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Are you where you want to be in your healthy lifestyle or your families’? Well if you want to make changes this is a great time to start. Let’s start out by talking about some of your health goals and then we will cover the basics of setting goals.
Ok, good let’s get started! First look at what your diet and health has been life for the last 12 months. Before you can make any changes you need to find out where you are and answer some tough questions. Get out some paper and pen or just download these questions, in a few months you can look back at your answers to see the changes.
10 Questions to Help You with Your Health Goals
1. Do you feel healthy? Rate your overall healthy level on a scale from 1-10. How is your energy level, are you tired most of the time?
2. Do you like the way you look in your clothes? Want to lose some weight?
3. Is your skin an even tone or blotchy? Do you have breakouts often?
4. Do you take vitamins? Do you take more drugs than you’d like (prescription or over the counter)?
5. Where do you or your family eat most meals? Home or Out. Are your meals whole, fresh foods or fast food, boxed instant?
6. Do you understand food and make wise food choices? Do you wish healthy eating was easier to understand?
7. When you eat do you feel that you don’t get full, even though you have eaten enough? Or you hungry again after just a short period of time?
8. Do you crave sweets often? Do you feel meals would not be good without bread?
9. How active are you? Would you like to accomplish more in your day?
10. Do you have a goal you want to achieve, but your health has kept you from reaching it?
I know some of these questions maybe hard to answer, but do the best you can. Decide what you really want to achieve for your health over the next month and also over the course of the year. Goals can’t be reached if you don’t have them recorded.
Pick three of the questions above and make them into goals. Let’s take question 5 as an example. Where do you eat most of your meals, (home or out)? Are your meals whole, fresh foods or fast food, boxed instant?
A good goal if you found you eat many processed or boxed foods would be to resolve to make 2 main meals from scratch each week as a start. Or if you eat out too often, make it a goal to eat at home more. Remember, you did not start eating the way you are yesterday, so it is not going to get all straightened out overnight. But if you make one change today and keep with it, you are closer to your goal than you were.
Setting SMART Goals
Take one of the goals you have chosen and lets work on it. SMART is an acronym used to explain goal setting. In our case we will define S.M.A.R.T. as goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Framed.
Specific: Goals need to be specific. Many times we set goals that are not well defined. How can we know if we have reached our goal? For example, if I say “I want to start eating better” this is too vague a statement. How will you know if you are eating better or not? Saying, “I will eat 3 meals this week using healthy recipes from Cooking God’s Way” is more specific. At the end of the week you can look and see if you met your goal.
Measurable: Goals need to be measurable. For example, we all want to eat better. But “eating better” is an ambiguous statement. Using the statement above would be better, “I will eat 3 meals this week using healthy recipes from Cooking God’s Way.” This is a clear statement and easily measurable, not to mention will be some great food. 🙂
Achievable: Goals need to be reasonable and achievable. Often their success or failure depends on setting practical goals. Many of us have tried to eat more home cooked meals with healthy ingredients. So to say I will by the end of the week be eating all my meals cooked at home completely health based is unrealistic. Eating 3 meals made at home with healthy ingredients is reasonable. Keep your goals real things that you can do.
Realistic: Goals need to be realistic. When we were young we though we knew it all. Now we know better. Be honest when setting goals. If you need help, get it. You may want your family to eat only healthy meals by the end of the month. Can they make that drastic of a change in such a short time? Or does it need a little adjustment? Say a few months or a year even.
Time Framed: Goals need to have a time frame. If you don’t set a date to complete something by then there is no accountability. Many of us want to eat healthy sometime. So set a start and end date. “We are going to start eating more healthy meals next week and by the end of the month half of our meals will be health based.” Using specific time frames will give you the push to get started and monitor your progress.
So there you have it, keep your goals SMART and you will do a much better job of reaching them.
Lesson Assignment: Print out the goal questions and try to answer them all (truthfully). Pick 3 to focus on and work through; create a plan using the SMART goals.
Share one of your goals with the group by posting a comment below. We could have suggestions. See you in the Food Log lesson.
My biggest problem is staying focused. I have 50 pounds to lose and want to do it by Christmas. I also need to do better with my cooking and time scheduling to go to the gym every night. Ughhhhh. Maybe this is going to be harder than I thought.
Lynnree11, you can do 50 lbs by Christmas if you follow the ideas recommended in this course. I would focus on the food before the gym. When I work with my clients they loose weight without having to do the gym. Get on the newsletter if you are not already. Read about lacto-fermenting that we have on the site, look at the great eCourse we have. Keep it up, you can do it. — Jeff
My goal is to continue to make baby steps toward a healthier lifestyle and refusing to get overwhelmed with all the changes that need to be made. I need to reign in on the unhealthy carbs–breads, sweets, etc–and learn to replace them with real, whole, God-made foods. Thank you for this web site.
