Why Nested Co-Founder Meg Bowman No Longer Uses SMART Goals in Session

If you’ve ever been trained in health coaching or nutrition counseling, chances are you’ve heard of SMART goals—those tidy, structured plans that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. They’re a mainstay in many coaching programs and are often considered essential for client success.

But Nested Co-Founder Meg Bowman is rethinking that framework.

In her latest Substack article, “Why I Don’t Use SMART Goals in My Nutrition Practice (And What I Use Instead)”, Meg shares how years of working with clients navigating trauma and nervous system dysregulation led her to realize that traditional goal-setting methods don’t always hold up—especially when someone’s capacity shifts from day to day.

Rather than relying on binary outcomes or rigid metrics, Meg now uses a nervous system–informed approach inspired by Deb Dana’s stretch-to-stress continuum. It invites clients to plan for multiple versions of success:

• a “stretch” plan for when they’re feeling resourced,

• a “middle ground” for most days, and

• a “stressed” plan for when the nervous system is in survival mode.

This structure makes room for flexibility, self-compassion, and regulation—core values we share at Nested.

📖 Read the full piece here, and consider how you might use the stretch-to-stress model in your own work as a trauma-informed coach.