setting your fitness, wellness and health goals for 2021

We took a look at online communities to observe how people are signing off the year and what new year resolutions they have set. The majority of these resolutions include spending more time with family, vacationing to ease off the stress that is 2020, and making plans for a beautiful start to the next year. We also established that the most common new year resolutions are:

1. Exercise more, lose weight or get in shape.
2. Quit smoking and/or drinking.
3. Learn a new skill or hobby.
4. Save more money, get out of debts, or spend less.
5. Read more books.
6. Eat a healthier, cleaner diet while limiting junk food. 
7. Spend more time with family and friends.
8. Live life happily, disconnect from toxic relationships, or sign up for therapy.

We were happy to see that more people are becoming intentional about their health, wellness, and fitness. The world has begun to truly understand the importance of maintaining good health and wellbeing - we love to see it! We are also aware that less than 10% of people who set goals will see it through to the end. If you’ve ever started a new year (or month) psyched to score a goal, only to lose momentum midway, you might be part of the 90% to fail at their overall health goals in 2021. This post delivers tools and strategies you can use to stay focused enough to smash your health, wellness, and fitness goals in 2021. 

Goal setting is imperative at every phase of our lives, as it helps us stay true and motivated to the vision and objectives that we set for ourselves. When done correctly, goal setting can offer a deep sense of direction and purpose that will, in turn, implore you to channel all of your efforts toward your target. When you achieve your goals, you prove to yourself that your life can be anything you want it to be. Setting your fitness, wellness, and health goals is as easy as making firm decisions, penning them down and putting tools and strategies in place to help you achieve them. Important: Don't allow the opinions and dreams of others to influence your goals. Instead, set goals that are personal and unique to you. When you tailor your goals to match your energy and personality, you are more likely to achieve them. 

Set SMART Goals
The acronym SMART stands for:

• S - Specific
• M - Measurable 
• A - Attainable
• R - Realistic 
• T - Time-bound

If you set SMART goals, you will have an understanding of what you are set to achieve. Then, you can effectively brainstorm on how to score your goals.

Tools That Can Help You Achieve Your Health Goals in 2021

1. JOURNAL: Aside from writing down your goals, journaling them can help you engrave them in your heart. It can also help you prioritize and brainstorm the brilliant ideas needed to score your health goals. ​If you planned to eat a plant-rich diet in 2021, keeping a food journal will help you stay on track and even help you motivate you to continue on your health journey. You can document your menu, grocery list, favorite recipes, daily calorie intake, as well as how good you feel after 3 weeks of eating a plant-rich diet. This will help increase your self-image and gratitude. Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research carried out one of the largest and longest-running weight loss maintenance trials ever conducted, and they found that those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records - concluding that keeping a food diary can double a person's weight loss. Journaling will also help you bare yourself out on paper, or mobile. It's never easy to shun out cravings, nor is it easy to deal with the guilt of binging on chocolate cake. Writing a letter to yourself saying that it’s okay to fall a couple of times can help you erase those negative emotions. 
2. MOBILE HEALTH APPS: There are dozens of fitness, stress-management, sleep, meditation, yoga, and nutrition apps on your device’s app store that are incredibly helpful in helping you achieve your goals.  Fitness apps like 7 Minute Workout (IOS, Android) and Daily Workouts Fitness Trainer (IOS, Android) make it easy for users to stream workout videos from anywhere in the world. You can workout from 7 - 30 minutes and target certain parts of your body. Yoga apps like Simply Yoga (IOS, Android) and Yoga For Beginners (IOS, Android) are beginner-friendly apps that teach yoga routines, including bedtime yoga, beginner yoga, energy booster, fat burner, inner peace, yoga for abs, and more. Mental health apps like Headspace (IOS, Android) and Calm (IOS, Android) can help improve sleep quality and mindfulness through guided meditations. Thankfully, there are also telemedicine apps that can allow you to chat with licensed health practitioners from the comfort of your home. You can either use the free apps or purchase the premium version. Opting for a premium membership goes a long way in keeping you committed and disciplined. 
3. SMART FITNESS WEARABLES: Fitness wearables are not only fashionable, but also beneficial in tracking your health-based actions, including heart rate, sleep hours, water drinking, and energy (calories) expended during runs or workouts. You can purchase a comfortable, durable, preferably water- and dust-resistant fitness tracker and connect it to your mobile device so that you can sync the data recorded on it. With smart fitness wearables, you will be able to measure just how much of your goal you have achieved in a stipulated time without much effort. 
4. AN ONLINE COMMUNITY: A group of people who share the same goals as you is the perfect place to find motivation. You can learn from people’s struggles and success stories and share yours as well. If you find it hard to stay accountable, you can find yourself an accountability partner in the community who will check on you and your progress. 

Your greatest success will come from having your goals permanently imprinted on your lifestyle, thus, becoming a habit rather than an acquired skill. To do this, you must view your fitness routine as a much-loved activity instead of a dreaded chore. You must consciously avoid stressful situations and toxic relationships, love yourself and practice self-care, and lastly, be gracious to and with yourself. 

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​Longevity Living, an aspirational lifestyle blog by Longevity Fitness Charleston, is your source for all things fitness, nutrition and wellness. Be sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for scroll-worthy articles, must-watch videos from our expert trainers, studio updates & more.