How to Set SMART Goals for 2026

Setting new goals at the beginning of a fresh year can be a great way to move toward healthy growth for you and your family. Perhaps you've set goals in the past and while made with the best intentions to follow through, found yourself giving up after just a few weeks. While setting goals can seem easy, following through can be much more difficult. If you're determined to make 2026 the year you find success in reaching your goals, keep reading below for some evidenced-based strategies.

Following the principles of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely) goals can be a real game changer in making hopes for personal growth a reality. We'll go step-by-step on how to make our goals SMART.

Be Specific

For our first step in goal setting we want to be specific/clear about what it is we are wanting to accomplish. The more specific the goal, the easier it will be for us to target our approach in reaching it, as well as be able to determine the progress we have made. As an example, say we desire for our family to eat healthier this year, which is a wonderful, however, quite vague goal. We might make that goal more specific by outlining a detailed way we will help our family eat healthier. Our specific goal might sound something like this,"I will serve vegetables more often at lunch and dinner." We now have included the specific way we want to help our family eat healthier (by serving more vegetables at lunch and dinner) and can build a targeted plan on how to make that happen.

Make it Measurable

Our second step in this process is making our goal measurable. Right now our goal is specific about what we need to do to, serve vegetables more often at meals, but saying "more often" does not give us a measurable number to achieve in order to be successful. Adding a numerical piece to this goal, such as "I will serve at least 1 vegetable at lunch and dinner each day," is both specific and measurable.

Ensure it's Attainable/Achievable

Step three of this process includes being realistic that our goal is attainable/achievable. This step reminds us that our goal should be something we hold the skills, ability, and power to accomplish. For instance, it would not be an attainable goal to say, "I am going to increase the amount of vegetables my family eats at lunch and dinner to make my family eat healthier," as one person cannot control what and how much food others choose to put in their body. As a parent in the home, you can, however, control what is being served at meals. Additionally, we want to set goals that are realistic in regards to our everyday lives and avoid setting ourselves up for failure. Is it realistic that I can maintain serving a vegetable at lunch and dinner every single day? Will there likely be some off days this is not realistic to maintain? Making unrealistic goals discourages us and is one of the biggest reasons we fail to reach and maintain the goals we set. Goals should provide a challenge without feeling daunting. Giving ourselves a little grace can go a long way and remember, consistency is key, not perfection (which we can never reach no matter how hard we try!). With this in mind, we might alter our goal example to: "I will serve at least 1 vegetable at lunch and dinner at least 5 days per week."

Keep it Relevant

Next we want to think about whether our goal is relevant. With this step we want to consider what we're ultimately trying to accomplish through this goal and ensure the end result is in line with our values/desires. For our example goal we know we want to set this goal as part of our desire for our family to eat healthier. Therefore, we could alter our goal to include our ultimate motivation behind it by adding: I will serve at least 1 vegetable at lunch and dinner at least 5 days per week to help my family eat healthier." Now our goal also outlines the bigger picture driving it.

Add a Time Table

Last but not least is Time-Bound/Timely. This step includes putting a desired time table on when the goal should be achieved and/or how long it should be kept before reevaluating. Adding a time component to our goal helps motivate us to get started on meeting our goal whereas having our start and complete dates vague or empty can leave us unmotivated and tempted to always put off starting until "tomorrow" (which never actually comes!). When setting our time table for completion, we really want to also consider what's realistic, how long it may take for us to overcome any obstacles around making our goal happen, as well as what length of time will keep us most motivated. For our example goal we might go with something like, "Starting on Monday, I will serve at least 1 vegetable at lunch and dinner at least 5 days per week for 1 month to help my family eat healthier." We may choose a start date that gives us a push to go ahead and begin working on our goal but also provide us enough time to purchase the materials (vegetables) we need if not already on hand. Our short-term maintenance goal of 1 month does not mean we only want to keep up our goal for 1 month, but instead provides a motivational check point to prevent us from forgetting about our goal or becoming apathetic, while also providing us with the opportunity to reflect on how challenging or simple making this change has been. If we reach 1 month and feel serving a vegetable with lunch and dinner has been a breeze and is resulting in our family eating more vegetables in turn, we may decide to continue focusing on maintaining this new behavior until it becomes a more ingrained habit and/or add a new goal to our plate. On the flip-side, if we reach the one month mark and feel meeting the goal has been really challenging, or perhaps we've not been completely successful, we may think through what's been a barrier and how we can set ourselves up for more success over the next month. Perhaps we've struggled having time to prepare the vegetables for meals and could benefit from finding and writing out 3 easy go-to veggies to serve when time is tight, such as baby carrots with guac, frozen broccoli steamed in microwave with shredded cheese, and raw sliced sweet peppers with tzatziki sauce. Or maybe remembering to buy enough vegetables at the store for meals has been our hang-up. In that case we may realize we need to start making out a grocery list before we shop to be more successful.

Bonus Tips for Success

Additional components that can further help make our SMART goals a reality include writing out an action plan. This plan will include what all is needed in order to reach our goal-with our example this would include having vegetables on hand, might be new vegetables recipes, additional time at meals to prep, etc. The action plan should also include a list of potential barriers that may arise and how we can move past them.

Including an accountability partner in goal making has also been proven to significantly impact success. Consider someone else who may be working on a similar goal now or has successfully in the past who can help motivate and cheer you on. Set up consistent check in times to keep the momentum going strong. For setting nutrition related goals, and especially those which are more complex and challenging to complete on your own, working with a Registered Dietitian can be a major game-changer. Dietitians are trained not only in nutrition but also in goal setting and behavioral change and can provide professional guidance, encouragement, and consistent accountability. If you'd like professional help in reaching your goals this year, contact Marvelously Made Nutrition Counseling via our Contact tab or send an email to Melissa@marvelouslymadenutritioncounseling.com to get started today.

Melissa L. Warwick, MS, RDN, CSP, LDN

Marvelously Made Nutrition Counseling LLC

January 2026