As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist I get asked on a daily basis, “What can I do to be healthier?” This seemingly simple question can have many answers, some long and some short, some complex and some straightforward, yet each unique to the individual asking it. With March being National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme being “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle,” I’m giving a recommendation as to the first bite to take when making healthy lifestyle changes.
First and foremost, you need to perform a self-evaluation. This means taking an honest look at yourself – your current health status, your dietary habits and patterns, how physically active you are, as well as your motivation for change and why you want to be healthier. Take time to really think about this and write it down!
After you have performed your self-evaluation, you need to decide on both short- and long-term goals. Your long-term goal may be to lose 25 pounds, but how are you going to get there? This is where small changes, or short-term goals come in.
Short-term goals are the driver to your long-term success.
Without short-term goals, long-term goals might seem too big and impossible to achieve. Short-term goals are all the little events that make up the bigger picture (your long-term goal).
Start by choosing something small to work on. This may be something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator up to your office each morning, getting 8 hours of sleep every night, or switching from white bread to wheat bread.
How One Small Change can start you on your path to wellness Share on XWhatever your goals may be, make sure they are SMART:
Specific: Who? What? Where? When? Why? Just saying you want to get healthy isn’t enough. Include details in how you want to get healthy.
Measureable: How much? How often? How many? Being able to track your progress will help you stay on track as well as motivate you to do better.
Achievable: Is it realistic? Don’t set yourself up for failure -that’s not very fun! Lose 10 pounds in 1 week? Not very realistic. 1-2 pounds a week would be more realistic.
Relevant: Is it important to what you want to achieve ultimately? If you are setting a certain goal because that’s what your healthcare provider wants, or you’re only doing it to please someone else you probably won’t succeed. Make sure you really want to make this change for YOU!
Time-bound: When? How long will you commit yourself to this goal? When do you want to achieve this goal by? Remember to keep your short-term goals short-term – something you can achieve in the nearby future (days, weeks, months). If it’s longer than 1 year that’s a long-term goal.
For example, your SMART goal might be:
- Starting next week, I will walk for at least 30 minutes, at least 3 days each week. I will to commit to this schedule for the next 3 months.
- Starting tonight, I will have at least 1 serving of vegetables at dinner time each night for the next 4 weeks.
- Starting today, I will replace 2 cans of soda with water each day. I will commit to this for the next 2 months.
- Starting next week, I will park in the back of the parking lot when I go grocery shopping each week for the next 6 months.
This one small change – this short-term goal – might seem like nothing on your journey to health and wellness, but over time as you achieve one short-term goal after another, you will look back and see just how far you’ve come. Small changes do add up! So take YOUR first bite into a healthy lifestyle today by choosing one small change to make!
- Lunch Ideas for Busy Moms - July 10, 2024
- Why Sharing Mealtime Responsibility with Your Kids is a Game-Changer - June 20, 2024
- 10 Best Bedtime Snacks for Kids - June 5, 2024
Leave a Reply