With the weather finally turning to fall, it’s easy to look at the calendar and think, “I’ll just start getting serious about my health in January.”

Or maybe it’s “after the holidays,” “once the kids’ schedules calm down,”  “once that work project is done,” or “once the parties and travel are over.”

But the year isn’t over yet.

There is still plenty of time for meaningful changes in your health. And you don’t need to wait for January or overhaul your entire life to make them happen.

Today, I’m sharing what I’m personally working on in the final months of the year, along with seven practical ways you can support your health before the end of the year.

(And none of them involve starting another restrictive diet.) 

Health Doesn’t Have to Mean Weight Loss

One of the biggest problems with diet culture is that it teaches us to measure our health by what our bodies look like or what the scale says. But there are so many other ways to care for your health, like…

• You can schedule the appointment you’ve been putting off. 
• You can prioritize sleep. 
• You can look at your nutrition and identify what you’re missing. 
• You can find ways to move your body that actually fit into your current life.
• You can also work on your relationship with your body and your fear of weight gain.

As one of my clients recently put it, your job is to focus on the behaviors and actions that support your health. You cannot completely control how your body responds to those behaviors.

That shift – from trying to control your body to focusing on supportive behaviors – is incredibly important.

So, what can you actually do?

1. Schedule the Doctor’s Appointment You’ve Been Avoiding

Let’s start with one of the most boring but important pieces of health care: actually going to the doctor.

If you have an appointment you’ve been putting off, get it on the calendar.

Preventive care and appropriate medical care are a much more meaningful investment in your health than many of the trendy wellness practices we’re sold.

Think about the appointment you’ve been saying you’ll eventually schedule:

• Your annual physical
• A screening appointment
• A specialist visit
• A follow-up you’ve been putting off
• An issue you’ve noticed that you keep telling yourself isn’t a big deal

If something is worrying you, get it checked out rather than ignoring it.

Health care is self-care.

2. Know Your Numbers

Another useful step is to understand the basic health markers that actually matter for you.

Depending on your individual health history, this might include things like blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C, liver enzymes, or other bloodwork your healthcare provider recommends.

You don’t need to chase every possible lab or pay for an expensive collection of tests that you saw advertised online.

Instead, work with your healthcare provider to understand your relevant numbers and whether there is anything that needs attention.

If something is outside the expected range, you don’t need to panic or launch into an extreme diet.

Ask, “What is one sustainable thing I can do to support this area of my health?”

And remember that sometimes medication is part of health care, too. Medication can be an incredibly useful tool when it’s appropriate for you.

3. Get Real About Your Sleep

This is one I’ve had to work on myself. With kids, work, activities, and everything else going on, it can be incredibly easy to stay up too late and then pressure yourself to wake up early anyway.

I realized I was setting my alarm earlier than I actually needed to get up, snoozing repeatedly, and essentially depriving myself of sleep just so I could say I got up at a certain time.

So I changed it.

Sometimes supporting your health means letting yourself sleep an extra 30 minutes.

You also don’t necessarily need another device, score, or metric to tell you whether you’re sleeping enough. Pay attention to how your body feels and functions. 

If you have concerns about the quality of your sleep, that’s something to discuss with your healthcare provider.

Sleep is not a luxury or something you have to earn after you’ve completed everything else on your list. It is part of taking care of yourself.

4. Audit Your Nutrition and Fill in the Gaps

When people want to improve their nutrition, their first instinct is often to ask, “What do I need to cut out?”

Too much sugar. Too many carbs. Too much processed food. Too many snacks.

That approach keeps you stuck in diet mentality. Instead, try nutrition by addition. Start by looking at your eating patterns and ask:

• What am I consistently missing?
• Which food groups don’t show up very often?
• Where could I add more variety?
• Am I getting enough protein?
• Am I getting enough carbohydrates?
• What about fruits and vegetables?
• Am I getting enough fiber?
• Are there nutrients or food groups that are particularly difficult for me to include?

The answer will be different for everyone.

For one person, meals might naturally contain plenty of carbohydrates but not much protein. Someone else might be afraid of carbohydrates and need to practice adding them back into meals.

The goal isn’t to create another list of foods you’re “supposed” to avoid. It’s to notice what’s missing and fill in the gaps.

5. Take a Look at Your Hydration

Hydration is another area where wellness culture can turn something relatively simple into another thing to obsess over.

You don’t necessarily need to drink a gallon of water every day, and more isn’t automatically better.

Instead, take a look at your actual fluid intake.

Consider everything you drink throughout the day, including:

• Water
• Coffee
• Tea
• Sparkling water
• Other beverages

If you’re not getting enough fluid, figure out what makes drinking more enjoyable and practical for you. Maybe you drink more when you use a straw or you prefer ice-cold water.

And don’t assume you automatically need electrolyte powders or supplements. There are certainly situations where electrolytes can be appropriate, but they aren’t necessary for everyone.

Again, the goal isn’t to follow the latest wellness trend. It’s to figure out what your body actually needs.

6. Look at Where You Are With Movement

Movement is another meaningful part of health, and it doesn’t have to be about burning calories or changing your body.

If you’re not moving very much right now, ask yourself, “What is one realistic way I could add more movement into my current life?”

Maybe it’s:

• Taking a 10-minute walk
• Adding small bursts of activity throughout your day
• Doing an at-home workout
• Finding an activity you genuinely enjoy
• Getting creative around your family’s schedule

And if you’re already exercising a lot, this question may need to go in the opposite direction.

There is such a thing as too much exercise.

If movement has become rigid, compulsive, or something you feel like you have to do regardless of how you’re feeling, health may actually require more flexibility, not more workouts.

The goal is to find the middle ground where movement supports your health without becoming another way to punish or control your body.

7. Do the Deeper Work on Body Image and Fear of Weight Gain

If you believe that being healthy requires maintaining a certain weight or that weight gain would be a disaster, you may find yourself making choices that actually work against your health.

Fear of weight gain can drive dieting, restriction, compulsive exercise, and other behaviors that keep you stuck.

And those fears can become so deeply ingrained that they affect how you interpret everything happening in your body.

That’s why body image work is health work.

Learning to tolerate changes in your body, challenge your fear of weight gain, and separate your worth from your weight can help you move away from behaviors that are driven by fear.

This doesn’t mean you have to love every part of your body every day.

It means learning to care for yourself without constantly living in fear of what your body might do.

You Don’t Have to Do All Seven

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Okay, I need to do all of these immediately,” pause.

You don’t.

Pick one or two areas that feel most relevant to you right now.

Maybe you’ve been putting off a doctor’s appointment. Maybe you know you’re not sleeping enough. Maybe your nutrition could use some attention. Maybe you’re realizing that your fear of weight gain is still influencing your choices.

Start there.

You don’t need to completely reinvent yourself before the end of the year. You can simply start making small, sustainable choices that support your health right now.

And perhaps most importantly, remember this: Your job is to focus on the behaviors that support your health. You cannot completely control how your body responds to them.

Your weight isn’t a grade. Your body isn’t a project you have to finish. And you don’t have to wait until January or until your body changes to start taking care of yourself.

You are enough, exactly as you are.

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Search for Ep.261 (Transcript): The Year Isn’t Over: What I’m Working On + The Moves You Can Make NOW to Feel Healthier by 2027

Looking for more support on your journey to food freedom and body acceptance?

– Check out my course, Non-Diet Academy
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