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.
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What exactly is your goal?
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How are you going to achieve it?
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Where will you work on it?
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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.
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Why are you pursuing this goal?
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What personal values of yours does this goal align with?
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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.
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What barriers do you foresee in achieving this goal?
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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.
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Given my performance in achieving similar goals in the past, how realistic is my goal?
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Should I consider changing my goal to be more realistic?
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Is there a way I can start off easier and slowly build my way up to finishing my goal?
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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.
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What day will you start?
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When will you review your progress?
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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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