Goal setting means you’ve decided on a course of action you want to take and how you are going to get there. It can be done with friends or family or with professional help – Personal Trainers do it with clients for fitness, and the same rules apply for your nutrition goals.
It can seem confusing and too difficult to start, so think SMART – Specific (what exactly you want to lose/gain 1kg or 10kg, eat 5 new veg daily, increase protein intake by 10g a day by a set date or timeframe), Measureable – by being specific you have something to measure against. Have I eaten 10g of extra protein/5 veg today? Achievable – are you going to be able to commit to a plan which will get you to the goal? Realistic – do you need to change your weight that much? Does it keep you within the healthy range for you? Does your lifestyle mean you need to eat extra protein? Timely – is the time you set achievable? Do you have the time in your daily life to make the changes needed?
Once you have a SMART goal you should set smaller marker points along the way – so maybe goal one is 2 weeks away and you aim to have increased your new veg to 2 a day or lost/gained 0.5kg. Reward your small goals (not with food!) and review the long term goal – are your smaller goals helping you to achieve the main aim?