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Micro Goals
Fitness | April 25, 2018
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:
- I will lose an extra 30 pounds this year.
- I will run a marathon, even though I’ve never run before.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Private Member |
mza, argentina
Lovely phrase. Total truth
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
This makes me happy to see! I’ve always loved doing mini-goals just like this! 🙂I absolutely feel like I’ve accomplished something as I can see myself hit the goals along the way! It’s exactly how I’ve been tackling upper body strength for the past few months! Each month, focusing on a different type of pushup, pushing myself to increase my max reps by the end of the month. Each month, so far, I’ve been able to double my reps!!! And I’ve seen the results of my “homework” in the workouts, too! It’s a lot more motivating for me than if I were to just say “by the end of the year, my upper body strength will be better”. Baby steps! 🙂
Private Member |
All good stuff! Meditation is for sure a practice I want to incorporate in addition to my daily workouts in the ZGYM and eating healthy. I don’t have a specific diet with restrictions per se, but I go with the general “avoid processed food and cook at home as much as possible” rule of thumb. Being active also cuts down on cravings for greasy or sugary foods anyway, so that kills two birds with one stone. ANYWAY, having a anxious personality, meditation is hands down my next practice to incorporate regularly. On the rare occasions I did practice it, I always ask myself why am I not doing this everyday!
Private Member |
jacksonville, nc, united states
I think this is a really great reminder. I have a friend who just told me that she’s on a strict diet, counting her calories and only consuming 1200 a day. She has been doing it for a month and a half and not lost 1 lb. She said that she is doing this because she’s anxious and snacking all the time. My mind went straight to “Well, why don’t you fix the anxiety and the eating will follow suit?” I find that all too many times, my friends and family look to restrict themselves instead of going into the microcosm of their emotions and psyche to fix the root problem. It just leads to more suffering if we don’t dig deeper within. Anyway, I have hopes that my friend will read this article and think to maybe readjust her micro goals in order to sustain the macro goals.
Private Member |
yilan city, taiwan, taiwan
I agree with you, get to the root, the anxiety. Personally, 1200 calories post-baby (and nursing) was what my nutritionist/homeopath put me on to lose the baby weight and it just came off pretty quickly. But yes she had me on Gaba and magnesium supplements to calm me down as well.
Private Member |
Geez, 1200 calories a day is almost a starvation diet. Most peoples TDEE is more than that so unless you are comatose or laying in bed all day doing nothing, you can consume more calories than that and still lose weight. I tried living on 1400 a day plus incorporating a workout every day and I felt like I was starving. I stopped counting calories and just started listening to my body and that’s when the weight started to come off and the muscle gains came on. 🙂
Private Member |
astoria, or, usa
I love the reframing the perspective for eating healthier by crowding out the bad by adding in more good! This concept is so brilliant! It’s like when dealing with a toddler, tell them what you want them to do, not what you don’t want them to do. I fail at this diet thing because I’m always saying no this or that or stop eating sugar. Then I want it more! Do you have tips on meditation?? I’ve been curious about it for years but don’t know how to do or it control my thoughts. Guided would be best for me but I don’t know of any good ones.
Private Member |
yilan city, taiwan, taiwan
There are tons of guided meditations on YouTube Becky. Just depends what you’re going for, ie. morning, evening, abundance, Christian, chakra aligning, fear, anxiety, etc, 5 minute, 10 minute, an hour, guided meditations. Just see which voices are the most soothing (male, female, foreign accents.) Personally, I like the following channels: The Mindful Movement, The Honest Guys, and Jason Stephenson.
Private Member |
Hi Becky and Kantikoy!
Another great place to find guided and non-guided meditation is on the Insight Timer app! That’s where I find mine and it’s free! You can also filter by duration so even if you only want 5 minutes, it’s possible. 🙂
Let me know if you try it out!
Mélanie
Private Member |
santiago, chile
Hi Melanie!
I’ve been using Insight Timer APP for a couple of years and I agree with your recommendation, it’s great! You can also filter by “time of the day” and do some meditations in the morning and other in the evening.
Great article, Zuzka, thanks again!
