It’s time to think about your own goals. If you haven’t already looked at the Healthy Weight Healthy You Goal setting and Motivation pages, you might want to have a look through those first to help you with setting your goals.
You will need something that excites you and motivates you to make changes. If you have had a lifestyle change recently, you might know precisely how you have put on weight. Think about a goal that will fit easily into your lifestyle so that you can maintain those healthy changes.
We recommend picking a small number of goals to focus on; this may be 1, 2, or 3 goals. Answer the questions below to get started - Don’t forget to keep the values you identified in mind as you go!
My SMART goal:
- Specific - Make your goal as specific as possible. What exactly do you want to achieve?
- Measurable – Identify a way to measure your progress whilst working towards your goal. How will you know when you’ve achieved it?
- Achievable – Your goal should be just out of reach but not out of sight. Is your goal challenging but doable?
- Relevant – Think about your values. Is this something that will really make a difference to your life?
- Time-bound – Set a time by which you would like to achieve your goal. By when do you want to achieve it?
My short-term goals
Set yourself up for success with achievable goals that you can fit easily into your lifestyle. These may help boost your confidence and motivate you to continue. Could you make some healthier swaps for some of your favourite food and drinks? Could you try to do more active travel, leaving the car behind for short journeys? Or perhaps adding a new activity instead of watching TV.
Try to make them as specific as possible. For example:
- I will drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.
- I will walk the dog twice a day for 30 minutes.
- I will only have only one takeaway a month.
What might get in my way?
Look at your long-term goal and the shorter bite-sized goals you’ve just written down. Spend some time thinking about what might get in your way. Examples might include a lack of time for new healthy habits.
Set yourself up for success
Think about what you can do to help you with those barriers; and how you can build in the support you need. If your goal is to be more active during the weekdays but finding time is difficult, think about how you travel to work or break up your activity session into several shorter sessions, so they are easier to fit in.
Continue your journey
Click on the next page Weight maintenance to continue your journey.
