December 2021

Setting Yourself Up to WIN in 2026

Do New Year's Resolutions Promise the Path to Success?

If you're on the Weight Loss Surgery journey, chances are you've set a New Year's resolution or two around your health. And if you're honest, you've probably set the same ones more than once.

Research consistently shows that the most common resolutions involve losing weight, eating better, and moving more, and yet studies suggest the majority don't make it past the first few months, with many abandoned within the very first week.

So the question isn't whether to set goals, it's whether the way we set them is setting us up to fail.

As a bariatric patient, you're no stranger to the concept of a goal weight, that healthy target where many of the health challenges associated with carrying excess weight may be positively impacted, as guided by your healthcare team. But knowing what you want and knowing how to get there are two very different things. That's where SMART goals come in.

Let's take the average New Year's resolution

"This year is my year — this year I will lose the weight."

Sounds motivating, right? But here's the thing: telling your brain to "lose something" isn't exactly a rallying cry. We're wired to find losing things stressful and to go looking for whatever we've lost.

What we say to ourselves matters. Your goal needs to be positive, specific, and motivating or it simply won't grow legs.

Here's an example:

"This year, I will reach my goal weight of ____kg by October, in time for summer. I will achieve this by making healthier food choices, walking 10,000 steps a day, tracking my progress weekly, and working with my dietitian and support group."

See the difference? It's positive, time-bound, and breaks the big goal into daily and weekly actions. It tells you the who, what, when, and how...and gives you something to actually work towards.

Break It Down

SMART goals are:

Specific - define precisely what you plan to achieve
Measurable - implement a way to track progress (a weekly tracker works well)
Actionable - break it into manageable steps you can do today
Realistic - avoid overhauling everything at once; small changes add up
Time-bound - an end date keeps you focused and motivated

Applying the SMART framework to your health goals gives you a clear process, not just a destination. Many factors come together on the WLS journey, and goal-setting strategies that acknowledge that complexity are the ones that lead to lasting success.

Join us in our New Year: New You Resolutions!

Write down some small resolutions for January, the actions you'll take, and when you'd like to complete them.

The team at BN Healthy wishes you every happiness this festive season. Enjoy your loved ones, create new memories, and take stock of how far you've come.

Jacqui Lewis
BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine