Thank you for checking out The Community Conversation, brought to you by Prototype Training Systems, home of CrossFit Prototype! This episode of The Community Conversation is a NUTRITION EDITION! Typically, The Community Conversation highlights a different member of the Prototype Community each week and allows them to tell their story, share their life experience, and communicate their perspective on all things fitness. For this episode, we have two of our Prototype Nutrition Coaches dropping some Nutrition knowledge bombs!
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For this nutrition edition of the Community Conversation, Prototype Nutrition Coach Jon Collette and Prototype Nutrition’s Registered Dietitian, Sam Hally will be talking about NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. If you’re looking to learn more about nutrition for yourself or pick up some tips, you will want to check this out!
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Jon 0:04
Thank you for joining the community conversation. Sam and I are back with another nutrition episode. And this is a New Year’s Special. So this one is all about setting new year’s resolutions that, you know, maybe helpful in the sense of how to actually set a new year’s resolution, how to actually set up, set your goals, so you can actually follow through with them. So, Sam, you want to explain what smart goals are?
Sam 0:34
Yeah, okay. So, SMART goals are like a way to think about goal setting where SMART is an acronym, it stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time sensitive. So you’re not just like putting something out into the open of like, I’m going to drink more water, it’s like, you have to kind of like really give more details about it. Rather than just like putting it out into the universe and hoping it’s going to happen. Instead of being like, Yes, I will drink more water that like gives no, you no foundation for like how to do it, or what you’re going to do. So then you would like specify more of like, I will drink more than 64 ounces of water every single day for like, three out of the four days of the week. You know, like so you kind of like, hone in on the details of the goal and so called SMART goals, because one, it’s a good acronym and two more smart to go about them that way, because you’re more likely to follow them. John, like how do you see resolutions working? Like, do you have a lot of clients that make resolutions? And like, How successful are they with their resolutions?
Jon 1:46
Um, a lot of times we’ve already we’ve already been, we’ve already kind of set goals before New Year’s like we haven’t waited for New Year’s to happen to start doing. But I feel like when people do set, New Year’s resolutions are often pretty vague. Or they’re not. I mean, what you just said with the time sensitive, so specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time sensitive, if you have a goal that you want to lose weight, or you have a goal that you want to, I don’t know, eat less sugar, there has to be it has to be like way more specific to that. And there has to be like, how is that? Like? Why are those things like important why? And like, why do you want that? Like as like, why is that goal? What it is like if you want to eat less sugar, like what is the purpose behind that, make it more like specific in like break it down. So like if someone wanted to, let’s say someone wanted to lose weight, a more specific way to set that would be, I want to lose 10 pounds in the next three months. Because then it would be actually something that is achievable, it’s appropriate, it’s not unrealistic. Now you have like a timeline for how you’re going to do it, then you need to have a plan. That’s kind of what a lot of people also struggle with too, is they don’t really have a plan. It might even have something that’s specific when they don’t have a plan to do it. Or the plan is something that they can’t really see themselves being able to do consistently. So that’s where, you know, kind of a lot of other factors would come in when you when you’re setting a goal is what’s realistic for you know, so maybe instead of you know, I want to stop eating at restaurants maybe make it realistic me say you’re only going to eat out once a week instead of like doing something that’s like an all or nothing type of like how do you how do you think about those types of things when when you set goals or trying to help someone set a goal?
Sam 3:58
Yeah, I Well, first of all, I love that you said like you don’t wait for the new year to like set a goal because like the literally the only difference between January 1 and December 31 is like the numbers have changed. Like it’s not like a whole new experience. Like I hate the saying New Year New you because it’s like, you don’t need to wait January 1 And to make changes in life. It’s like when you’re when you’re making the plan, right? And I think like losing weight is a perfect example because I feel like that’s what we hear all the time of like my New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, or like my New Year’s resolution is to fit into this clothing item right? But those like aren’t specific enough, those might not be realistic, and they’re certainly not time sensitive because people want to lose weight in like three weeks and that is literally never a good idea. I’m going to tell you right now that like three weeks is not a good timeframe for weight loss if that is one of your goals, but sometimes Like your goal setting isn’t necessarily going to be around like the end goal, right. So like, what I mean by that is if weight loss is your goal, that’s like, fine and dandy, but maybe the goal actually is to like, do that by increasing your vegetable intake is to do that by reducing your excess snacking after dinner. Maybe your goal is to do that by drinking more water instead of sugar sweetened beverages, right. And so like, yes, there might be this big overarching goal, but you can set smaller, more attainable goals that help you get to that major goal. And so part of setting goals is don’t take like the, the biggest thing that you can find, and set that as your goal like it is smarter to make smaller, more manageable goals that will get you there. It’s like stepping stones to success, as opposed to just being like, I’m going to lose weight this year. Because like, literally, I don’t know the statistic. And I meant to look it up before we before we talked about this week. But it’s literally something like 50% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the end of January, like people just don’t do them anymore. And it’s because nothing specific and there’s no there’s no plan behind it. It’s like losing weight. That’s great if that’s your goal. But that’s not that’s not a SMART goal in any way. But saying like eating a vegetable, every single meal is a SMART goal, right? Like that’s a little bit more manageable, and it’ll help you get to that major goal. does sound like kind of stuff you were,
