4 Effective Tips for New Year's Goals For All Year Success

By Debra Atkinson 

 

Contemplating a change? Want to lose a few pounds? Are you going to vow to get to the gym more regularly? You're committing to eating better? This is not the first time you've set goals. In fact, this may not be the first time you've set this very same goal.

Let's dissect it and make it better. The traditional problem with goal setting around an outcome that involves behavior is that we focus on outcome and ignore the actions. If for instance, you wish to lose 10lbs. this month: you may break that into weeks and tell yourself that's 2.5lbs. each week. You may indeed begin to exercise and declare that you're going to "eat better."

What's wrong with that picture? First, this is a very common goal setting mistake. Many of the wellness clients I've coached have tried similar over and over. The problem? They do lose weight but they also gain it back. What's missing from the example above are several key ingredients to your success both by the end of the month and maintaining the new goal.

Clarify the fact that you don't just want to lose weight. You want to remove it. You want it gone forever, right? So lets address what has to be present in order to do that.

1. Do set SMART goals. However, make them about the actions you need to take.

• The specific number of days and minutes you plan to exercise the first week, the second week, the third week and so on is crucial.
• Using a number makes that goal measurable: during week one you can already achieve success because you clearly know what it is, while if you were trying to achieve 2.5lbs weight loss you unfortunately just can't control that.
• Actions are your best friend. Plan to walk at 5:15 when you hit the door after work three days a week the first week. Plan to increase the number of servings of vegetables daily to a consistent four the first week. Plan to go to bed 30 minutes earlier every night the first week. Depending on your goal, set the action that you can control.
• Making a goal realistic is where we often fail in our goal setting attempts. The biggest error here is in trying to change everything at once. The clients I work with who are successful focus on one major change at a time. Defining eating better as not skipping meals and increasing plant-based foods, decreasing eating out they focus on that once they are already exercising. While it's true a second good habit often does emerge while you're doing another, narrow your focus to one and you'll have better success tackling them each one at a time. It's not that you're leaving one behind. You'll add it once the first new behavior is automatic.
• Setting a goal for change based on time is both good and bad. I've observed many exercisers begin a "bootcamp" or eight week session and stop when it's over. That's evidence that there was not a behavior change occurring. If you want long-term change you'll need to think about adapting the actions you take for a forever lifestyle. For many, enrolling in an exercise program gives them accountability they need. Focus on the positive ways you feel because you're doing it. When you travel or have days off of the program, create your own same time of day substitute activity. Seek programs that encourage you to do things on your days off.

2. Think about your new goals and the habits you need to either stop or start with integration with the other parts of your life. Too often we try to isolate a behavior or activity without regard to other people or activities we have going on already. How will your family be affected? What do you need to do before and after the actions required for your goals? Planning your goals in this way gives you the big picture. You'll be less likely to get derailed because you have done this and considered what obstacles you'll have to overcome. You'll know what support you need to ask for from others.

3. Before you even begin a habit change think about maintenance. It is very likely the number one cause of goal failure. For weight loss, the reality is that maintenance takes greater focus than the actual change. Your body is going to fight the lower weight and it's easy for it to slowly creep back on. Consider whether you can stay as dedicated for your life as you're starting for four weeks.

4. Don't go it alone. Seek support. Journaling, tracking whether by hand or with apps can help. Asking a friend or relative to hold you accountable. In order for that to work you need to really report your goals and whether you did them: a simple question of how it's going won't do the job. If you have a trainer or a coach, even better. Before you seek one, ask about references. How many people with your goal have they helped? Did they have long-term success? If you need to for time or budget constraints use self-tracking, treat yourself as if you were your own coaching client and set a time each week for a "come to coaching" meeting.

Weight Loss Success With A Wellness Coach Try It

By Debra Atkinson

You want to lose weight. You have options. You could try a traditional weight loss program and count points or calories. You could use a prepackaged meal plan. There's the two meal replacement shakes a day and one healthful meal. You could hire a personal trainer or buy a gym membership or both.

Recent escalating health care costs have employers actively seeking ways to keep claims down and encourage better health habits among their employees. In the end not only will they benefit from reduced claims but from enhanced productivity, alertness, moral and less absenteeism.

How could you benefit from a wellness coach and why might you seek one instead of other options if you want weight loss?
A wellness coach could actually be a personal trainer and or a nutritionist as well. Many coaches came to the coach profession after they established a career and reputation in another field.
For many people weight loss includes nutrition and physical activity accountability. Identifying what to eat and how to move are only a part of the path to success however. Changing behavior is more complicated than knowing what to do. That's where the strengths of a coach comes in and differs from that of a personal trainer or a Registered Dietitian.

A wellness coach will focus on the changes you want to make and the reasons that is important to you. Your coach will focus much of your time together asking questions that get to your underlying motivation and reasons why you might have had trouble keeping accountable. The relationship is completely non-judgmental and intended to provide insights that will help you really reach the goals that are most important to you, and not based on someone else.

A wellness coach who is also an exercise expert can help you define specific goals and a progression that makes sense and then coach you with the accountability that you need to succeed. Some trainers can do this and some and not as expert at this and tend to focus on holding you responsible without understanding what might be going on or how to help you with an alternative to a program that's not working.
Wellness coaching is very compatible with either personal training or a nutrition program. It can compliment and support you with an integrated approach. The exercise and eating changes you need have to fit into your life. It's important to consider other factors in your life that may be obstacles for you to overcome. Time with your trainer is probably not going to focus on those potential barriers and is outside the scope of practice for your trainer or nutritionist if they aren't trained as a coach.

Do understand that a coach is there to support you in goal setting, choosing appropriate goals, encouraging you to reach outside your comfort zone and keep you getting to goals on a path more direct and efficient than you would do on your own. That said, you do the work in coaching. A coach partners with you but you do the homework and follow through on the tasks you've set for the week.
How often do you have contact with a coach? Generally your sessions are once a week for 30 or 60 minutes. Some coaches will do three a month with a week off every month. Most coaches deliver their coaching services by phone, though skype, or meeting in person are options. Telephonic sessions are still the most popular and far less limiting to you choosing a coach who is your best match.

How can you find a wellness coach? Ask for referrals. Sometimes the best relationships come from someone you know. You can also find reputable coaches on Wellcoaches or CoachU. The International Coach Federation(ICF) is a credentialling organization where you'll find primarily coaches who focus on full time coaching. You may find experienced and certified coaches who are not ICF certified. Whatever certification your coach has be sure that you understand it is still a self-governed industry. It's important that you ask how long your coaches training was and how much experience they've had. It would be nice to know they aren't getting their experience from you.

What should you expect in cost? Expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $200 per hour for a coaching session with an experienced and credible coach. There often is a minimum commitment of 90 days or longer in order to help you commit to and see your goals through.
Do expect that you should be offered a complimentary coaching session with any coach. Interview two or three to find the right match for you and your goals. Has he or she ever coached someone with your goals? Has he got prior clients that you can contact as references? Do your homework even before you begin with your coach.