Do Your Health Goals Get You Taking Action…?

Do you set health goals that are practical, actionable, and sustainable?

Are the goals you set for your health behaviour goals or are they outcome goals?

And, why does this make a difference?

When we want to lose weight, have more energy, break through the plateau, lose the belly, lower blood pressure, etc. most of us will make a goal statement such as:

“I want to lose 10, 15, 20, 30 pounds.”
“I want to stop eating sugar.”
“I want to walk, jog, bike, move more.”
“I want to stretch more.”
“I want to sleep 7-9 hours each night.”
etc

And this is a good start…defining our outcomes. But, how will you get to that outcome? How will you manage the roadblocks that can affect you getting there?  

Roadblocks such as:

• • Gym closes because of the pandemic.

  • You have to work late to finish a project.

  • Your kids are sick.

  • An elderly parent needs help.

  • Your hormones are acting up.

  • You are stressed.

  • You are not sleeping well.

  • Your arthritic or bad joint is acting up.

  I am sure you can add to this list!

  The thing is that we don’t have control over the above; and we don’t want to let that stop us from moving forward on our health goals.

  So how do we do that?

  By changing how we write our goals.  For example:

  Outcome Goal (OG) and Behavioural Goal (BG)

  OG   I want to lose _____ pounds.  
  BG   I will eat slower and stop eating when satisfied.

  OG   I want to stop eating sugar.
  BG   I will eat eat fruit for dessert at least three times during the week

  OG   I want to walk, jog, move more.
  BG   I will exercise (your choice of movement) 3 times during the week.

  OG   I want to stretch more.
  BG   I will get up 10-15 minutes earlier and do my stretching routine.

  OG   I want to sleep 7-9 hours each night.
  BG   I will turn off all electronics 1 hour before bedtime.

  To move an outcome goal to a behaviour goal, you take the outcome goal and decide what you need to do to get there.  For example, you will need to eat better.

  Then in order to eat better, what do you need to do?  Maybe it is to eat more mindfully.

  Well, how do you do that?  By eating distraction free, chewing more, slowing down, putting your knife and fork down between bites, etc.

  Then decide which one to do for the next couple of weeks. 

  So, now you have gone from “I will eat better.” to “I will eat slower by putting my knife and fork down between bites.”

  You have in place an actionable goal that is:

  Practical – Achievable – Sustainable

  It is your turn to take a look at your goals and ask yourself what kind of goal it is. And if it is an outcome goal, how can you change it?

  I would love to know how you do with this! Let me know in the comments below.

  Love the life you live,

  

  
  Anita Duwel
  Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach
  Certified Master Workplace Wellness Consultant
  FB Group Aging with Vitality
  Coach Anita Duwel FB Page

  PS If you are 45 or over, I invite you to join my Aging with Vitality FaceBook Group. It is a place to share information and strategies on living a life of quality and vitality. Be the first to have access to freebies, challenges, etc.  Also a place to share some funnies!