Jon 6:32
you’re just kind of like, you know, like working on the habits that are actually going to make that goal happen. Yeah, there’s like, I mean, one of the things that I hear all the time that people do in January is like dry January, which I absolutely hate, because it’s just another reason to like, okay, like, you don’t drink for 30 days. But then why? Like is isn’t that big of an issue to begin with? Like, or, like, do you just when you do drink, you just drink? Again, access? Like can can you like, figure out how to do it last instead of like completely getting rid of it at all. By the way, if you’re an alcoholic, I’m not saying like, hey, like you’ve made the wrong choice. I’m using the example of people that do eliminations on anything like I’m gonna do 30 days, no sugar, 30 days, no alcohol, whatever it is, that’s definitely going to give you results if your goal is weight loss, but it’s not the way to go about it in the sense of if you wanted to actually be able to maintain your goals. So it sandwiches hide mountains, like you need to create habits that are actually going to help you get there. And that’s all part of like the goal setting is and part of the plan is what are the what are the small things that you need to do in order for that big goal to happen. And if you also make your goals shorter, like let’s say you’re like, Okay, I want to do this in the next 12 weeks. Cool, then you need to reassess your goals and continue instead of being like, I want to lose 100 pounds this year. If you that’s like that’s that that could certainly happen if if if they if you needed to have 100 pounds to lose, you have 100 pounds to lose, right? Maybe I should say like 50 pounds um, if that was like your long term goal, it would definitely be easier to not think about how far you have to go just think about like, like what’s the saying like just take one step at a time, like really small like achievable goals and then like think of those as like checkpoints to be able to get you to your to your long term goal and along the way of getting to your long term goal is where you need to work on the habits that allow you to achieve that goal. Instead of doing something that you got to your goal you wanted to lose 30 pounds you lost 30 pounds but you learned nothing you did something that was very unsustainable made you not feel great. And then you slowly reverted back to your old habits so it’s what you’re doing along the way is also just as important as getting to whatever destination you’re trying to get to
Sam 9:14
yeah
oh so beautiful John, so inspiring. There actually is a saying it’s like a Confucius saying and I don’t know it off the top of my head. But something about like a journey starts with a single step. I should I should be better read when I go into these because it would really make it sound a whole lot better. You start off what? Confucius it’s a Confucius state. Oh, yeah. Yeah, but it’s not what I said. It’s very it’s much more prophetic than what I said. Before you don’t just like jump into the deep end pool if you don’t know how to swim, right like it’s like you got to take baby steps to get anywhere in life like you don’t just like wish to become a millionaire And then like, wait for it to happen. It’s like the same thing with any of your your, like other life goals. And that’s why New Year’s resolutions just don’t don’t make sense. It’s like so
Jon 10:11
funny like, either way. I don’t know why, but I just thought of like, I just thought I just thought of like Riley and like, I don’t think I think people set these unrealistic expectations for themselves. Like it just popped in my head like a matter of I was just like alright, Riley start walking, instead of being like, okay, like, first let’s go ahead and crawl. And then let’s start the balance on our feet. And then let’s take our first step, and then we’ll start to walk and we’ll start to run, instead of just being like, let’s just run right to that. And you’re like, you haven’t figured out anything yet. So you’re like you’re rushing things way too much, that you’re just gonna not be successful.
Sam 10:53
Right? Anyway, you know, it sounds ridiculous when you’re like, Okay, I’m taking my like, one year old child and like making them run a mile like that would that would be done. That would also make you a really
Jon 11:02
slow progression. If we Yeah, if you put like, think about analogy in the gym, like if you want to do double unders, but you can’t do single unders yet. Why are you trying to do double unders like, first need to do singles, and then you need to get your first double under and then you need to, you know, work on stringing together three before you work on before you worry about stringing together 100 in a row. Like those same progressions happen with like your habits and things like that they take a lot of repetitions in order for those things to become something that become really easy to you. Yeah, no longer like a perfect example. Because like double unders, you have to think a lot about it when you’re first trying to learn it. But eventually, you want it to be something that you can go ahead and do without really having to think so much about your, like your patterns and like your, you know, your, your technique, it should just be kind of like, it’s just your I don’t know, you just Oh, yeah, it’s like your new default. Exactly. It’s just you, you don’t have to think so much badges on the you know how to do. Yeah, harder to go ahead and explain that to someone? Well, you know, I just like do this. And like, I don’t get that. Well, let’s start here. Let’s start working on just like jumping in place. Yeah, little things like that can be applied.
Sam 12:25
That’s such a good analogy, too. Because I think like, if you use that as an example to because that seems a little more concrete to the people we we see on a regular basis. And probably like all five people who are listening to this podcast like if let’s do Delvaux under example, right, like you want to get double unders in 2021. Like let’s walk through the process of setting a SMART goal. Okay, so make it specific, like I want to string together 50 double unders. Measurable? Well, you already did that in the first part, right? Like 50, double unders in a row is my goal. Great s&m checked off. The A is achievable. Like, can you do that? Like, do you have a broken leg? Maybe 50? double unders, is not your, your goal. Like that is not an achievable goal. Like let’s just try to rehab your leg. First,
Jon 13:12
you have legs?
