Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

Hey again! If you’ve been following along with the last couple of blogs, you know by now how important it is to set SMART goals (simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based, that is) when it comes to your nutrition and fitness. One things you might not know, though, is how to make those goals work in your real life.

In my work as a nutrition coach, I’ve just about seen it all. Sure, I’ve had some clients who were young, active, had great metabolisms and just needed some guidance. But most of my clients have been people whose metabolisms have slowed over the years, whose careers make it difficult for them to find time to eat every three hours or exercise regularly, and who come to me feeling bound to their unhealthy choices by the ins and outs of their everyday life.

If any of that sounds familiar, stay with me. I have good news for you.

Today, I'd like to share a little story with you about how one client of mine adapted his goals into SMART goals that fit his specific circumstances. His job made eating throughout the day particularly challenging--not only was he busy, but he was a busy sales manager who spent his whole day on the sales floor, where no food was allowed.

Still, he was on a mission to clean up his eating habits and get his metabolism humming again. So we set to work figuring it out. That’s not to say it was easy--at first, transitioning from rarely eating throughout the day to squeezing in six small meals seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. But like I said: he was determined.
 

And so we tackled his obstacles one at a time, and the first question that had to be answered was, How was he going to fit in his mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals? Rather than just saying, I don’t know but it has to be done, we opted to adjust his routine one tiny step at a time.
 

First, we decided that instead of aiming to eat two extra meals during every work day, we’d start by trying to incorporate one extra meal on three out of his five work days that first week. For him, that seemed simple enough. It was certainly measurable--one meal, three days. It was achievable--we put a plan in place and decided that if he had a pre-mixed shake ready to go, he could easily pop into the break room (or in an emergency, into the restroom) and have a quick snack. It was realistic--the plan didn’t affect his ability to do his job, didn’t require him to spend a substantial amount of his time at home doing food prep, and didn’t alter his lifestyle in any meaningful way. And finally, it was time-based--we decided to try it for just one week to see how it went. Once that week was over, we would assess the situation and adjust for the week ahead.
 

Going about meeting his goals in this way really gave my client an opportunity to succeed, to relish his success, and to build on that. And that’s really the key for all of us when we’re putting together goals. Success builds upon success, and who doesn’t want to be successful at meeting their goals in both the short-term and the long-term?

For that reason, I want to encourage you to take everything you’ve learned about SMART goals over the last few weeks and really examine it as it applies to  your life. Do you need to include some extra steps in your plan to accommodate for difficult circumstances? Do you need to spend some time creating a realistic strategy? It might not be immediately easy, but succeeding is absolutely possible!

If you're looking for additional support, I invite you to come join me in my free group, Never Diet Again. Once there, you’re more than welcome to ask me any questions you have! I'm always happy to help you set goals and set yourself up for success.

That’s all I’ve got to say for this week, but I'll be back next Tuesday with more tips and tricks you can use to be healthy in your everyday life. Until then, what I hope for you is to live a life that you love without being hungry, feeling deprived, or giving up your glass of wine with dinner.