Wellness Goals Improve Health in the New Year

Posted: Jan 02 in Health And Wellness by Dr. Lazarus

Have you ever set a New Year’s health resolution to lose 100 pounds, run a marathon, or save a million dollars? While these would certainly be amazing goals to achieve, how often do you actually achieve them?

Instead, why not welcome in 2023 by breaking these big goals into smaller, attainable goals that will improve your health, fitness and wellbeing? I like to think about several different domains of health including physical and functional , mental , medical, and financial. Here are a few examples of attainable wellness goals for 2023 – why not pick one or two from each category?

Physical and Functional Health

• Take a walk every day. Even if it’s just 10 minutes.
• Stand up when you are on the phone.
• Explore a new healthy recipe every week.
• Drink one extra glass of water every day when you wake up. (Interesting article on hydration here)
• Add resistance to your routine – consider it in the form of weights, yoga or pilates. Even as little as 20 minutes of weights twice a week can improve your metabolism and lean body weight.

Mental Health

• Read for 10 minutes before bed every night (instead of TV / Computer / Phone).
• Establish good sleep hygiene by going to bed / waking up at the same time every night.
• Set aside personal time every day – doing a hobby, playing / listening to music, taking a hot bath.
• Spend time outside every day.
• Keep a journal – sleep, feelings, food.

Medical

• Take the medications as prescribed by your doctor.
• Get an annual physical exam, blood work and other recommended tests.
• Get your immunizations including flu, pneumovax and shingles if indicated for you.
• Keep up to date with cancer screenings including mammogram and colonoscopy.
• Work on improving your body composition, not just on losing weight.

Financial

• Eliminate one or two monthly fees that you don’t really need – TV, streaming, memberships, etc.
• Limit eating out to once per week (or less).
• Put money in your IRA or 401k every month.
• Turn down your thermostat another degree or two while you are sleeping during the winter, and up a degree or two in the summer to cut down on your energy usage.

Setting a few small attainable health goals are more likely to improve your health than setting one big harry audacious goal for the year. Be creative – pick from the above list or choose your own! I’ve also seen people find improved wellness with goals in other domains – for example, spirituality – attending a bible study every week, joining a book club, etc.

Happy New Year, and I wish you a healthy 2023 (and beyond)!