Why do you want to
achieve these goals?
For a health goal to succeed, you have
to be very specific about why you are
setting the goal in the first place.
Answers such as ‘to feel better’, or ‘to
look better’ are not tangible, and it is
very hard to visualize the end goal if it
does not have a clear narrative. You need
to reach the root reason for why you
would like to ‘feel better’ or ‘look better’,
and work off that. A technique I have
often used with clients is the ‘3 whys’.
With this, you ask the initial question and
follow with 3 why’s to understand why
you want this particular goal for yourself.
Once you establish that and find the true
connection to it, it is much easier to stick
to it.
Are they well organized?
Planning is essential. Before the week
begins, plan out your meals to ensure
that you don’t find yourself caught off
guard and reaching for a snack bar.
80% of the trick to having a healthy diet
comes in the planning of it. The same
applies to exercise; if you structure your
week in a way that you make time for
exercise and schedule it to your day, you
are much more likely to do it than if you
only say that you will exercise when you
have time.
Are they realistic?
Health goals can often be very
unrealistic- if you know that you have
lectures starting at 7.30 AM, it is unlikely
that you will be able to fit in 2-hours of
exercise every morning and still be able
to achieve everything else you need to
in a day. Look carefully at your schedule
and plan your day out to see what you
can realistically fit into a day. No one can
lose 30kgs of body fat in 2 weeks, and if
this is your expectation going into it you
will find yourself disappointed and
demotivated- give yourself time and
determine exactly what is realistic for
YOUR body.
Don’t skip a day
When it comes to health goals,
consistency is key as it is all about
forming habits. The number one rule is
not to skip a day. This doesn’t mean not
taking a rest day (this is very important),
but not skipping planned days. Often
missing a day can have a spiral effect
and break your habit entirely.
Now that you know the tricks for keeping
to your health goals go back to the new
year’s resolutions, the goals that seemed
to disappear before they even started,
and modify them to the above guidelines.