It’s the third week of January. Where are your new year’s resolutions? Are you on track exactly following your plan? Maybe you’re losing steam? Or maybe, like a lot of people, you have completely let them go. When our goals aren’t “SMART,” we struggle to succeed.
SMART Goals
Make your resolutions or goals SMART. This means that they are Specific, Measurable, Action oriented, Realistic and Timed. We can change the goal of, “I’m going to eat healthy,” to “I’m going to eat at least one serving of vegetables at lunch five days per week for the next two weeks.”
It’s important to think through what is realistic for you. If you are someone who doesn’t consume any vegetables at lunch, this may be too big of a jump for you and changing the goal to one serving three days per week may be a better fit.
Didn’t quite meet your goal as planned? Scale back a little. Felt like your goal was easy to meet? Make it harder and set your new goal. Any time of year is a good time to make a SMART goal, so even if you’ve let go of your New Year’s resolution, today is a great day to make a change to promote healthy habits in your life.
Start with meal planning and prep
Below you’ll find a 10-minute video by VA’s Healthy Teaching Kitchen with tips on meal planning and prep. While watching, think about small changes you can benefit from. Maybe it’s weekly meal planning, writing grocery lists or meal prep. Small changes, one at a time, are the easiest to stick to and build on long term.
Whatever SMART goal you choose, you’re taking a step toward building healthy habits personal to you, and that is a great way to set yourself up for a successful year. You can also find more information and support for goal setting in VA’s Live Whole Health mobile application.
Hungry for more?
Hungry for more information, tips,and ideas for how to have a healthy relationship with Food and Drink, and to fuel your own wellness journey? Check out this Introduction to Food and Drink for Whole Health, Healthy Tips on Eating Out and Grocery Shopping, or this Veteran’s experience with healthy cooking classes at her local VA. For more recipes, please visit VA’s Nutrition and Food Services.