Sam 13:13
Do you have legs? Right? I’ve seen people double under us. And you’ve seen those videos. But right, so like, Is it achievable? Is it actually something that you’d like, you know, you can do? Or are you setting yourself up for failure? Because you don’t want to do that either? Then is it realistic? Right? Is 50 double unders realistic? Like you get winded walking a mile? If the answer to that is yes, maybe 50 double unders is not realistic for you right now. Maybe getting a double under is realistic right now maybe being able to walk a mile without being out of breath is realistic right now. But does it make sense for you? So now we’ve done s Ma, R, all we have left is t time sensitive. And so that’s where you say, Okay, I don’t just want to do this in 20. I’ve been saying 2021 I mean, 2022. This entire time we’ve been talking, I’ve been saying 2021. And I mean 2022. But in 2022, I want to get 50 double unders like that’s just like a hypothetical. And this is what happens every year with the open is people say like, oh, by the next open, I’m just going to be able to do double unders, right? And then you never dedicate time to do it, and then you never practice it. And then you don’t do them in the workout because you want to go faster. And then all of a sudden, we’re back into March and then you don’t have double unders. So it’s the same thing. You can’t just say I want to do double unders in 2022. You have to say, okay, like, by the end of January, I want to be able to do my first double. And then by February, I’d like to string together. And then by June, I want to be able to do 50 in a row, even if it’s not consistent. And then by December I want to be able to do 50 in a row every single time I pick up my job, right and so like that’s what we mean by time sensitive, have put put a deadline to it. It doesn’t need to be a hard and fast deadline, but it can’t just be like I’m going to do it eventually because eventually is never going to come. This happens every year, it’s open. And someone says, Man, I wish I practice that. And then we say, darn next year. And then does next year ever happen like no. And that’s why New Year’s resolutions fail, it’s because you don’t put any details on to what the goal is. So I think like double unders is a perfect example of like how to set that goal. And your your goals might be gym related, it might be nutrition related, it might be life related, like it might not have anything to do with the stuff we do here. It might be a little less measurable, it might be stuff like spend more time with your family, or like spend more time meditating where like you can focus on your mental health, like those are important goals too. And they don’t necessarily fall into smart goals because they’re not as specific. But still put as much specificity to what you’re setting your goals as and then they’re more likely to be successful. New Year’s resolutions, that’s an air quotes to anyone who’s listening. Because I don’t think you need to wait for the new year to do something new or special. Right?
Jon 15:59
I mean, if you like some of those goals, do you can even make, like smart tested like, do you want to spend time or time with your family could even just be like, you know, I want to make sure that I can eat dinner with my family three times a week. You know. But I think the point is that, like, if it’s if it is like too, if it is too vague, then it’s gonna be really hard to know whether or not you’re actually succeeding or not, or making making progress. But we always say in the gym, lager stuff in the computer, because if you don’t log your workouts, you’re not going to know what you did last time. If you vanished one last week, and you didn’t log your stuff, and you have no idea what you did. How do you know that you’re getting stronger, you know, it’s harder to be able to tell just based off of feel all the time, like, Oh, I feel stronger. That’s great. But if you don’t have any type of like, you know, any type of data, you might kind of be, you know, a little frustrated with not quite understanding like what like what the issue is, if you have like a, like some, some some type of data to go along with it. And it’s much easier to, you know, know whether or not you’re on track to succeeding your long term goal.
Sam 17:10
Yeah. Which is also why we always come around and ask, What’s your plan? What are you hoping to get to today? Because we lost the progression? For sure, not just making small talk. John, do you have anything else to say about smart goals or New Year’s resolutions or just general like success with goals in life?
Jon 17:32
Um, if you’re listening, I’d like you guys to respond to the email that has this on it. And let us know what your New Year’s resolution is. And we’ll give you some feedback on whether or not we think that that is smart, tested or not. And we can help you set that goal. Or we’d be happy to even sit down with you if you have no idea what your goals are. 2022 is right around the corner. So
Sam 17:59
yeah, like a day and a half away. I literally don’t even know if this week. I don’t know how far away from the New Year we are.
Jon 18:06
Well, we’re recording this on Wednesday. So yeah. was New Year’s on Saturday. So yeah,
Sam 18:12
yeah. And like good plug, I think, right, we’re doing the level of 45 challenge again. Yep. about building habits and like setting goals. So that might be something that’s really good to the people who have listened to this podcast, like that might be like the accountability that you need to be successful in reaching those goals. So put that on your radar. Keep that in mind and definitely respond like John said to this email that I will be sending you and that no one reads but it’s okay. Yeah, let us know what you what you want to set as your goal or set as your intention. And maybe we can help you out with that. And if you got nothing else, John them and I think we can wrap up this, this whole Shindig. So thank you, whoever listened all the way to the end of this as usual, reach out if you have any questions or concerns. And if you have future topic ideas, please do let us know. Thank you so much, and also have a wonderful new year. Bye