Private Member |
That’s great Karol! I only used it a few times so far, thus my goal to integrated this in my daily routine eventually! How often do you meditate? Do you do guided or not?
Melanie
Private Member |
santiago, chile
Hi Melanie! I try to meditate on a daily basis, but I normally achieve 5 times per week. I do both guided and not guided meditations. Guided ones are easier when you are a beginner or feel a bit anxious and distracted. Using only the timer requires more practice… for me it’s harder so I took a meditation course to help me with that, totally worth it!
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Oh wow, that’s great Karol! Thanks for the info! Have an amazing week! 🙂
Private Member |
santiago, chile
Thanks! Have a great week too!
Private Member |
astoria, or, usa
Thank you both!
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🙂
Private Member |
kauniainen, finland
Insight Timer is so lovely! It really motivates me to meditate, because I look forward to achieving new milestones. 😀 I now have a habit of doing a session every evening after my shower.
Private Member |
Good to know! I have yet to choose an ideal time in my day to meditate! How long have you been meditating for?
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kauniainen, finland
I started with Insight Timer in January. Before that I’ve been doing some guided meditations on YouTube. I love listening to sleep meditations! They really work for me when I’m restless, and make me sleep more deeply. It’s been about one year since I started.
Private Member |
Oh wow that’s great! Keep it up! 🙂 Have an amazing weekend!
Private Member |
I use the CALM app for guided meditations. You can choose guided or unguided meditations. I’ve tried other apps but this one is by far my favorite.
Private Member |
san antonio, texas
Meditation is definitely something I’ve always wanted to incorporate into my life, but found it to be intimidating as my personality can’t sit idle. I know people who meditate daily for an hour ….knowing I can start off with 5 minutes is certainly a great place to start. Thank you Zuzka for opening my eyes! I feel this is doable for me!
Thank Ladies for the guided meditation recommendations, I will check them out for sure!
Private Member |
I totally understand. I have hard time sitting down and relaxing sometimes – I’ve gotten better at it though. The thing with meditation is that it’s not only about being still, it’s also very cleansing for the mind. I always feel refreshed and “lighter”, as if all the weight on my shoulders has disappeared. And during the day, I feel generally more calm and focused, which is great when you have an anxious and jittery personality! Let me know how your experience is when you start getting into it. I definitely recommend you start with guided meditation by the way!
Have a nice weekend!
Private Member |
san antonio, texas
Thank You Melanie….enjoy your weekend !🙂
Private Member |
Thanks!! Have a nice week!
Private Member |
boulder, co
I just recently started meditating. My counselor said to do 30 mins/day for 30 days! Daunting it seemed at first but I did it. And I must say for someone who is always moving, going and doing, it was a relief to give myself 30 mins first thing in the morning to just sit. I have been doing it now for 3 months without fail. My morning just includes it. I feed the kitties, put a load of laundry in, make a cup of tea and light a candle and sit, for 30 mins. I don’t check texts or emails before I start. My mind wanders, I bring it back over and over again without judgement. If this sounds too hard I recommend Headspace. I use this app when I need more help with specific issues. His voice and technique are fantastic. Even the most resistant meditator could meditate to his voice!
What I have noticed is less anxiety and the ability to step back from the swirling drama of life when need be. Meditation offers a choice to be in the drama or out of it. The more you practice the more choice and ability you have to pull back into your breath and consciousness and out of your head. Not sure how I lived so many years without it!
Private Member |
This is a great article! Lately I’ve been struggling with commitment and self-control. This is a great reminder that, although keeping large goals in mind is necessary, smaller goals are what will help me to progress. I think I’ll start with making sure I drink enough water each day, and go from there. I also love this idea of crowding out bad foods; it puts an overarching positive spin on everything, which is definitely helpful! I’m excited to take this approach, and I’d love to start meditating (even for just a few minutes each day). Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! Thank you Zuzka!
Private Member |
austin, texas
Question, is eating ham okay? I know it is processed and has lots of salt. I love meat, I am starting this journey of eating better. Would love your thoughts.
Private Member |
austin, texas
Is it okay while doing your workouts to mix in later in the day, biking riding, walking , etc? I am just starting the bunny slope plan, and find I still have energy. Thoughts?