Four Tips To Help You Reach Your Health Goals

The dawn of the New Year is a perfect time to re-evaluate, set intentions and focus on you…yes, you!  Making resolutions to improve your health and wellness is the best possible thing you can do for yourself and for those who love you.  Life is full of so many choices to make on a daily basis that it can become overwhelming, but what about the times when we want to reach a goal but struggle to make the decisions that can get us there?

Cristina Cavanaugh, a registered dietitian on Amwell, offer four tips to help you reach your goal and start moving forward.

Tip #1: Know your “why”

Do you know what is motivating you to make a change?  Do you want to lose weight to keep up with your kids?  Eat a healthier diet to reduce your risk for a chronic disease?  When things get tough, knowing your “why” will motivate you to keep going and not give up.

Tip #2: Break it down

Break that big goal down into manageable goals. Start small. Don’t expect yourself to lose 50 pounds in two weeks. Instead of saying “I will eat better this year” find a goal that you can track like “I will include a fruit or vegetable with every meal” or “I will switch from white processed grains to whole grains.” Each step will lead you one step closer to the BIG goal.

Tip #3: Don’t do it alone

Write down your goals on paper and share them with someone you can trust. When we keep our desires and goals private all the time, it’s easy to set goals and not keep them. Why? Because nobody knows and there’s no accountability. Accountability is KEY with reaching goals in your life.  It’s a built-in reminder system, just in case we forget, which can be quite easy to do.  Also, when we share our goals with others, it means that we’re ready to say we’re moving. It prompts action.

Tip #4: Reward

When we challenge ourselves to do something we don’t want to do, we need to build incentives for ourselves. That doesn’t mean irresponsible splurging but instead creating a positive environment that leads to self-care and self-reward when even small goals are reached.