Before Starting Your Weight Loss Journey, Read This: Awareness Comes First
It’s almost the end of the year, and somehow 2025 has already come and gone. With 2026 only a couple of weeks away, you might be getting ready to set your New Year’s resolutions.
Before we jump into a new year, it’s really helpful to pause and look back at the one we’re wrapping up. Reflection isn’t about dwelling on the past, but it is about understanding it so you can create a healthier, more realistic plan moving forward. This is especially important when it comes to making progress with your health and fitness goals.
If you’re serious about getting it right in 2026, start by looking at what happened in 2025. What worked? What didn’t? Where did things fall apart? Reflecting now will help you move forward with clarity instead of repeating the same patterns and ending up frustrated again next December.
To help you do that, I’ve included a downloadable PDF self-reflection workbook with questions covering areas like nutrition, fitness, and habits. You don’t have to fill out every single one, but even answering a handful will give you valuable insight into where you currently stand, whether your goal is weight loss, weight gain, healthier eating, better habits, or simply feeling better day-to-day.
And here’s the key point: your answers do not define your worth. They are simply data. The responses you record serve as insights to help you understand what was realistic for you and what wasn’t.
For example, you may have tried running but absolutely hated it. Maybe you forced yourself to eat salads every day, but the meal wasn’t satisfying. That doesn’t mean you failed. It means the strategy didn’t match who you are or what you need right now.
If you still want to improve your health in 2026 (which, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you do!), don’t give up because things didn’t go as planned in 2025 or previous years. You may just need a different approach. You wouldn’t begin marathon training by running 26 miles on your first day. Depending on your current fitness, you might start with a walk, a gentle jog, or just a mile. The same idea applies to nutrition.
Oftentimes, in the New Year, we become excited about the changes we look forward to. Sometimes that excitement leads us to try to overhaul our entire life overnight. This sudden “all-in” mindset usually burns out fast, and once we hit that wall, the spiral of frustration and self-sabotage tends to follow. But long-term results do not come from jumping into the deep end. They come from a solid foundation and consistent work.
Think of it this way: in elementary school, you learn basic math, such as counting and foundational skills. Middle school builds on that, and you explore deeper math skills, so that by the time you reach high school, you can do algebra and then geometry. None of that is possible without the fundamentals.
Nutrition and fitness work the same way. If someone has never cooked before, expecting them to jump straight into meal prepping for all their weekly dinners is unrealistic. They first need to learn the basics of cooking and try some simple recipes.
Not glamorous, but it works.
Over the next month, I’ll be posting more about realistic goal-setting, why the “all-in” approach backfires, and how to build habits that actually stick. But for right now, I want you to focus on one thing: Start with awareness.
When you understand your preferences, your patterns, your strengths, and the places where you get stuck, you can build a plan that actually fits your life. Remember, we’re all starting at different places. The goal isn’t to be perfect. It’s to be honest with yourself about what works for you.
Download your free self-reflection workbook below, take your time going through it, and use what you learn to build a healthier 2026.
Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.