Having excellent health is a matter of choice. Barring unforeseen circumstances or medical issues, we all want to stay in control of your health.  Often we become too busy focusing on our career, finances, and family that our own personal health may get placed on the backburner. We may not be able to carve out sufficient time to think about our health goals and establish a sustained plan on how to achieve our goals.  

Book an appointment with Dr. Payal Bhandari, M.D. to formulate attainable health goals.

Health Goals

Many of us wish to have the following health goals throughout our lives:

• To enjoy excellent health
• To live a long life
• To have high levels of energy and vitality
• To be free from pain and illness
• To follow a nutritious diet
• To manage stress better
• To be physically more active
• To manage weight better
• To never get sick

It takes work each and every day to actually achieve our health goals.  Our first priority in setting our goals is being honest with yourself as to where we are at the moment, where we want to be, and what we need to do to reach our goals. Since it is sometimes difficult to phrase our health goals, use the SMART guide below to help you through the process.

SMART Approach

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Specific: Don’t be too vague when setting goals.  Define what the goal is, how to accomplish the goal, and why is the goal important. For instance, if you want to run a race, your goal needs to specify the distance you want to run, why you want to run this race, how you are going to train for this race, and where time is carved out in your life to plan for the racing training along with other aspect of self-care (i.e, good nutrition & hydration, sufficient rest) each day to adequately achieve your goal.  

Measurable: It is important to keep track of your progress. Our memory is selective, and we may forget factors like skipping our daily run earlier in the week or having tons of ice cream the night before. Track specific measures in a journal so that you can monitor how you are doing and be more accountable of your actions.

Attainable: Your goal needs to be achievable within your current ability. For example, your length and bone structure dictate your ideal weight. A short and a tall person will have different weight goals, or if you are 60 years of age, you can’t expect to live another 60 years.

Realistic:  Your goals need to be realistic. If you set the bar too high, it will only discourage you if you do not progress at a certain rate. Don’t expect to train for a marathon within a few weeks. Or if you’re in a high-stress job, you can’t expect to be stress-free next week. Slowly work up to your goal.

Time-bound: Set a target date for when you want to reach your goal and break it down further into smaller chunks. For instance, if your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight within six months, work out your target weight for each week as well.

Tips for Reaching Your Health Goals

Making changes in your life is not always easy. Here are some tips to make the journey a bit smoother:

• Find out what your motivation is. Why do you want to reach this specific goal? Are you doing it to please someone else, or are you doing it for yourself? It takes commitment to achieve a goal; understanding why you do something will help you stay strong when it gets tough.
• It takes about a month to form a habit. If you need to wake up an hour earlier each day to go for a jog, the first month will be the most difficult. But if you can stick with it for a month, it will become much easier after that.
• Don’t wait for something to happen to set your goals. Just do it. The longer you delay, the longer it will take to reach your goals.
• Start with one small change at a time. Build your first habit, and once you’re comfortable with it, you’ll have the confidence to tackle the next change. If you try to make too many changes at once, you will be overwhelmed, and it will be easier to give up.
• Write your goals down. Put it on an almanac. Keep it up to date with real achievements.
• Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get it right the first time. We’re all human, and our human nature is fallible. Just get up and try again.
• Negativity can quickly break the spirit. Surround yourself with people that support you and your goals. Join a club of like-minded people or tackle your journey with a friend that wants to reach the same goal.

You will gain more success in achieving your goal if you work with a coach or mentor. Book an appointment with Dr. Payal Bhandari today for guidance in achieving your health goals.

Author

Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. Dr. Payal Bhandari M.D. is one of U.S.'s top leading integrative functional medical physicians and the founder of San Francisco' top ranked medical center, SF Advanced Health. Her well-experienced holistic healthcare team collaborates together to deliver whole-person personalized care and combines the best in Western and Eastern medicine. By being an expert of cell function, Dr. Bhandari defines the root cause of illness and is able to subside any disease within weeks to months. She specializes in cancer prevention and reversal, digestive & autoimmune disorders. Dr. Bhandari received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1997 and Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from West Virginia University. She the completed her Family Medicine residency in 2004 from the University of Massachusetts and joined a family medicine practice in 2005 which was eventually nationally recognized as San Francisco’s 1st patient-centered medical home. To learn more, go to www.sfadvancedhealth.com.