Setting goals has always been a huge part of health and fitness, with micro goals now leading the trend. Micro goals are easier to manage, which makes them more realistic. Research has shown that breaking big goals into smaller ones- and celebrating them often- increases our dopamine levels. Dopamine is a hormone that motivates us to take action towards our goals. Set a micro goal before the main goal to keep the momentum going and make sure to celebrate every little achievement!

Some of the macro goals I’ve seen include:

1. I will lose an extra 30 pounds this year.

2. I will run a marathon, even though I’ve never run before.

3. I’ve only been eating junk, processed, fast foods and am now going to cut them all out of my diet and stick just to healthy foods.

These are all great goals for the long-term, but if you don’t break them down into smaller pieces, you’ll subconsciously start to expect these long-term level results to happen right now. That’s just a recipe for failure. What helps to banish impatience is changing your mindset and looking at your short-term goals as equally significant ones. Big goals cannot be achieved without the little chunks we can focus on and celebrate daily.

Here are some specific micro goals to focus on in 2018 for optimum health and fitness:

1. Commit to daily exercise. My ZGYM members get daily homework from me in the form of a short, effective workout. If you cannot find at least 12 minutes a day to workout, then look again. Make it a priority, and remember that a little bit of exercise each day goes a long way. You don’t need to work hard, you need to work smart.
2. Crowd out bad foods by adding in healthy foods. Restricting yourself from eating bad foods almost never works. A    more efficient way is to simply add in more vegetables to your diet, cutting down on calories through crowding out the bad foods. You always want to focus on adding healthy foods into your diet instead of only cutting down on the bad foods you’re addicted to. A specific micro goal in this case is to commit to eating 1 or 2 cups of veggies before eating your main meal, or anything else. Soon you’ll find yourself too full to keep eating the bad foods. That’s also a reason to celebrate, so slowly add even more healthy foods into your diet progressively each day.
3. Lower your stress. You can eat all the broccoli and kale in the world and still have a muffin top if you suffer from chronic stress. Commit to short, 5-minute meditations each day. The best time to meditate is right after you wake up. You don’t have to spend 20 minutes focusing on your breath. Short, daily meditation can significantly lower the production of cortisol in only a few weeks, which increases overall brain performance and supports weight loss.

What are some of the micro-goals you think you should be focusing on? I’d love to hear your thoughts!