Who needs reality? How goals go from crazy to SMART.

Today's blog brought to
you by the letter R!

One more lesson in goal achievement!  Today we're going to hunker down and focus on the R in SMART goals.  As you know already, SMART goals are those that are Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic, and Time-bound.  The R gets me every time...my eyes tend to be a little bigger than my stomach when I set goals, so I have a hard time accepting the reality of what my goals should be.

You see, when I sit down to make goals, I almost immediately jump to the physical manifestation of what I want my goals to provide: a totally excellent bod. 

And by totally excellent bod, I mean this:

Yes. I want to look like a comic book character. I'd be willing to bet that most people do on some level, eh?  I realized it a few years ago when actually reading a comic and finding myself strategizing ways to force my body into emulating what I saw drawn on the page: a petite, teeny-tiny waisted, lean and muscular nymph of a girl who balanced the forces of evil and swooning boys all in a day's work. It was a total fantasy, and once I snapped out of it and realized that I was, in fact, not a nymph but actually a 34-year old mom who needed to unload the dishwasher and make lunches for the next day, well I'll be honest I felt a little defeated.

But anyway, back to the goal setting part.  When I started realizing that I was spending a lot of time trying to make my body become something that defies the laws of physics, I started dissecting my goals to make them more realistic without sacrificing what I really knew I wanted. In other words, I refused to take no for an answer but was willing to negotiate. :)  No, I wasn't going to travel back in time and freeze my growth (and metabolism) at age 18, but I could develop some of the attributes of those comics girls that I admired, like strength, agility, and a bad-ass attitude.  I've succeeded!  I may not have illustration-worthy proportions but I do sometimes feel like I can lift a small building or out-run a freight train. 

The point is that while SMART goals are realistic goals, any goal worth pursuing has some basis in fantasy. We're surrounded by inspiration at every turn: media outlets constantly project unrealistic ideals that trigger the creation of unrealistic goals every day.  I suggest that rather than reject that, we build on it.  Swoon over your goals, fantasize about them, and even draw them out on paper if you want to.  Embrace what you really want.  Then, dissect.  Get down to the meat of what that visual goal represents to you. For me, it was strength, speed, and a functional (and kick-ass) body. That's where we get real.  That's where we get realistic goals.
   

You don't have to abandon your goals just because they're unrealistic. That's where incredible goals start!  Think up something crazy today, and turn it into a SMART goal.

Two of my good friends write the brilliantly inspired blog, Girls Gone Geek, which supplies plenty of inspiration for someone in the market for super powers.  Check it out.

I could use a sidekick.

Introducing Erika

I am so so so so so proud of my wonderful friend and client, Erika, and am up on the rooftops shouting about her wild success as a clean eater.  Everyone who asks me about eating clean, every person who tells me they want my help getting healthy, and every friend who knows in their gut what to do but just hasn't worked up the gumption to do it....read Erika's story.  I've asked her to share it in her own words, which she has done beautifully (and I'm not just saying that because she says I am awesome, LOL).

Erika, over to you!

Take it from someone who’s been dieting in some form or another for more than 25 years: Heather Fuselier is the best lifestyle/wellness coach a woman (or man) could have, and if you’re willing to do the work, she will change your life. But first, she’ll shut down every excuse — and I mean every excuse — you have for not achieving your goals. That’s what she did for me. The result? At age 40, I’ve lost more than 73 pounds, and I’m 10.5 pounds away from my goal weight.



When I met Heather, I was carrying 224 pounds (an all-time high) on my 5’4” frame. I’d always been overweight, but I was now at a point where my joints and feet hurt constantly, and I was miserable. As a working mother then in my late 30s, I didn’t exactly have time, circumstances or even genetics on my side. I was ready to take responsibility my health and start changing my body, but I didn’t really know where to begin.

With her trademark combination of compassion and toughness, Heather helped me cut through the clutter of diet and fitness mythology (Just take the stairs!) and negative self-talk. First, she helped me clean up my eating and disabused me of the notion that nutritionally bankrupt food qualified as a “treat” or a “reward.”

Whenever I complained or felt deprived, Heather listened patiently, reassured me that the feeling would pass, and then asked me if I’d planned my workouts for the week. It’s not that she didn’t sympathize, because she knows from personal experience how hard it is to ignore the siren scent of waffle fries. But if I was seeking an enabler, I’d come to the wrong place.

When I moved on to complaining about the workouts, she reminded me that a) changing your body through regular, vigorous exercise is supposed to be challenging and that b) I would never regret completing a workout. I couldn’t run for a full minute 18 months ago. Thanks to Heather’s guidance and encouragement, I completed a 3K before my 40th birthday. Since then, I’ve completed a difficult-course 5K, and running has become my cardio of choice. I’m certainly not breaking any time or distance records, but as someone who always thought of running as something far beyond my capability, finishing a 30-minute run — and enjoying it — makes me feel like a gold medalist.

Losing weight hasn’t been the gimmicky, quick-and-easy process I always dreamed of. But even when I didn’t believe in myself, Heather did — and it made all the difference. I am thinner and in better shape than I was at 30. I no longer leave clothing stores in tears or avoid being photographed. Most of all, I like setting a good example for my kids, who now have two healthy, active parents.

When I began this journey in earnest, Heather promised me that the short-term discomfort of pushing myself would be worth it in the long run. She was right, and I can’t thank her enough.

— Erika D. Peterman

Heather's Note: Not only is Erika is a clean-eating wellness champ, she is also one of the hilarious and kicky women of Girls Gone Geek, a highly entertaining comic book blog, as well as the writer of I Don't Read My Blog Either, where she never fails to crack me up with her commentary on pop culture as she sees it. Check her out!