Freddydress, you have a very good plan on how to move forward. This is exactly what I tell my clients, take one change at a time. It may seem like it will take longer, but changes that hold over a lifetime are ones that are build brick by brick. If you want keep me in the loop with how your progress is moving. 🙂 — Jeff
The questions helped make me realize how much my diet is affecting my health and energy levels. Goals, beginning tomorrow are to drink at least 8 ounces of water per day, drink at least 4 glasses of fresh juice per week, (I have a juicer and cut back on sodas to 3 or fewer per week.
Jennie, Did you mean 80 oz of water? I have found it is good to just start slow and sip it though out the day. Great to hear you are understanding how food affects the body. This is one of the hardest ideas for many to get. We understand that cheap gas does have an impact on our cars, but food having an impact on the body is one of the best kept secrets. 🙂 Remember if you get 1 thing changed and it stays changed that is better than 10 changes that don’t stick. — Jeff
Goals:
1. To eliminate all refined sugars from our diet by using healthy alternatives. There is some research that I have done and will continue to do to figure out conversions. I plan to have conquered this in three months time.
2. To eat at home three days a week by stocking our freezer with homemade meals. My time frame for this goal is 60 days.
3. Drink more water. My goal is to drink a minimum of 64 ounces a day for a month straight and then increase after that. After the month is over I will reset the goal. I will also track my water intake as a part of this goal.
Goals:
-To lose 1 pound a week until I reach 135. (At 148 now)
-To obtain as much information as possible on nutritious food.
-To plan and shop for 1 week’s groceries, ensuring that 3 of the days are VERY nutritious.
-To walk 15 minutes each day.
Great goals. My only suggestion is to move the weight loss goal to the bottom. Why? If we focus on health the weight will follow and things correct. Very good and thought-out goals. — Jeff
My goals for this week are 1. not eat sugar when I go to my mother-in-law’s house, 2. check off drinking 8 glasses of filtered water each day, 3. exercise 4x.
Great goals, I would move water to #1. 🙂
My biggeset problem area is failure to plan! If I make out a healthy menu, I am more apt to stick to it. I need to try to not be concerned about the extra money spent in the organic food section as well! Instead of spending time on the couch, I should spend time prepping in the kitchen! So–PLANNING has to be my first realistic goal. 🙂
Making a plan is important, glad to see you are working on that. Getting and keeping good health requires us to plan, it does not come by itself in today’s world. One point I would like to bring to your attention is that as you eat nutritious food, you will overtime eat less, so your food bills will most likely stay the same. I have seen people usually eat 50% of the volume of food they used to eat. Keep your goals real, maybe you only make 2 homemade meals a week at first, then the next week 3 to 4, etc. 🙂
We moved from Iowa about 2 years ago, they don’t have near the produce variety that Texas does. I am trying to educate myself on how to use healthy ingredients for cooking, but honestly don’t know where to turn. I can’t wait to see what this course has to offer. My 2 week goal is to take this course and cook at least 3 CGW recipes in that time. I also will be preparing my meals for my whole family (12 people) so if there are any “group cooking” tips that you could point me to that would be super helpful. My 1 month goal is to cook at least 2 Real Food healthy meals each week and start developing a healthy pantry mindset educating myself as much as possible so in a year I can effortlessly understand how to identify and use fresh ingredients on a daily basis.
Great start as a goal. Take it slow and make changes overtime, they will stay that way.
I am diabetic, high blood pressure and high cholestrol and need to lose abt 20 lb at least.
may have a gluten intolrance.
There is a lot of info in this course that can help with your diet and that could give positive results with your health.
One of my goals will be to get rid of the sugar, soda and bread cravings. I also need to focus on consistent exercise.
Goal: To learn more about eating my way healthy.
I think I do pretty good as far as cooking healthy and trying to stay away from box meals and such. Another goal of mine would be to get rid of my sweet tooth. But all in all I really just want to learn more about how to make this body operate the way it was designed to 🙂
Good goals. You may find as you eat a more balanced diet your sugar cravings will go away.
I was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I have been doing some research and now when I go grocery shopping (which is something I used to LOVE) I get so overwhelmed and depressed. I feel like everything in the store in unhealthy in some way and I don’t even know what to buy or eat. My goal is to keep learning, but not view my diet in such an extremist fashion. I also plan to seek out help through CGW!
