Didn’t make a New Year’s Resolution this year? Have some goals you would still like to set? It’s not too late! Whether you are still trying to figure out some goals for this year or if you are having trouble sticking to the one’s you’ve made, Brooke P., R.D. is here to help us set some SMART goals. Here, she’ll explain exactly what SMART goals are and give you some tips to create your own. Remember, ANYTIME is the right time to make healthier lifestyle choices.
Happy New Year!
Many of you have probably written your New Year’s resolutions by now, or have at least
thought of a few things you want to change and/or accomplish in the new year. Some of
you may even have broken your resolutions already. No matter where you are, it’s never
too late to start setting goals to improve your health!
The key to achieving success with any goal or resolution is how you define it, and one
way to do this is to set SMART goals. The acronym SMART stands for:
S: Specific (and strategic): Answers the questions – Who? and What?
M: Measurable: Answers the question – How?
A: Attainable: Goals are realistic and can be achieved in a specific amount of time and
are reasonable
R: Relevant (results oriented): The goals are aligned with current nutrition, health or
fitness concerns and include the expected result.
T: Time framed: Goals have a clearly defined time-frame, including a target date.
Examine these examples of poorly defined goals:
“I will eat healthier.”
“I will lose 10 pounds.”
“I will stop eating cookies.”
It is not clear what “healthier” means, or how this person will go about losing 10 pounds
or not eating cookies. Reframed into SMART goals, these larger goals are broken down
into smaller ones that enable a better chance for success:
“I will eat at least 3 fruit and vegetable servings, 5 out of 7 days a week.”
“I will eat breakfast everyday.”
“I will exercise for 30 minutes, 3 days a week.”
“I will limit my ordering of ‘Insomnia Cookies’ to 3 times per month, and save the money
I would have spent for a pair of new running shoes.”
While your ultimate goal might be to: 1) Eat 5 fruit and vegetable servings each day, 2)
Eat a breakfast that includes whole grains and protein everyday, 3) Exercise for 30
minutes 5 days a week, and 4) Order ‘Insomnia Cookies’ once a month, this may not be
realistic for you right now. Setting goals that you are reasonably motivated to meet and
confident that you can meet, increases your chance for success. Put another way, if
your motivation and confidence surrounding each individual goal is not at least a 7 on
scale of 1 to 10, you might need to reexamine your goals. Take time to identify what
might be getting in your way, and then think about starting with a different or more
realistic goal.
Another important part of goal setting is to include small rewards along the way.
Rewarding yourself is a good way to boost motivation. Ideally, the reward should not be
something that conflicts with the goal(s) itself, but rather something that will motivate
you to work harder to reach it. Examples of rewards for meeting your nutrition & fitness
related goals might be:
Take the time to do some indoor yoga 🙂
• A new song or album for your playlist
• A trip to the movies with a friend
• A massage in the HRC
• 2 hours of “free time”
• A scheduled hike or walk with friend
• A night off from studying
Finally, most people have both long and short term goals. Setting SMART short term
goals makes reaching the long term goals easier and less daunting. Research in
behavior change illustrates that when you are successful at something, you build
confidence in your ability to succeed which, in turn, leads to more success. Simply put,
success begets success!
So, as you cheer on your favorite team at the Superbowl, think about how this idea
applies to the big game–about how one “big” play can change the momentum of the
game due to a boost in confidence, or about how a single motivator (like Chuck
Pagano’s battle with cancer last year) drove a team to unexpected success.
My SMART goal for this week: I will buy all the ingredients I need to make a “Super”
bowl of chili by Friday!
“Super” bowl Chili
Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 2 pounds lean ground meat, such as 92%/7% ground beef, ground turkey or ground
bison meat (or combination of these).
• 3/4 cup chili powder
• 2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 cup beef broth, from homemade, bouillon or canned
• 4 15-ounce cans of beans, well drained (use kidney, pinto, black or a combination)
• 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• Salt to taste
Preparation:
1. Heat olive oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or large non-reactive pot over low heat. Add
onions and cook, covered, stirring once or twice for 15 minutes.
2. Add meat and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until it is no longer
pink.
3. Add chili powder and cook, stirring a few times, for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and beef broth, increase heat, and bring chili to a boil.
5. Lower the heat, cover partially and cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes. Note: Chili will
be very thick.
6. Stir in the beans, brown sugar and vinegar. Adjust the seasoning, adding salt to
taste. Cook another 5 minutes, or until heated through and steaming.
Chili can be made up to 3 days in advance. Cool it completely, cover and refrigerate.
Rewarm over low heat, thinning with water, if necessary. Stir often.
Makes 3 1/2 quarts; Serves 10
Adapted from: Kerr, W. Park and Norma. (1992). The El Paso Chili Company’s Texas
Border Cookbook. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc
