Are you a person with diabetes? If yes, you must always maintain your fitness as you know that exercise is a great way to help control your diabetes condition. Not only that, but by having a regular fitness routine, you can save money on your health and life insurance with diabetes premiums.
However, commitment to the idea of being fit is not enough. This is because you may have a hard time understanding where to begin the process and how to establish goals. But don’t worry as this article will describe 5 important factors you must consider to ensure your fitness goals are meaningful.
SMART Goals
When it comes to setting up meaningful fitness goals with diabetes, the best method you can use is to make them SMART. It should be noted that SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. Below, we will explain what each word means.
- Specific – This refers to keeping the goal simple, important, and reasonable. You should avoid making it vague and unclear as this can make it difficult for you to achieve it.
- Measurable – Measurable means that the goal is something you can measure. Being measurable guarantees that your goal is motivating and significant.
- Achievable – It is also important to make the goal achievable. Although this doesn’t mean it should be too easy for you to achieve, it should be something you can attain if you put in the right effort.
- Relevant – While this may seem obvious to you, you must ensure your goal is relevant. In other words, it is vital that the goal is reasonable, realistic, and result-oriented.
- Time Bound – You must have a time frame for the goal. Establishing your goal within a time limit will motivate you to work towards achieving it.
Creating SMART Fitness Goals
1. Specific
Melissa Thompson of Diabetes Life Solutions notes “The first thing you have to do is to create clear and specific goals. Write this down to remind yourself everyday what your goals are. By doing this, you will understand what you intend to attain and why it is important. Also, please make sure your fitness goals are obtainable and realistic.”
Here are some questions that you can answer to clarify this first step:
- What would I like to achieve?
- What is its importance?
- Who will be included to attain the goal?
- Where will I take action?
- Which resources and/or restrictions do I need to achieve this goal?
2. Measurable
You must ensure your specific goal can be measured. The essence of creating a measurable goal is to guarantee proper monitoring of your progress, remain motivated, and understand the level of the work you have to do. By finding answers to the following questions, you will be able to have a measurable goal:
- How much? (In terms of calories, weight, etc.)
- How long? (In terms of the day, week, etc.)
- How do I decide that my goal has been met?
3. Achievable
At this point, you have to refine your goal so that it can be as useful and effective as possible. In the beginning, it is often easy for people to create unrealistic goals that look amazing on paper. However, this will only demotivate you as time goes on. To avoid this problem, you must create an achievable goal by answering these important questions:
- What do I need to do to achieve this goal?
- What are the challenges associated with attaining this goal?
- Are there any financial issues that will stop me from attaining this goal?
- Does my past prove my ability to achieve this goal?
- Does my current schedule and energy deter me from attaining this goal?
4. Relevant
Have you ever created a goal but discovered after a few days or weeks that achieving it is not important to you? To avoid wasting lots of time, you must ensure that your goal is relevant from the start. You must ask yourself the following questions to understand whether your goal is relevant or not:
- Is this the appropriate means to approach enhancing my health?
- Would my doctor approve of this method?
- Is achieving this specific goal worth my time and effort?
5. Time Bound
Last but not least, you need to ponder if the specific goal is time-bound or not. At this point, you need to choose a target date that the goal must have been attained. By making your goal time-bound, you will remain motivated without slacking off. To make your goal time-bound, you must ask yourself these vital questions:
- When must I have completed this goal?
- What steps can I take to break this goal down into tasks that can be managed and tracked easily? (this should be based on day, week, month, and so on)
Conclusion
Are you creating fitness goals? Would you like to set business goals? Whatever goals you are setting, it is vital to ensure that they are SMART. In the event you’re not sure where to start, maybe check out a website such as Glucose Zone.
So, you must consider all factors highlighted above and add them to your goal setting. This is to ensure that your goals will be relevant, meaningful, and possible to achieve. Without a doubt, this is the only way for you to complete the goal and make yourself healthier.