Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

Hey there! I don’t know about you, but the cold weather sometimes makes it difficult for me to stay focused on my health and fitness when all I really want to focus on is snuggling up on the couch with a hot bowl of soup.

On a similar note, I wanted to talk to you today about setting SMART goals for movement. In my last post, we talked about what “SMART goals” are and what it means to set them.  Now, we're going to extend that information to thinking about how we can set SMART fitness and movement goals.

It's so common for people to want to jump right in and look at the end of their journey. And while Stephen Covey does say, "Begin with the end in mind," you can't just skip right to the end. We have to create benchmarks that keep us focused and motivated throughout our whole journey--and that’s exactly what SMART goals are for.

So how might we go about setting SMART goals for our movement and fitness?

Like we talked about with regard to setting SMART nutrition goals, we have to pick goals that are simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. Here are some statements for example:

Start with: “I’m going to start walking more.”

(This is unspecific, not measurable, and not time-based.)

Change it to:  “I'm going to walk three days this week, then increase to four days next week.”

(You know exactly how many days out of the week you’re planning to walk over the course of the next two weeks. Simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based.)

Start with: “I’m going to start running 10 miles before work every Monday through Friday and 15 miles on the weekends.”

(For most us, this isn’t a realistic goal. It’s not achievable and doesn’t have a deadline. We’d be likely to fail, feel guilty, burn out, and go back to our old habits quickly.)

Change it to:  “I'm going to walk 5,000 steps five days out of this week, and then I'm going to walk 6,000 steps five days out of next week.”

(This is a simple, clearly measured goal. Walking 5,000 steps is an easily achievable and realistic number for most people. We have a time-frame: over the next two weeks.)

While it can be tempting to set lofty, long-term goals for yourself, it really is important to choose actions that are achievable and to commit to them for a certain amount of time, and then grow from there. It’s way easier to stick with something if you know exactly what you’re doing for how long. Meeting your milestone on the way to your long-term goal will keep you feeling motivated and excited about your wellness journey.

If you aren’t sure whether your goal is SMART or not, start by asking yourself: is it simple, specific, and clear? Can you measure or track it? Does it have a time-frame? Only you know what’s achievable and realistic for you, so focus on the more objective words in the acronym first if you start feeling confused.

To be clear, your movement goals don’t have to revolve around a step count! If you’re not terribly interested in walking (or if there’s too much snow on the ground where you are), consider setting a goal that involves attending a class regularly. I love reformer-based Pilates, so my goal is to make sure I get to at least three of these classes plus one boxing class per week, for a total of four classes spread across the week. If I can't get to boxing on Saturday for some reason, I simply replace the class with a different sort of interval training during the course of the week. And when all else fails, I know I’ve got my treadmill at home. It’s not super exciting, but it works.

I hope this helps you set yourself up for success with your movement and fitness goals! Drop me a note in the comments below and let me know what your movement goals are!

If you enjoyed this content, please join my free group Never Diet Again, where you can find the community and support you need to achieve your goals.

As always, what I hope for you is to live a life that you love where you're not hungry, feeling deprived, or giving up your glass of wine with dinner. Until next time,

-Dawn