We’ve all done it – set a New Year’s diet or fitness resolution and after a few weeks or months failed. But have you ever stop to think why you failed? Most likely it was because your goal was either too lofty or not well enough defined.

This year when you set your new fitness goal, make it SMART:

• S – Specific
• M – Measurable
• A – Attainable
• R – Realistic
• T – Timely

Lose Weight in 2021 With Smart Goals

Let’s use a common New Year’s fitness goal “to get fit” and apply the SMART concept to it.

Specific

The “S” refers to the who, what, when, where and how of your goal. A better defined goal that is specific is to alternate between cardio and strength training five days per week, 30 minutes each day.

Measurable

With a goal of “to get fit”, how fit is fit? You have to have some way of measuring your progress to know if you are making progress or not or to know when you have reached your goal. A measurable goal would be to be able to run and complete a half marathon. Studies show that people who track key points of their exercise or diet plan, especially with the aid of an online system and app, lose more weight than those who diet without one. In fact, a report published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity showed significantly more successful weight loss results from those who planned their meals, tracked calories and tracked fat on most days of the week. That’s why as part of Dr. Fisher’s Medical Weight Loss Program, we offer the EZDietPlanner & Fitness Tracker ™. This diet and fitness tool will help you follow our program and monitor your progress online or on-the-go.

Attainable

Is your goal something that you can reasonably complete? It is counterproductive to set a goal that you have no chance of success. Be honest with yourself. Coming in first in your first half marathon probably is not attainable, but completing it is.

Realistic

If you hate running, is successfully running a half marathon really a realistic goal? At this point no, but it could be if your view of running changes. Some non-runners actually come to like running once they start training for it. However if you have never been coordinated enough to run efficiently, choosing a better suited goal is probably advisable.

Timely

To be successful, most people need a time frame to be at goal. If your goal is to run a half marathon, it is not timely, but to run in the annual Fourth of July half marathon is timely. Now you have a time frame for which you can back plan. Based on your current fitness level, you can figure out milestones and when you have to hit them to be ready to run that half marathon on July 4th.

Contact Us to Reach Your Health Goal

When a goal is set using the SMART system, your chance of successfully attaining that goal is much greater. While “to get fit” was our original goal in this article, the SMART system can be applied to any goal, whether business or personal fitness-related or not. Be SMART about setting yourself up for success. To schedule a free consultation at one of Dr. Fisher’s Medical Weight Loss Centers, contact the location closest to you by either phone, or by filling our the “request a consultation” form.

This article was reviewed and approved by Dr. Fisher. Dr. Jon Fisher is a Board Certified Family Physician and a recognized authority on How to Lose Weight, lower cholesterol and body contouring in a medically supervised environment. Read his full bio