Carrie, I understand feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, it can make you feel powerless, but rest assured you are not powerless. You are doing something already in the right direction and that is learning. Keep up with the course it will help teach the basics you need. These basics are what we all need for health. Yes, there will be some specific changes you will need for you, but at the heart are the basics. Let us know how we can help. – Jeff
I am having a terrible time breaking my sugar addiction, and I still have no energy. My skin is always breaking out. And I am overweight. I think these are all related. So I will focus on 4 things instead of 3, I think once I am eating more healthfully I will lose weight, my skin will improve and I will have more energy. I am currently mixing stevia with some sugar in my coffee and oatmeal in the morning. I want to find other snacks for that afternoon “crash” and try teecino instead of coffee. We always eat at home, and I am cooking 4+ whole food meals each week. I want to learn more about coconut oil in my cooking and for my skin.
There are articles about coconut oil on the site, keep with the ecourse, it will explain more. You are moving in the right direction. If you do need to talk let me know and we will see what we can work out. Jeff
I’m 50 pounds overweight, and I lack energy (no kidding!). I’ve been the diet route. No more “diets”; no more “lose 10 pounds by….”; I just want to eat healthy, exercise, and let my body lose the weight on its own timetable. It’s not a S.M.A.R.T. goal, I know, but I’ll turn it into one as we get into the classes, and I see what “eating healthy” means and what some specific, measurable, realistic healthy eating goals might be. One I’d been thinking about is to eliminate all sugar(s), with the exception of one small dessert one dinner a week, from my diet, as well as reduce grain consumption by 50% to 75%, by the end of April 2012. I know I can do it if I set my mind to it, but I need to see if this is a good goal to begin with.
Great goals, they sound very smart to me. 🙂
I love the idea of the SMART goals. It helps you to organize and prioritize your goals better! I love the idea of the questions and then looking at the answers a few months later and seeing if you have improved! It helps you to really work towards your goals and work harder if you don’t achieve them!
SMART Goals
1. Bring a healthy snack and water with me when I leave the house at least three days next week.
2. Prepare two meals, from the C.G.W. cookbook, for my family, each week in February.
3. Lose between six and eight pounds in February.
Super goals, great way to start.
I think the SMART goal setting will really help. I really can tell a difference in the way I feel and act when I’ve cut out sugar. I struggle with getting it out completely, but knowing that I can set realistic goals and learn as I go & give myself some time, really helps. Looking forward to learning about healthy sweetners and what mistakes I’ve been making with the sweetners I thought were healthy!
Glad you like the goal setting. Just keep everything real, but do make it something to work for. Like I tell my people, if you change one only thing but it stays then you are making progress. Add that up over years and you have made some real progress. Keep the learning going, we are all doing that. 🙂 – Jeff
I think I will start my goal setting by not eating out as much. I cook pretty healthy when we eat in, and I can tell a real difference in my childrens behavior after good nutritious meals. I believe poor planning is my biggest enemy. We eat out 2-3 times week. If i am not prepared with a meal plan, we tend to just eat out. 🙁
You are in the same boat as all of us. If we don’t plan we will take the easy way out. Work hard to get your plan going on a consistent basis, you will see the rewards. – Jeff
I really like the SMART thing. I am often very enthusiastic with changes, but become overwehlmed and frustrated. I will ponder my goals and post soon
Glad you like the goal setting. We all need to have goals to work towards so we can measure progress. Look forward to see what your goals are. – Jeff
Goal: cut out all “artificial” sweeteners (refined sugar included) by Feb. 2012. This week, I will consume only ONE sugar sweetened dessert.
Great goal! I know you can do it, we are rooting for you 🙂
My main goal is to reduce my weekly/monthly sugar intake and learn which sweetners are the best/worst.
I just thought of my goals and am looking forward to getting some knowledge.
Good to hear Nita. We all need to to have a goal we are working toward. Just be sure to keep it real, something you can accomplish. 🙂
We are a family of 6. I, being the keeper of our home, am constantly trying to better ourselves. Lately, our health and eating habits our my new focus and goal.
I like having to get specific about my goals. I’m usually vague or use generalities. And, I tend to keep things in my head. I need to start putting it down in writing.
may4my, The greatest thing about having it in writing is the history it provides as you look back and know what you exactly where you were or what you committed to. So you can celebrate improvements. I know where you are when I used to compete in road races I would keep each workouts time and notes, but did not keep a nutrition log. Never knew if what I was eating was helping or not.
Goal: Plan our meals weekly…we eat at home every day but are struggling with last minute ideas and tend to over-indulge at dinner. I also would like to begin burst training type exercise at least twice a week.
ahriley922, Those are some great goals. I just published an article today that could help with portion control, 3 Things You Can Do To Avoid Overeating. Maybe there are some ideas there that can help. Burst training is an excellent way to workout, the metabolize stays kicked up for around 48 hours. I have seen client’s lose 25 pounds in a month from 12 min. burst workouts. I apply burst workouts in my weight lifting and what a burn. 🙂