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SMART Goals for Dietary Changes

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What is your main health goal when it comes to your diet?

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Grab a pen and paper to use the SMART tool guide to help you clearly define this goal.

 

S - Specific

 

Make sure your goal is clear.

  • What exactly is your goal?

  • How are you going to achieve it?

  • Where will you work on it?

  • When will you work on it?

 

Example:

 

I want to have a healthier diet overall.

I will eat 1 serving of veggies in the morning, 2 at lunch, and 1 at dinner.

I know that I don’t have time during the day to prepare meals with veggies. So, I’ll try and meal prep ahead of time (on the weekends or the night before).

 

M - Meaningful

 

Make sure this goal is important to you.  If someone else chooses a goal for you, you’re not going to have the motivation to follow through.

 

  • Why are you pursuing this goal?

  • What personal values of yours does this goal align with?

  • How will your life be better if you achieve this goal?

 

Example:

 

I want to eat healthier food because I want to have more energy and keep my cancer in remission.

I know that veggies contain nutrients that help fight off cancer cells.

Eating veggies aligns with my personal value of good physical and mental health.

 

 

A - Adjustable and Achievable

 

You must be able to adjust your goal if needed.

 

  • What barriers do you foresee in achieving this goal?

  • How can you adjust your goal in response to these barriers?

 

Example:

 

A barrier for me is that I love sugar and junk food.   I’m going to have to focus on replacing desserts with fruit and healthy snacks more often and only indulge occasionally.

 

R - Relevant, Realistic, or Results

 

The goal must be relevant to you, realistic within your circumstances, and produce results which you can review, to determine if your plans are working.

 

  • Given my performance in achieving similar goals in the past, how realistic is my goal?

  • Should I consider changing my goal to be more realistic?

  • Is there a way I can start off easier and slowly build my way up to finishing my goal?

  • What results will I be able to see/measure when achieving my goal?

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Example:

 

This goal is realistic since I currently only eat 1-2 veggies a day (1-2 at lunch and 1 at dinner).   So, 2-3 more veggies a day shouldn’t be difficult.

Results I hope to see:  a decrease in digestive issues (indigestion, heartburn), a decrease in weight, and, in the long-term, more energy.

 

T - Timely

 

Your goal must be time oriented.

 

  • What day will you start?

  • When will you review your progress?

  • How will you track your progress?

 

Example:

 

I will start next Sunday and review my progress once a week every Saturday. I’ll track my progress by keeping count of how many veggies I’ve eaten every day in a notebook or on my phone.

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