This time of year, the topic of new goals and resolutions is everywhere. On TV, social media and in conversations with friends and family. You can’t get away from it! But are new year resolutions inherently failure traps? Or, are there ways and methods to actually achieving your goals?

This all depends. Having goals isn’t a bad thing. Wanting to work towards a healthier way of living isn’t a bad thing. Wanting to move more or eat more thoughtfully isn’t a bad thing. There seems to be this belief that if you aren’t dieting, you’re not being “healthy”. This just isn’t true. If you want to concentrate on your health this year, you do not have to start with a diet and a weight-centric goal. You can be the same size in December of this year as you are now, and still have achieved living a healthier life. Health is not measured by your size.

When building goals, you want a bigger picture and a plan. You may find building your goals as SMART goals beneficial. SMART goals are:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Time-Bound

So if you do not have a weight-centric goal, then what other goals can you work towards? Well, building the behaviours and habits that benefit your health. Here are a few examples of big picture goals:

• Stop smoking

• Eating nutritious meals which you enjoy often

• Cooking more often

• Eating meals at regular meals times and not skipping meals

• Releasing negative feelings towards traditionally “unhealthy” foods

• Consistently moving your body in a way you enjoy

• Getting enough sleep

• Building close relationships with friends and family

• Managing your stress

• Read more books

• Learn a new skill

Here is how you make these SMART goals.

Lets take the goal of eating nutritious meals which you enjoy and make it into a SMART goal.

Step 1 - Make it specific. What sort of nutrition are you going to focus on? Will it be adding in more vegetables, or a wider variety of vegetables into your meals? Will it be ensuring you’ve got balanced and satiating meals that have a mixture of fibre, healthy fats and protein? Will it be cooking specific foods in different ways to see if you prefer them cooked differently? For example, I hate boiled carrots, but I love the raw, steamed or roasted.

Step 2 - Make it measurable. Do you have the time and skill to cook your meals? Do you maybe need to buy a recipe book or look for the recipes online? Do you need to prepare your food ahead of time so when it’s time to cook you don’t need to chop up veggies? Do you know what foods contains protein, fibre and healthy fat? You can use the 30 plant foods per week as an aim, check out my blog for more info on this here. It can be planning your weekly meals, and seeing where you can cook foods using different methods. Journalling and checking in on your progress can be a great way of not forgetting you’ve set goals in the first place!

Step 3 - Make it achievable. Look at the week ahead of you and see if you will have enough time and energy to action your goals. If one week you’re going to be out a lot of the time, you may choose to cook ahead of time, plan quick and easy recipes or eat mindfully when eating out. Will you need support from a nutritionist? Have you got the necessary equipment like food containers? Will buying fresh, frozen or canned suit you and your cooking habits the best to avoid waste? Life is fluid, and your approach can also be fluid. You can fail at this. Weeks come and go, and you can always refocus on your next meal.

Step 4 - Is this relevant? This is to make sure that the mini goals you’ve set out will eventually lead to achieving your main goal. So for example, eating a wide variety of plant based foods by using the 30 plants food per week aim will help you eat more nutritious foods over time.

Step 5 - Track with time. How often will you check in on youself to see if you’re working towards your goal. Will it be before shopping trips or when your meal planning? Is that a once a week, twice a week or daily basis? Will you sit down every month or so to reflect on your eating and see if you can find new recipes to try?

If you want to achieve something, it will be worth the effort. Making a wish at the beginning of the year and hoping you somehow manage to achieve it isn’t enough. Your goal can be as small or big as you like. So long as you’ve thought out a plan that’s suitable to you, you’ll be on your way to achieving it.

I hope you’ve found this helpful. If you do have goals surrounding food and health and need support, book a free 15 minute Discovery Call here and lets see how we can work towards your goals together.