One game-changing tip for busy mamas to achieve their health goals in the new year
In just a few weeks you’re going to be starting a new year. If it’s anything like years previous, you’re going to set the same resolution to “be healthier” in 2024. You’re going to look at your life and try to make huge changes.
Instead of eating sweets and your kids’ leftover mac and cheese, you’re going to start a new diet. You’re going to wake up at the crack of dawn to do a new HIIT workout after spending the last two months avoiding working out at all.
Then, one day, maybe two to three weeks in, you’re going to be drowning because you overdid it and you’re going to give up. You’ll be in the exact same place you are now - wishing you were healthier, but just too burnt out to take any action.
The problem isn’t you. The problem is that you haven’t set the right kind of goals. Goal setting is incredibly important because it gives us a road map to where we want to go. But you need directions if you want to read a map, and that’s where traditional goal setting has failed you. Here’s what needs to change if you want to accomplish your goals in 2024.
Traditional goals are causing you to fail
There are so many tools out there that teach you how to set a goal, but the one thing all of those tools get wrong is that they tell you to set outcome-based goals, for example, a traditional, outcome-based goal looks like this: “I want to lose 20 pounds in six months.”
It sounds like a great goal, right? It’s trackable. It has a time limit. You can even break it down into smaller goals: losing 3-4 lbs a month. On paper, this is a great goal.
But, in reality, you can’t control how your body reacts to food and exercise. You can put in the work. You can stick to a nutritional plan. You can workout out. You can drink your water. But you can’t control if your weight will decrease because you can’t control your fat cells. In the end, you can’t control the outcome, which is why outcome-based goals don’t actually work!
What can you control? I just listed that off! You can control your behaviors. You can control what you do. If you want to set New Year’s resolutions that you can actually reach, then you have to set behavior-based goals!
Behavioral goals will set you up for success
The amazing thing about changing from outcome-based goals to behavior-based goals is that it’s so much easier to feel good about your progress, so it’s an easy switch to make.
You can still think about the end result when you’re setting your behavior-based goals, but you don’t want to get fixated on the outcome.
Let’s take our previous example, say you want to lose 20 pounds, what actions do you need to do to accomplish that? Maybe you need to eat healthier. Or maybe you need to exercise regularly. Here are a few behavioral-based goals you could set:
I’m going to eat protein at every meal.
I’m going to work out for 30 mins, 5 days a week.
I’m going to hit my macros every day.
I’m going to drink half my body weight in water every day.
I’m going to go to bed at 10 p.m. every day.
I’m going to plan my meals.
When you set behavioral goals instead of outcome goals, you’re in control of the results. If you set a goal to workout five days a week and you don’t achieve it, you can go back and see what got in your way. Maybe you slept in one day. That’s something you can fix next week. However, if you were trying to lose 2 pounds that week and you didn’t accomplish it, it’s hard to track down the exact reason you “failed.”
Create a plan
Once you’ve set your behavioral goals, you need a plan that will help you accomplish those goals. Success is going to be dependent on sticking to your plan.
Your plan is going to be specific to your goal. However, there are two excuses that I hear mamas use all the time as to why they haven’t accomplished their goals.
The first excuse is that they don’t have the time.
Mama, I get this. I am insanely busy, as I’m sure you are too, but there is always time to do the things that are important to us.
When you say, “I don’t have time to make a meal plan” or “I don’t have time to workout” what you’re actually saying is, “My health isn’t a priority for me.” Next time you want to say “I don’t have time” replace it with “This isn’t a priority to me” and see how that changes your attitude!
The second excuse I hear from mamas is “I can’t afford it.”
In today’s economy, money can be a real concern. And I never, ever want you to go into debt to join my program or for a gym membership, or whatever it is. But there’s also a difference between “I can’t afford to invest in my health because I can’t even afford groceries right now.” and “I can’t afford to invest in my health because my kids want to go to Disneyland for the sixth time this year.”
When you prioritize other people’s pleasure over your health you’re doing a disservice to your family.
Do you know what your family needs more than a trip to Disneyland? They need a healthy, happy mom.
Your needs are more important than your family’s wants. Next time you say, “I can’t afford it” I want you to ask yourself, “Am I taking care of my needs or am I giving into other people’s wants?”
I also want to give you permission to invest in yourself! When you invest in yourself, you’ll find that it pays dividends you never expected.
If you’re setting weight loss or health-related New Year’s resolutions and need help creating new habits that will get you to your goals, then let’s chat! I help busy mamas on the go change their behaviors so that they can live a healthier life. Schedule a free Healthy Mama Blueprint call if you want to work together on behavior-based goals for 2024.
