Making lifestyle changes isn’t about willpower — it’s about having a clear plan.

Research shows that goal setting can support effective behaviour change, especially when building new lifestyle habits (1). 

The SMART goal framework is an approach that can help with goal setting, and make it easier for you to achieve the lifestyle habits you desire (1,2,3).

An action plan specifies where, when and how a goal will be implemented for behaviour change to actually occur (4). 

What are SMART Goals?

SMART stands for:

• Specific – Your goal should be clear and detailed. 
• Measurable – You should be able to track it. 
• Achievable – It should be realistic for your lifestyle. 
• Relevant – It should support your health or heart goals.
• Time-based – Set a timeframe or routine to keep it consistent.

Examples of Heart-Healthy SMART Goals:

• To eat less sodium, I will replace each serving of regular soy sauce with 1 tsp of Heartful Flavours salt-free 'Soi' Sauce Seasoning 3 days a week. 
• To eat more vegetables, I will increase my amount at dinner to 1.25 cups cooked vegetables or 2.5 cups salad 2 days a week. 
• To eat more fruit, I will have 1 cup of fruit at breakfast and 1 cup of fruit at afternoon tea 5 days a week.
• To eat more plant-based protein sources, I will have 1 cup of legumes as my protein 3 days a week. 
• To eat more healthy fats, I will have a handful of nuts at afternoon tea 5 days a week.
• To eat more at home and less takeout, I will follow the nutritionally balanced recipe and use a Heartful Flavours meal base to cook four meals once a week so I can eat for lunch the next day or freeze and microwave for dinner on busy days.

Why SMART Goals Work:

SMART goals are not about perfection.

They're about making practical, enjoyable changes that you can repeat week after week and last all year. Starting with one small — like preparing a heart healthy meal once a week — and build from there. 

Over time, these consistent, manageable changes make a real difference for your heart and overall wellbeing, without the stress of overhauling your whole diet at once.

Developing an Action Plan

A SMART goal tells you what you want to do.
An action plan explains how you’ll actually do it.

1. Write down all the action steps you need to achieve the goal.
2. Decide on the order of action steps. 
3. Monitor how the plan is going and adjust if needed.

Example:  

SMART Goal: To eat more vegetables, I will increase my amount at lunch and dinner to 1.25 cups cooked vegetables or 2.5 cups salad 7 days a week.

Action Plan: 

• Where and when will I buy the vegetables? Every Sunday at my local grocer
• How much vegetables to buy for a week? One serve of vegetables is 75g. Five serves a day is 375g. Over seven days is 2.625kg a week
• What if the vegetables spoil or I can't find what I like? Buy a mix of frozen and fresh vegetables

Example:  

SMART Goal: To eat less sodium, I will replace each serving of regular salty Asian sauces with 1 tsp of Heartful Flavours salt-free 'Soi' Sauce, 'Oister' Sauce or 'Fiish' Sauce Seasonings 2 days a week.

Action Plan: 

• How often do I cook Asian meals and how many meals do I make each time? 2 days a week with 4 meals each time so 8 meals.  
• How much seasoning will I need? One shaker provides 25 servings. Three shakers in the Sauce Seasonings Variety Lover (Multipack) provides 75 servings. At 8 meals a week, that will last approximately 9 weeks (75/8 = 9.4 weeks).
• Will the seasoning go off, where do I buy and store it? As a dry seasoning it has 18 months shelf-life, order online and store in my heart healthy pantry or condiments area on my kitchen bench. 

Sources:

1. Epton T, Currie S, Armitage CJ. Unique effects of setting goals on behavior change: Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2017 Dec;85(12):1182-1198. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000260. PMID: 29189034.
2. Chan CH, Conley M, Reeves MM, Campbell KL, Kelly JT. Evaluating the Impact of Goal Setting on Improving Diet Quality in Chronic Kidney Disease. Front Nutr. 2021 Mar 12;8:627753. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.627753. PMID: 33777991; PMCID: PMC7994896.
3. Bahrami Z, Heidari A, Cranney J. Applying SMART Goal Intervention Leads to Greater Goal Attainment, Need Satisfaction and Positive Affect. Int J Ment Health Promot. 2022;24(6):869–882. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2022.018954
4. Bailey RR. Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2017 Sep 13;13(6):615-618. doi: 10.1177/1559827617729634. PMID: 31662729; PMCID: PMC6796229.