EATing Your Way to Better Health and Fitness, Part Deux
Written by EMPOWER General Manager, Michael Whitehurst
Before we get into the next component of the EAT plan, bring out your homework that was assigned to you yesterday. If you forgot your homework you may take a few minutes to complete it before reading on, and if you have no idea what I am talking about you will want to read yesterday’s blog post first here. 🙂 Go ahead, read that post first, we will wait for you to catch up before moving on.
Ok, so now those of you who read the blog post yesterday and dutifully took the time to complete your homework can move on to the next topic (I just told the others we would wait for them, but it’s their fault they were lazy, let’s move forward).
We have Established a SMART goal, so now we must also Assess our situation. This entails gauging our preparedness to start working towards the goal. Do you know what your main obstacles will be, and what about sources of support? Do you have a plan, a roadmap to follow? Let’s tackle each of these questions one at a time and see if we can manipulate our environment to create a path to success.
What are your Obstacles? Know where your enemies lie. Identify things, people, and situations that may derail your efforts. Common obstacles can be: travel, work schedule, unsupportive family/friends. List 3-5 real potential obstacles you may face on your journey to achieving the goal.
Who are your Allies? Know who your friends are. Identify people, things and situations that will help keep you motivated. Common allies are supportive family and friends, a written, personal contract with yourself, promise yourself a healthy reward for achieving your goal. Now list 3-5 real allies that will help rally you along.
What is your Plan? Set smaller goals. Create a roadmap for achieving your goal by setting smaller goals with a shorter timeline. This will also allow you to track your progress by having benchmarks to achieve. If your goal is to run a marathon, register for a few smaller races, like a 5K, 10K and half marathon that occur before the big race.
Ok, so here’s your 2nd assignment. Look again at your SMART goal. List 3-5 obstacles and 3-5 allies and 1-3 benchmark goals to track your progress. The final component of EATing your way to better health and fitness we will discuss tomorrow. Don’t read tomorrow’s post before completing your homework, or else you’ll have to sit in the front of the class and explain why you didn’t bring it with you.
Check back tomorrow on the Empower Personalized Fitness blog for “EATing Your Way to Better Health and Fitness: Part 3!”
