New Year’s Check-In: Realistic Healthy Eating Resolutions
Do your New Year’s resolutions involve eating healthier, enhancing overall well-being, managing stress, improving physical fitness, or boosting productivity? If so, keep reading to learn about realistic goal setting.
SMART Goals
The SMART Goals method—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound—is a useful tool in many situations for setting realistic goals. When goals are specific, they give you a clear target. Measurable goals let you track progress, keep you motivated, and hold you accountable. Achievable goals are ones you can reach without it feeling impossible. Making sure goals are relevant means they are worth your effort. And setting deadlines with time-bound goals gives you a push to stay focused and achieve success.
Eating Healthy
Healthy eating involves consuming nutrient-dense foods most of the time while keeping an eye out for overconsumption of added sugars, sodium and saturated fats. You should strive to fill your plate with a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats while also having sufficient fluid intake.
An example of a SMART goal geared towards healthier eating for a college student could be “over the next month, I will try to replace highly processed and sugary snacks with healthy alternatives such as fruit or nuts at least 3 times a week to reduce my daily added sugar and sodium intake.” This is a SMART goal because it’s Specific (replacing processed snacks with fruits/nuts), Measurable (aiming for at least 3 times a week), Achievable (within a month’s time), Relevant (targeting the reduction of sugar and sodium intake), and Time-Bound (set for the next month). You can see a clear plan of action with measurable results to track your progress towards achieving a healthier diet.
On-Campus Dining
Opting for healthier on-campus choices can significantly help you achieve any health-related goals. If you aren’t sure where to start, visit the Nourish guidebook for more information on healthful eating in our locations. Keep an eye out for the Nourish icon when making food choices!
Exercise
Incorporating exercise into your daily routine is critical for overall well-being. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a combination of both, along with incorporating muscle-strengthening activities such as weightlifting or resistance training at least twice a week. The goal is to progressively add to the intensity and duration of your weekly workouts!
An example of a SMART goal geared towards becoming more active could be “over the next two months, I will improve my cardiovascular strength by going for more runs. I will go for a run (by myself or with a friend) at least 2 times each week and track my progress by recording how far and how long I ran for each time.” This goal is SMART because it has a specific goal (to improve cardiovascular strength through running), sets measurable targets (running at least twice a week and tracking distance/duration), and sets up a clear timeframe (over the next two months). This goal is also achievable and relevant to the desired outcome!
Even though it is cold outside, there are still ways to stay active indoors. Check the Hop Rec app to see a list of daily group fitness offerings at the Ralph S. O’Connor Recreation Center. If you are looking for support, motivation and accountability, exercising with a friend is a smart choice for working towards commitment and consistency with your fitness goals.
