I heard the question today!  It caught me by surprise, but not really, because it’s one we all ask this time of year.  “Are you ready for the holidays?” 

My answer was the same as it often is, “Well, they are here, so I had better be!”, but somewhere deep inside, the truthful answer was “not really.”  Then I had the sinking feeling that I had forgotten something important in order to get ready.  Can you relate?  Ready or not, here come the holidays, but is there something you have forgotten? 

The something I am thinking about is health goals for the New Year.  Does this sound out of place to you?  If so, let me explain my thinking.  Health doesn’t just happen, it is a long term investment that requires effort and planning the entire year, holidays included.  Have you made your plan?

New Year’s goals are different than New Year’s Resolutions.  I am a firm believer that we should not make New Year’s health resolutions.  If that makes you scratch your head, stop and consider the last time you resolved never to do something.  How long did that resolution last?  If you are like me, the answer would be “not long.”   We are way too human to be able to successfully pull off a never or always approach to anything, that includes staunch resolutions about health made January 1!    Actually, statistics show that New Year’s resolutions are often abandoned as early as January 12th!  Resolutions lack longevity, don’t they?  A much better approach is a long-term health goal.  If we are thinking long-term, why not begin now? 

Who doesn’t aspire to be healthy?   But we all know, aspiration is different than achievement.   Just like aspiring to go to Florida is different than going there, aspiring to be healthy is different than achieving it.  Goals are the tools we use to accomplish achievement, including health.  Much like google maps and an airplane ticket are tools to get to Florida, health goals are the tools that direct us toward health. 

Do you aspire to be in a different place with your health next year?  Now is a great time to think and plan ahead.  Have you begun to consider what goals might lead you there?   Now is a great time to set your Health Google Map for 2020.

Why set Health Goals now?

Setting New Year’s goals now can help us in two ways during the holiday season.  First, goals help us stay on track, as we face food choices in the days ahead.   Second, they set the stage for successful achievement of our goals as the calendar page turns to January 2020.

Here’s a bit of a road map I intend to use myself.

Schedule 15 minutes in your day to write down 3 goals related to your weight, physical activity and anything else you want to address.

1. Make your goals measurable.  i.e.  I want to lose 10 lbs., or have more energy.
2. Decide what you need to do to achieve your goals.  i.e.  I want to learn about a whole foods or low carb eating plan.  I want to increase my walking schedule to 5 times/week.

Did you notice I didn’t say, “I never want to eat sugar again” or “I promise I will always walk 5 times/week.”    I simply set a goal or direction for myself, not a resolution.  Are you ready with your goals?

Goals don’t guarantee achievement, they simply help me step toward it.  I have to implement my goal in order to have the pleasure of achieving it.  If I planned a trip to Florida, bought a plane ticket, but didn’t pack my bag and step on the plane, I would remain in Nebraska.  Sounds crazy, but how many times do I say I need to walk at the YMCA, but fail to go 40 feet down the hall to do it?  If I have a plan in place, I am one step closer to implementing, but now I have to choose.  

With goals in hand, choices along the way to 2020 have a risk.  Will I begin to implement my plan?  The holidays are upon us!  Do my food choices match my goals and set the stage for health in 2020, or do they set me back so I have to recapture some aspect of my health?

Are you ready for the holidays, health goals included?  

MLB

Mary Lou Block is a Registered Dietitian at Gothenburg Health. To learn more please reach out to Mary Lou: mblock@gothenburghealth.org or (308)-537-3661.