The good intentions and the hype around the start of a new year are over. And now, for many of us, we’re left with a new pair of running shoes, a gym membership that’s barely broken a sweat, and a set of resolutions that are collecting dust next to our bathroom scale.

The reality is that we often create fitness goals for ourselves in which we start off with too much weight, too many miles, and too much seated in unreality. That weight-lifting program that you were going to get up at 4:30 am to do? One night with a crying toddler and a last-minute business trip will sideline that good intention every time. Those foods you were going to ditch forever and keep to veggies as your movie time snack? A girls trip later and you feel like you’re back to square one. As fitness trainer Daryl Conant writes, “Many people approach fitness with lofty goals that are unattainable within the time frame they envision. The promise of rapid weight loss or dramatic muscle gain, often fueled by misleading advertisements and social media influencers, can lead to disappointment when results don’t come quickly.”1

So what now?

This can be a great time of year to start over when it comes to optimizing your health. The pressure of the new year is off, the slippery slope of Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the parties and food those events entail is months away. The weather is better, the daylight lasts longer, and you’ve learned some things from those early year goals that have slipped through your fingers.

To develop a routine that sticks, consider this:

  1. Lifestyle over a Limited Time ‘Goal’: Sure, you want to look good for the class reunion, your son’s wedding, the swimsuit season. But short term goals don’t always serve you best in the long run. What is the realistic level you can maintain, day to day, with your work travel, season of life, and available time? If you’re in a season where you can commit to training for a marathon, good for you. But if you’re like most of us mere mortals, perhaps you’ll be better served by dedicating yourself to getting in a daily walk. That daily walk, when you’re able to be consistent, can serve up bigger dividends than a marathon goal that gets ditched in a few weeks.
  2. Start Simple: The supplements. The fretting over grass-fed and pasture-raised. The millions of details and changes you feel like you need to make to be your healthiest. Good things to have on the radar? Sure. But how are you doing at the simplest level with the things that can actually have a big impact with a low amount of fuss and muss? Take, for example, your hydration levels. Most of us don’t get enough water everyday, and we’re often upending what hydration we do have with our caffeine intake, which has a diuretic effect. For the next few weeks, make daily hydration a goal. And leave it at that. As better water intake becomes your habit, you can then make room for a new habit. But all the supplementation in the world can’t make up for the gap in your hydration, so get that simple step in place first.
  3. Health over Hottie: We’re bombarded today with images of exceptional athletes, with biceps that bulge and waistlines that shrink. It’s incredible to see what the human body can do with intense training and focus. However, we can confuse some of these results with actual health. For example, there have been numerous members in the professional fitness community who have suffered poor health and even fatal consequences as a result of their intense training.2 The same is also true in the field of extreme endurance sports.3 These shocking stories serve as an important reminder that intense fitness goals and results are not always the same thing as optimal health. Keeping your blood sugar levels in check, maintaining flexibility, doing reps with lighter weights to build your strength for your daily tasks of living, these can be far better goals and far more achievable than some of the extreme examples we see today in the fitness field.

It all comes down to your why. Why are you wanting to adopt a fitness routine? Is it to be able to bike with your kids or sit on the floor with your grandbaby? Is it because you have a family history of heart disease and you want to keep your ticker in the best shape you can? Would your inflammation levels come down if you worked off a few pounds? An article from Envision Fitness asks, “Instead of “I want to lose weight,” think about why you want to lose weight — does diabetes run in your family? Do you want to stave off chronic disease? What about keeping up with your kids? Or feeling more confident in your skin?”4 Getting clear on why you adopt a fitness routine, making that routine realistically fit into your life, and engaging in activities that are simple to keep up with every day are the stuff of success.

And don’t forget these two often-overlooked components of optimal health: community and faith. (If you’re a Member of the Altrua HealthShare family, you know about the power of caring for one another through sharing in eligible medical needs. If you’d like to learn more about becoming part of the Altrua HealthShare community, contact a Member Services Representative at 1-888-244-3839). Whatever the physical habits you adopt, the data is clear that being in relationship with people you love and being part of a spiritual practice are central to longevity, various health markers, and cognitive health. As you’re adding more steps to your day, more reps to your workout, more water to your daily habit, make sure family, friends, and faith are as central to your efforts as those workout routines. You might just want to print out the following verses and add them to your treadmill dashboard:

Proverbs 16:24 – Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

1 Timothy 4:8 – For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 https://darylconant.com/2025/01/why-do-people-fail-at-staying-on-a-fitness-regimen#:~:text=Many%20people%20approach%20fitness%20with%20lofty%20goals%20that%20are%20unattainable%20within%20the%20time%20frame%20they%20envision.%20The%20promise%20of%20rapid%20weight%20loss%20or%20dramatic%20muscle%20gain%2C%20often%20fueled%20by%20misleading%20advertisements%20and%20social%20media%20influencers%2C%20can%20lead%20to%20disappointment%20when%20results%20don%E2%80%99t%20come%20quickly.
2 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/famous-bodybuilders-illia-yefimchyk-antonio-souza-neil-currey-die-in-a-year-experts-give-exercise-guidelines/articleshow/113315870.cms?from=mdr
3 https://www.vice.com/en/article/china-gansu-ultramarathon/
4 https://envisionfitnessmn.com/about/blog/entryid/58/finding-your-why-the-key-to-a-successful-health-fitness-journey#:~:text=Instead%20of%20%E2%80%9CI%20want%20to%20lose%20weight%2C%E2%80%9D%20think%20about%20why%20you%20want%20to%20lose%20weight%20%E2%80%94%20does%20diabetes%20run%20in%20your%20family%3F%20Do%20you%20want%20to%20stave%20off%20chronic%20disease%3F%20What%20about%20keeping%20up%20with%20your%20kids%3F%20Or%20feeling%20more%20confident%20in%20your%20skin%3F