and keep going to
classes, by week 4 you will feel different. By the end of the quarter, you may
even want to up your goal.
Keep up the good work. Remember failure is part of the
journey, but with this system, you will be able to see where and why you failed
and be able to get on track easier. The best chance for success is to hire a
personal trainer to set up a schedule with you and track your goals. ;)
Pg 170 Anderson,
Gregory. Bates, Mike. Macdonald, Rod 2006. Foundation
of Professional Personal Training. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
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