Using the AIM Method with your weight management plan
Goal
Combine your S.M.A.R.T. goals from lesson 5 with the AIM Method to create a plan for success.
Now that you’ve set S.M.A.R.T. goals, we are going to go into more details for creating a clear plan to your overall weight management goal, using a method called “AIM”. There are three steps to the AIM method:
- Articulate your current goal
- Identify anything that might get in your way
- Make a plan to get around your identified barriers. Now, make a back up plan!
Using your S.M.A.R.T. goals from the last lesson, AIM will help you develop action plans to reach them. Remember the goal “check in” from the last lesson? Any time your check in leads you to want to make some adjustments, the AIM method can help you shape your plan differently and overcome new barriers that might have appeared.
Jordan’s Story
Remember when Jordan was working to eat more fruits and vegetables? Let’s think about how she could use AIM to make an action plan for that goal after the second week. First, she articulates her goal:
“I will eat at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal.”
Now, Jordan identifies some potential barriers to meeting this goal, especially thinking about what got in her way of completing the goal this week.
“Sometimes, I don’t have enough fruits or veggies in the house. Sometimes, I get tired of eating the same veggies. Sometimes, I forget when I pack my lunch or eat breakfast.”
Based on these barriers, Jordan comes up with a plan to avoid letting these barriers keep her from her goal during the upcoming week. She decides to write a menu for the week, so that every meal will already have a fruit or vegetable planned ahead of time. This also helps her get around the barrier of not having enough fruits or vegetables by basing her grocery shopping on the menu she makes. As her back up plan, in case she forgets her lunch or is in a rush in the morning, she decides to keep some apples at her desk. When she does her check in the next week, she notices that she has done a lot better in sticking with her goal, with the added benefit of feeling more energetic during the days.
Your Turn:
Having seen Jordan’s method, now you give it a try. Try to use the AIM method for each of the goals you set in the previously lesson. Write the plan on a piece of paper that you can refer back to.
Start with eating a healthier diet. Maybe your goal is to track the number of calories you eat per day, keep better track of your portion sizes, or cut down on the snack foods you eat each day. Each step has a series of questions. These are only guides--you don’t need to answer all of them!
Articulate that goal here:
How often do you currently do the behavior you are trying to change? How often would you like to do it? How often do you want to check in on your progress?
Here, Identify the potential barriers to your plan. What gets in the way of eating healthy now? Are you busy? Do you not know how to eat healthy? Do you not have healthy food on hand? Do you know what a good calorie goal for your lifestyle is?
Now, Make a plan and a back up plan: How will you overcome the barriers you listed previously? How will you make sure you have healthy food available? How will you track your calories each day? How will you measure your portions?
You can do the same thing with your goal for exercising more, portion control, or other goals you have for weight management or beyond.
