Three Ways Health Coaches Help You Get SMART
S.M.A.R.T. goals are a tool that health coaches use to help their clients plan steps to achieve a specific goal. Maybe you are a post-menopausal woman who’s on a weight loss journey and striving to reduce, or eliminate, your type 2 diabetes medications. Perhaps you are a peri-menopausal woman starting to notice weight gain and want to learn how to optimize your nutrition around midlife. Maybe you are a midlife woman who’s been sedentary her whole life, watched your grandmother and mother lose their independence to a nursing home from multiple fragility fractures and you want a strong and mobile body. Many health stories bring both men and women to health coaching for ongoing accountability and support.
What’s a S.M.A.R.T Goal?
A S.M.A.R.T goal needs to consist of the following five components. Let’s use weight loss as an example for someone who has just begun their health journey.
S.M.A.R.T Goal: “I will pack my lunch to bring to work five days per week starting Monday and for the next six weeks so that I do not eat restaurant food”.
Specific: This person has a definitive plan for the next six weeks.
Measurable: This person knows to make five lunches per week.
Attainable: With proper planning, this is an achievable goal.
Relevant: Eating fresh, homemade food is a critical component of losing weight.
Time-bound: This goal has a start date and an end date.
By helping clients create specific step-by-step plans to reach a goal, they are set up for success. Once that goal has been achieved, the health coach and the client discuss the next goal. The client is always in charge of when they are ready to move forward. The coach will help them use their intrinsic motivation and values to make that next step. This is how a solid foundation is established for the client. Of course, there may be setbacks along the way. A health coach supports the client with science-backed strategies to navigate any obstacle.
Clients come to health coaching at varying starting points. Whether you have never considered starting a health journey or have tried multiple things that haven’t been successful, a health coach is trained to meet the client where they are. Some clients may be ready for more complex S.M.A.R.T. goals, while others need simplicity to start.
3 Signs That You’re Ready To Start A Health Journey
You desire change and have a vision of what you want your life to look and feel like. You continue to search the internet for healthy lifestyle habits, you search for health books to buy, and you know where the three closest gyms are to your house. You have not started incorporating any new routine or activity because you feel overwhelmed.
You feel disconnected from your body and are curious about the mind-body connection you keep hearing about on podcasts that you listen to. You crave a cleansing with your diet, your energy is low, and you feel moody daily.
Your body struggles to move in the way that you desire for yourself. You are breathless walking up one flight of stairs, you have trouble getting up from bed, and your clothes are not fitting you the way you’d like.