If you’ve completed any of my Good Sweat Guides you know that goal setting is always included. I’ve been on my own wellness journey for years now and creating sustainable daily goals keep me accountable and motivated. 

Goal setting can be tricky – I think we all tend to pick either really massive goals right off the bat, or make goals that are too vague to keep track of. For example, a very common new years resolution sounds something like: “I’m going to eat healthy” – but that’s far too vague, and therefore more likely to be difficult. Choosing a realistic goal includes making it achievable, and also measurable. There are a few guidelines to follow to make sure your goal is realistic, try to work through these questions to identify whether you’re on the right track (for the purpose of this example I’m going to make creating a healthy diet the goal).

WHAT do I want to accomplish?

This is where you choose an action or habit to either remove or build upon in your life. The ‘what’ in this situation is food + diet, but you have to get a little deeper to make it stick. Maybe your ‘what’ is “I want to decrease the amount of fast food and processed food in my diet” or maybe it’s “I want to cook healthier recipes for myself/my family.”

WHY do I want to accomplish this?

Having a ‘why’ is so important — it helps you zone in on what your goal will bring you in the long run, but I also think a big part of having a sustainable goal is making sure it doesn’t come from a place of negativity. In my experience of being a registered dietitian, I see so many people wanting to get healthy for the wrong reasons. If you’re coming from a place of unhappiness, my advice is to change your perspective to the positive. Once you shift your focus to the potential POSITIVE outcomes, it becomes a lot more motivating to work towards your goal than when you’re focusing on reducing the negative.  

HOW will I accomplish this goal?

Here’s the kicker. The method behind the madness, the actual plan behind the goal. First, don’t overwhelm yourself and tell yourself you’re going to change all your habits overnight. Take a critical look at where you are *currently* before you decide where you *want to be.* Maybe you already have a healthy diet and you’re just looking to cut out added sugar. Maybe you have no idea what a healthy diet looks like and you’re just starting your journey to wellness. Either way, determine where you are vs where you want to be and plan a path to get there. Break down progress milestones to monthly, but also daily. If your monthly goal is to eat less take-out/fast food, create daily goals that are tiny changes in the right direction. For example, drinking more water, and weekly goals that contribute to bigger changes like a weekly schedule for grocery shopping and maybe even meal/snack prepping so that you always have things that are easy to grab on hand. You should be able to measure your progress while also making attainable goals you can reach in the next month, the next three months, six months, and one year. Think critically about each progress milestone, write them down (!) and hang them somewhere that you’ll be able to see daily.

Goal setting always gives me so much inspo for the next few weeks and months, especially if I remind myself to keep checking in with my lists. It’s a reminder that you can do anything you set your mind to! I know it’s cheesy, but the more you manifest certain things in your life, the more they will happen and come true. You just have to set your eyes on something and work hard to get there!

A FEW TOOLS TO GET YOU STARTED

FREE Wellness Guide

I created this free guide to share some of the top wellness tips I’ve collected over the years, sneak peeks into my fitness guides, and a look at my never-before-seen cookbook recipes. My goal is to show you that living a healthy lifestyle is not only attainable, but enjoyable. Inside the guide you’ll find educational content around building a blood-sugar balancing plate, why optimizing protein consumption is essential for women’s health, bonus content on added-sugar, how I changed my fitness regime and the incredible results I saw, my specific style of weight training and why I’m such a fan of it, and you’ll even get some free workouts from my best-selling Strength Guide. Read more about it here.

FREE One Week Meal Plan Download

I know what it’s like to get caught up in making the same recipes every single week – you just go back to what you know and you’re so busy that you don’t have time to think about a full week of meals. It happens! I put together a week-long schedule of some of my most loved recipes and included a grocery list to make things super quick and seamless. You can download the mini ebook and grocery list and feel really good about cooking from home, knowing your meals have already been picked out and the appropriate groceries are all stocked up. Read more about it here.

FREE One-Week Mindfulness & Accountability Challenge

Over the years, I’ve learned that it really comes down to the little things like getting outside, staying hydrated, shorter workouts, and taking a few moments of gratitude each day. I created a mini-accountability guide that you can download for free and use as a tool to feel your best. Read more about it here.

Looking for a training plan to keep you motivated? Check out my fitness and nutrition guides and join the most insane community of women committed to becoming the best version of themselves. Read more about which guide is right for you in this blog post.