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Consider these tips when trying to
“I want to lose weight,” is a good start-
Renewing Your ing point, but it’s not a SMART goal. On form a new habit:
Commitment to the other hand, “I want to lose 20 pounds • Embrace the long timeline of behav-
over the next four months by walking for
ior change. Expecting rapid results is
Your New Year’s 30 minutes every weekday evening after a recipe for disaster. Remember, the
dinner, performing two resistance-train-
ultimate goal is true, life-long behavior
Resolution ing workouts on Wednesdays and Satur- change, not a short-term solution.
days, and replacing my morning bagel
with yogurt and fruit four days per week,” • Forgive yourself for slip-ups. Making
by Cedric X. Bryant, is a well-constructed SMART goal. mistakes or even relapsing back to old
The other side of that story involves
Ph.D., FACSM your values. Perhaps you have a Saturday behaviors for a short time will have
little impact on your long-term habits
President and Chief routine that you cherish with your kids or or overall health. Sure, it’s not a great
Science Officer grandkids, making it hard to fit that resis- idea to eat a full pint of ice cream one
American Council tance-training workout into your sched- evening, but those calories won’t make
you gain weight overnight. It’s about
ule. In such cases, it’s important to think
on Exercise about what you truly value and adjust consistently making the best, most
accordingly by rescheduling one of those healthful choices you can.
two events so they’re not in conflict every • Focus on progress, not perfection. No
weekend. Anticipating and overcoming one makes the optimal choice every
e all know that when we make reso- obstacles like this is an essential element single time, so your goal should be to
Wlutions, particularly on New Year’s, of long-term behavior change. make better choices today than you
that those resolutions are made with the The second key to success involves made yesterday. If bad habits got you
best of intentions. For many these promis- replacing bad habits with good ones—like to the point where you want to lose
es to ourselves wear off and the challenges replacing 30 minutes of after-dinner TV weight or reverse a sedentary lifestyle,
of making a lasting behavior change set in. watching with a 30-minute walk—as progress may at times be small and
Many people think they can simply flip a well as understanding exactly what that incremental, but it’s still progress. Re-
switch and, with the right combination of process entails. Unfortunately, there has member, you can’t flip a switch and be-
determination and willpower, become a been a lot of pseudo-science over the years come an “new me” overnight. Instead,
“new me” on January 1st. stating exactly how long it takes to form simply make small changes and better
Unfortunately, willpower is a limited a new habit, including the often cited, but choices as often as you can.
resource and no amount of determination not scientifically backed, timeline of 21
can overcome not only the realities of a days. This is a myth that can set you up for
person’s daily life and responsibilities but disappointment and failure.
also the ingrained patterns (or “bad hab- The truth is, it can take months for a
its”) that every one of us has. new habit to become successfully integrat-
The calendar change from 2020 to ed into your daily lifestyle. Avoid judging
2021 was unlike any other, as most of us yourself—always good advice!—against
were eager to turn the page on a rough an arbitrary number you may read online
year. Perhaps your health-related reso- or in a magazine. Instead, remember that
lutions reflect that and you want to lose change is a long process, so take small
weight after months of bingeing on both steps, adapt as necessary and be kind
TV shows and take-out food. Or, maybe to yourself along the way. Whether
you want to break some sedentary habits attaining a goal takes 21 days or all
that developed or worsened during the of 2021, remember that prog-
pandemic and get outside and exercise, ress, not perfection, is the
preferably with friends you may not have ultimate goal, even if that
seen in a while. means reaffirming your
Now that summer has arrived, this commitment to
may be the perfect time to revisit your your resolutions
resolutions and look at them from a new when we in-
perspective. evitably turn
There are two keys to success when it to 2022.
comes to setting goals and making lasting
behavior changes. First, your goals should
be SMART—that is, specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant, and time-bound—and
should be aligned with your current life-
style and values.

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