How to Set Realistic Wellness Goals for the New Year You’ll Actually Want to Achieve

If you subscribe to my e-newsletter, you may have recently seen my guide to setting realistic wellness goals for the new year. And by realistic, I mean health and wellness goals that can truly be achieved based on where you currently stand — not where you hope to stand once you’ve entered the new year and paid farewell to the person you were in 2023!

Because as wonderful as it would be if each new year really did present us with new and improved versions of ourselves, there’s a lot more to it than this. In reality, we need to take action for change to happen.

Before we take action; however, we need a well-planned roadmap to help us accomplish our wellness goals for the new year ahead. The plan we create should be specific, practical, adaptable, and above all — enjoyable! According to research from Harvard Business Review, we’re much more likely to achieve our goals if we enjoy the path toward pursuing them.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the topic of setting realistic and achievable wellness goals so we can take steps to become healthier, happier, more confident, and more resilient versions of ourselves with each year that passes.

Think Realistically & Specifically When Setting Wellness Goals

Setting unrealistic, unfeasible, unspecific, and unenjoyable goals — along with not having a plan in place to achieve them — are some of the reasons why most new year’s resolutions fail within a few months of setting them. This is why it’s important to think realistically, feasibly, and specifically when setting your new year’s goals for health and wellness. This means:

Thinking Realistically

Based on the past year’s successes and setbacks — and the amount of time, money, and other resources you can realistically devote to achieving your wellness goals — which goals truly matter to you right now?

If your primary wellness goal is to start working out, for instance, be sure to determine how much time you can realistically devote to exercising each week. Does your schedule (and budget) allow you to work out at a gym or fitness center? Would it be best to work out at home, and if so, do you have the space and equipment for it? Is there anything you anticipate getting in your way that could prevent you from working out as planned?

Furthermore, be sure to determine how much money you can afford to spend on your health and wellness each month. Depending on your specific goals, some potential expenses may include groceries, supplements, functional medicine coaching, self-care, gym memberships, and so on. Make a list of potential expenses and determine whether they fit into your current budget.

Getting Specific

Instead of making it a goal to simply eat better or get in shape this year, as these are quite vague, it’s important to set specific, measurable goals. Examples of these could include:

Eating two or more servings of vegetables with each meal.
Eating at least one piece of fruit at breakfast.
Eating at least three nutrient-dense salads a week.
Eating 30 grams of protein before noon.
Aiming to get eight hours of quality sleep a night.
Drinking eight glasses of water a day.
Traveling within the next six months.
Figuring out the root cause of your thyroid issues (as a reminder, January is Thyroid Awareness Month!).
Engaging in 20 minutes of aerobic activity three days a week.
Reading one new book a month (start by downloading a free chapter from my new book, Passports and Parasites!).

Making it Fun

You’re much more likely to achieve your health goals if you enjoy the path to wellness, so try to make your goals (and the steps you’ll take to achieve them) as enjoyable as possible. For instance, if you’d like to eat more nutritiously but don’t enjoy cooking, it may be wise to sign up for a meal delivery service that requires very little cooking or prep work on your part.

Or if your goal is to engage in 20 minutes of aerobic activity three days a week but you know you won’t be able to drag yourself to the gym, maybe biking, hiking, or aerobic dancing would be better options for you. If you try to force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy, you’ll be much less likely to follow through. But if you play to your strengths and interests, you’ll likely feel more motivated to stay on track!

Remaining Flexible & Adapting to Last-Minute Changes

Don’t give up or get discouraged if you can’t follow your wellness plan exactly as you intended! Celebrate your small wins and look for ways to adapt if things get in your way.

For example, if an injury prevents you from running as planned, why not explore another activity like yoga or swimming? The path to health and wellness is not linear, but rather a winding road with lots of bumps and humps along the way. Sometimes a detour is necessary to get where you’re going, and that’s perfectly fine.

Consider Functional Medicine Coaching

Functional medicine coaching is a great option if you’d like help setting and achieving your health and wellness goals for the new year — especially if you want to improve your physical, mental, and emotional well-being but don’t know where to start. Functional medicine coaching can also hold you accountable to your wellness goals for the new year while simultaneously getting to the root cause of your thyroid issues; hormone imbalances; complex chronic medical conditions such as Lyme disease or biotoxin illness; and symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and depression.

Book a free 15-minute discovery call to learn about my Vital Basics Method™ and Vital You programs — and stay tuned for some exciting announcements in 2024 — including the launch of a membership program that will serve as a whole-health community for women looking to transform their mind, body, and spirit.

Sign up for my free newsletter and follow me on Instagram to be the first to hear about everything I have in store for 2024 and beyond!

Ready to improve your physical, mental, and emotional well-being in the new year? Consider functional medicine health coaching and grab a copy of my new travel memoir on Amazon or Goodreads!

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