by Julie Steele, MPH Staff Writer for LifeScan

The key to long-term success is making changes in your eating and exercise habits that you can maintain for the rest of your life. It all begins with goal setting-the critical first step on the road to healthy habits. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable and realistic.

Here are some typical examples of dietary and exercise goals followed by recommendations to make them more specific, measurable and realistic:

Eat healthier.
This is a commendable goal, but it's not specific. A better goal would be to substitute one afternoon sweet with healthy snacks such as dried or fresh fruit, granola bars, plain popcorn (air-popped, with no cheese or butter), pretzels, nuts, or whole-grain crackers with cheese or peanut butter.

Eat "Five a Day"—five servings of vegetables every day.
This is specific and measurable, but it may not be realistic if you don't eat vegetables regularly now. A more attainable goal might be two to three servings a day—the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) minimum for people with diabetes is three servings. Toss extra vegetables on a frozen pizza. Make a big salad to last a few days. Add vegetables to sandwiches—not just the old lettuce and tomato. Try alfalfa sprouts, sliced red onion, sliced cucumbers, sliced yellow squash or zucchini, red peppers or leftover grilled vegetables. This is doable!

Exercise more.
Again, commendable but not specific. A better goal would be to exercise 30 minutes four or five times per week. This is specific and measurable, but if you've been inactive, a more realistic goal might be to park the car half a mile from work and walk for 15 minutes each way, three times per week to start.

Walk 30 minutes every day.
This is specific and measurable, but may not be realistic. What happens if you're held up at work one day and there's a thunderstorm during your walking time another day? Cut yourself some slack by making your goal to exercise five times per week. This is specific, measurable and realistic. In short, a great goal!

Long-term, healthy weight management generally requires sensible goals and a commitment to making realistic changes in your lifestyle. The more you can identify behaviors that contribute to weight gain, the better you can target your goals. For example, avoid snacking while standing up, driving or watching television. Eat only at the table-chew slowly and pay attention to flavors and textures. Goals centered on portion control might include sharing dessert, using a smaller plate or taking home one-half the portion of restaurant meals. Other dietary goals such as not taking seconds at dinner, not eating after 7 p.m. and limiting meals at fast food establishments also may work for you.

Before making any major changes in your eating or exercise habits, consult your doctor or a certified diabetes educator to make sure your new plan will help you achieve the goals you've set for yourself.

Brought to you by LifeScan