My Health And Wellness Goals For The New Year

Last Updated on September 16, 2022 by Lori Geurin

Gosh, time flies. Another year has come and gone! For those of you who have been here since last year, I appreciate your support! It’s the time of the year again for some much-needed reflection and introspection to set the right tone for the new year! I’ve been busy coming up with my personal health and wellness goals for the new year, and I wanted to share the biggest ones with you.

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My Personal Health And Wellness Goals For 2021

1. Eat more real food.

(And, on the flip side, eat less processed food.)

I have this goal because I always feel better when I eat whole foods. When I eat processed food, my body simply doesn’t like it and protests, causing me body pain, swollen joints, and fatigue.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t do well with food restrictions, so I like to focus on enjoying all the healthy natural foods I can.

Related: 717 Best Healthy Lunch Ideas To Try Right Now: The Ultimate Guide

2. Continue improving my intermittent fasting.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about my passion for fasting, how it cured my hypoglycemia and all of the incredible health benefits it offers.

So my goal with IF for 2021 is to keep going with this excellent practice and challenge myself a little harder.

At this point, I continue doing weekly fasts. I’ve done 24 and occasional 36-hour fasts also.

But over Christmas break, I slipped back into some old habits (like using creamer in my coffee) that have taken me away from the 100% clean fasting that’s the most beneficial for your health.

Accomplishing this goal will mean improved health, increased focus, better energy, and a leaner physique (goodbye holiday weight gain that so happily shows up each year, along with the sugar cookies and homemade fudge).

Related: Intermittent Fasting: The Ultimate Quick Guide

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3. Move more.

The reasons behind setting this goal are similar to the first 2…to feel better physically and to be healthy. Since I contracted Lyme disease in 2012, I’ve been on a wellness journey to regain my health, and so much of the focus has been turned to these 2 simple factors…feeling better and regaining my health.

Maybe you can relate?

Honestly, some days my body hurts so much that I don’t feel like moving at all. But I’ve learned that these are the days that I need it the most. Even if it’s just some slow, gentle stretching, doing something, anything to loosen up those muscles and joints can help a great deal!

Over the break, my husband helped me find a used Pilates reformer, and I’m loving working out on it! I just have to be careful not to overdo it because I tend to do that.

When you find an exercise you love, it makes fitness so much more enjoyable!

By the end of 2021, I would love to increase my overall strength and endurance.

4. Make sleep a priority.

Like other goals, this one is ongoing (but bears repeating).

If you’re dealing with a chronic illness, you know just how important a good night’s sleep is. Without it, everything hurts more, and it’s harder to concentrate and accomplish the things you want to do.

But, when you make quality sleep a priority, you start to notice the benefits:

• improved mood
• stronger immunity
• better concentration
• less inflammation

just to name a few.

Related: 16 Quick Tips To Help You Sleep Better Tonight

5. Continue improving my self-talk.

Self-talk is your inner voice. It’s a combination of both conscious ideas and unconscious beliefs. And it can be positive or overwhelmingly negative.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working on improving my self-talk, and it’s been super helpful! And eye-opening.

The best book I’ve found on the subject is this quick read by Shad Helmstetter, What To Say When You Talk To Yourself.

Working on your self-talk is not just for you. It’s also for those you love. Try it, and you’ll see what I mean.

Related: 8 Ways To Improve Communication Skills

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6. Manage stress effectively.

This is such a great life skill, isn’t it? We all have stress. It’s unavoidable in this fast-paced life we live. But learning to manage the stress we encounter is critical.

There are several ways I work to manage the stress in my life, including:

• spending time in nature
• exercise
• eating healthy foods
• deep breathing exercises
• EFT tapping
• setting healthy boundaries
• avoiding energy vampires

Related: 10 Ways To Relieve Stress And Anxiety

7. Detox

We’re surrounded by environmental toxins every day. They’re in our food and water and in the air we breathe.

But even the social media we consume can be toxic to our health. Some people seem more sensitive to toxins than others for various reasons, and I fall into this category.

Knowing this about myself and others, I must take frequent social media vacations. How about you?

Get our FREE 30-Day Social Media Detox Challenge? Lower your stress, find more free time, & boost your health with the FREE printable calendar.

8. Practice gratitude.

The benefits of gratitude are impressive, and that’s why I’ve made this practice a part of my life.

My goal for this year is to be more intentional about practicing gratitude daily in a variety of ways including writing in a gratitude journal and verbally sharing things I’m thankful for.

Here are 20 Simple Ways To Express Gratitude This Year, 20 Easy Ways To Express Gratitude, and 25 Best Thanksgiving Quotes To Inspire Gratitude.

9. Embrace simplicity.

The more I learn about living simply, the more simply I want to live.

Embracing simplicity in life has brought greater peace and clarity, more freedom, less clutter, and improved health.

And I want more of that in my life.

I have so much more to learn about simplicity but plan to continue on this free and easy path toward a simpler existence in the coming year.

Related: 10 Minimalist Gift Ideas For Her: Simple And Elegant

10. Expand my recipe collection.

This year I’m challenging myself to make at least one new healthy recipe a month. It’s easy to stick with the tried and true favorites, especially if your family isn’t adventurous about trying new flavors. (Some of mine are, and some aren’t.)

Either way, I love trying new foods and want to expand my recipe repertoire. I’m always saving delicious healthy recipes on my Pinterest, but this year I want to try more of them.

Here are a few of my favorite recipe collections, roundups, and reviews from recent weeks in case you’d like to try some new ones too:

• 20 Healthy And Easy To Make Crockpot Soup Recipes
• Nutrition For Longevity Review: Farm Fresh Meals
• 717 Best Healthy Lunch Ideas To Try Right Now: The Ultimate Guide
• 10 Fast And Healthy Sheet Pan Meals To Simplify Your Dinner Time
• Sweet Potato Chili Recipe To Make Your Heart Happy

PIN ME, PLEASE!

There’s nothing like sharing your personal health and wellness goals with your virtual friends to ensure you stay accountable and work towards completing your goals! Here’s to a healthy new year!

What about you? What are your personal health and wellness goals for 2021? Comment below!