by Amy Plano | Feb 11, 2019 | General Nutrition, goal setting, healthy eating, meal prep
So, I gave you some time off last week from having to think too hard đ But, I am coming back at you with a vengeance today. This week we are finishing up your favorite topic – good olâ goal setting. So, grab your nutrition goals that you have been working on so diligently and let’s get to work!Â
To clarify once again these are the five key steps to goal setting to ensure your success. If you are coming in late to the game and want to revisit the first two steps of nutrition goal setting click here to read Part 1 of How to Crush your Nutrition Goals and click here to read Part 2 of How to Crush your Nutrition Goals. Â
Consequently, this week we are tackling # 3: Create an effective monitoring tool,  # 4: Execute your goals like the champ you are and # 5: Assess your goals at regular intervals.Â
#3 – Create an effective monitoring tool
So, you letâs recap. In short, so far we have helped you clearly define your S.M.A.R.T nutrition goals. Next we helped you set a realistic game plan. However, now you need an effective tool to monitor these goals.
You have heard the saying, âWhat gets measured, gets managed.â Well my friends, this certainly applies to setting nutrition goals. Pick a âtoolâ – any âtoolâ to manage your goals.
Below are examples of tools to help monitor and track your progress towards your nutrition goals. Please note depending upon what your personal nutrition or exercise goal is not all these tools may be applicable. I provide them just to demonstrate the various ways in which you can track your success.
- A FREE tracking app like âMy Fitness Pal, Lose It or Sparkpeople
- An exercise journal
- A food journal
- Physical body assessments like body fat percentages as well as waist, hip, bust and bicep measurements
- A real, live person to report your successes to weekly (like an accountability buddy!)
- An exercise tracking device like an iwatch or fitbit
- Before and after pictures
- Lab values
- Performance markers like amount of weight lifted, time trials, Vo2Max, ect.
Notice many of them are by no means fancy. But all of them get the job done. However, keep in mind the best monitoring tool is the one you are likely to consistently use.
I am old-school and use a good old fashion journal. For some reason I feel much more comfortable writing my goals down.
But you may find that boring and rather log your food or nutrition in an app. Whatever you choose – just stick with it!
#4 – Execute your goals like the champ you are
Just. Do. It. In order to be successful with your goals, you need to be 110 % committed to taking action. Talk is cheap. Â And just like Benjamin Franklin once said âWell done is better than well said.â Â I donât think anyone can argue with that.
So, put on your blinders. Get comfortable being uncomfortable and just do it. Pull out your goals each every morning and every night. Focus on what is important NOW! Because I hate to be the bearer of bad news but If you donât prioritize your goals and life for that matter – someone else will. Â
#5 – Assess your goals at regular intervals
Remember your nutrition and exercise goals are not carved in stone. In other words, they should be dynamic and evolving in nature. Therefore, it is important to revisit them at regular intervals and make sure they are serving you. Here are some questions to ask yourself when assessing your goals:
- Am I happy with my progress? Yes? No? Why?
- What am I most proud of and why?
- What do I need to be doing differently to ensure my continued success?
- What are repeated barriers that are standing in my way to succeeding? How can I bullet-proof them?
- How can I Â high-five myself for a job well done?
- What is the next behavior I want to tackle and why?
My new favorite quote is from the book You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. I think it pretty much sums up goal setting perfectly, âThere is nothing as unstoppable as a freight train full of fuck-yeahs.â
In conclusion, hone your goal setting skills, take your health seriously, DO what you need to be successful, invest in yourself, practice your ass off, fail, fall down, but above all get right back up. Repeat đ
Hugs & High Fives,
P.S. Having a hard time getting back up? Heck we have all been there! Feel free to reach out to the dietitians at The Plano Program to set up a consult to help get you on track to where you want to be going.
P.P.S. Love yourself – you are capable of anything.
by Amy Plano | Feb 11, 2019 | General Nutrition, goal setting, healthy eating, meal prep
SO if you know me at all – you know that I love to cook! Therefore, it is no surprise that one of my favorite websites is called The Kitchn. If you have not checked it out it is a fun website geared towards the home cook. They offer articles on everything from cool new gadgets to Whole-30 compliant recipes. It is a food dorkâs black hole. Therefore, please be warned you can really get lost on the site đ Most importantly, their latest and greatest resource? A weekly newsletter aimed at
healthy meal prep.
Sign. Me. Up.
In January of this year The Kitchn started offering a FREE
Meal Prep Newsletter in which they send out a weekly email that features doable plans and helpful recipes so you can prep, cook, and eat for the week ahead. The best part – they think of the healthy recipes so you don’t have to.
Free newsletter with healthy meal prep options? Sign me up!
Most importantly did I mention this newsletter is FREE – delivered straight to your inbox đ If that is not a win – then I don’t know what is.
You Know YOU Wanna
Above all in my heart of hearts, I honestly feel like most people want to eat healthy. However, I also feel like most people donât take the time to do the necessary things to set themselves up to succeed – like meal prep. Call it laziness. Call lack of focus. Call it whatever you want. Most people have solid nutrition goals – they just choose NOT to make them a priority.
Photo credit: Wooden Earth Cutlery
A couple of weeks ago we talked about the importance of goal setting. We actually used the example of meal prep. If you need a little refresher on goal setting click here for the full details. Success means not only shopping for the right foods but also engaging in meal prep. Furthermore, I think this quote pretty much sums up successful meal prep.
 âSuccess is where preparation and opportunity meet.â — Bobby Unser
Therefore, when you and your family are 50 shades of “hangry” there is awesome, tasty, healthy food available.
Just Do It
So I encourage you to sign up for this newsletter. I think it could be very helpful. A resource like this has the potential to provides SO many things – inspiration, focus, motivation and even a definitive answer for the age old question, “What’s for dinner?” And after all, who does not want to learn how to cook fast, shop smart, and eat well? I know this chick does!
Need Additional Inspiration?
Sorry there is no other way to put it. I am a Pinterest whore. I simply ℠Pinterest.
Sometimes I just want to look at pretty food. Is that too much to ask?
So if you need a little ‘pick me up’ or a bit of inspiration follow my modest Meal Prep Pinterest board. Also if you are just looking for suggestions for dinner please follow my main pinterest board with all sorts of healthy dinner options! I have over 2000 healthy recipes Amy Plano approved đ Get your eat on!
Hugs & High Fives,
by Amy Plano | Feb 4, 2019 | goal setting, healthy eating
So last week we talked about the importance of goal setting. And guess what? This week we are going to continue the conversation. It is really that important.
Like I mentioned there are what I like to consider five key steps to goal setting to ensure your success.
Sooooo … last week we hammered the importance of step 1 – defining super duper CLEAR goals. We talked at length about how to clearly define your nutrition goals. How could you forget right? Remember I asked you to tattoo the acronym S.M.A.R.T on your wrist? Kidding! But just in case you need a refresher you can catch up here. But no worries – no tattooing this week, I promise.
Establish a realistic game plan
This week we are going to chat about the importance of coming up with a clear, realistic and effective game plan for your nutrition goals. This game plan will represent the exact steps you need to do to tackle your goals.
It is here, in this step, that we take the S.M.A.R.T goals we have defined and add an actionable component. Without this very important piece you will be likely left spinning your wheels.Â
So letâs use the goal of meal prepping. We came up with this S.M.A.R.T goal last week:
I will meal prep 1.5 hours every Sunday and Wednesday for the next month.
We made sure our goal was specific, that it was measurable, attainable, realistic and was time-sensitive. So this plan sounds great in theory, right? It looks good on paper, but how can we make sure we accomplish it?
Break your goal into bite size pieces
Well, we need to break down the goal into smaller steps. We need to identify EACH step that needs to be completed in order for us to be successful. Â Then we need to come up with a game plan surrounding these actions.
Sweat the small things – the details matter
With a goal like meal prepping here are some of the questions you may need to ask yourself to âfleshâ out the mandatory steps to ensure your success.
Exactly what am I going to eat for the week? Breakfast? Lunch? Dinners? Snacks?
What specific food do I already have on hand that I should use up?
Exactly when and where am I going to grocery shop?
You have to get very specific. For each question there should be a very finite answer. No matter how clear your goal is – unless you outline the necessary steps there is just too much room for error.
It’s go-time
So the game plan might look like this:
I would highly suggest putting all of this in writing. Write out your menu. Print or electronically save your recipes. I have a board in Pinterest called âdinnersâ (yes, super creative!) that you are more than welcome to follow for inspiration. I also have a board called âMeal Prepâ that you might find equally as helpful. Write in your schedule exactly when you will go grocery shopping.
The more specific you get with your actions the increased likelihood of you connecting with your goals. Creating clear concrete goals is important. But coming up with game plan is equally as important.
Need help creating a game plan for your nutrition goals? The dietitians at The Plano Program are here to help. Click here to schedule your 60 minute initial consultation.
Hugs & High Fives,
P.S. Got tips for meal prepping? Leave them in the comments below. After all, who does not love a good meal prep hack?
