How To Stay Engaged with Your Goals Through the End of The Year

The final stretch of the year can feel like a whirlwind for a lot of us. Celebrations, travel, disrupted routines, shorter days, and lots of food-centered gatherings, all of which make nutritional goals more challenging.

The truth many tend to miss is that you don’t need perfection to make progress. Progress towards your goals will look different throughout the year. I often remind my clients that nutrition has seasons just like anything else. There is a time when we can be “on” and dialed in then there are times when we need to relax a bit to find balance.

Staying connected to your goals, even in the smallest ways, can keep you on track and prevent showing up in the new year feeling like you’ve lost loads of progress.

Below are simple, realistic ways I encourage my clients to stay engaged through this challenging time of year.

Redefine What Success Looks Like in This Season

Goals have seasons, too. Your goal in July may not make a lot of sense for your life in December. Instead of forcing yourself into a firm, strict goal, ask yourself, “What does success look like this week?” Chunking time down into weeks is super effective over the holiday season. Take it week by week and set small goals that take into account your events and schedule for the upcoming week.

Success will look different for everyone, but I often ask clients to quantify the goal in some way. Examples may be hitting protein 5 days per week, getting 4 gym sessions in, walking 30 minutes each day, or even as simple as aiming to track your food accurately for the week.

Choose your Daily Anchor Habits

Year-round, I have my clients identify “anchor habits”. These are small actions or habits that are non-negotiable in their lives. I often think of these as the nutrition foundation, or “big rocks”. These are fundamental habits that we can build on over time.

Anchor habits may shift with the seasons, and this is a great time of year to reevaluate your non-negotiables through the end of the year.

Some daily examples my clients have shared are:

• Drinking at least 64 ounces of water

• Taking Supplements

• Having protein at each meal and snack

• Veggies with each lunch and dinner

• Getting at least 7k steps/day

Think of these habits as our baseline, and define what anchor habits you feel are both attainable and relevant for this busy season.

Avoid the “Write-off Mentality”

From my experience, this is the biggest trap this time of year. The thinking “ah, I’ll get back on it in January….” This type of thinking creates a domino effect, leading you further from your goal. Instead of focusing on perfection and assuming the end of the year is a waste, put your energy into making “the next best choice”. If a workout or meal doesn’t go as planned, simply shift your focus to the next decision or action that does align with your goals. When we map out the end of the year, most people find they have less than seven meals that are out of their control. Holiday parties, famly events, work events, etc… That leaves a lot of room for positive choices with the remainder of the month!

Be Present at Celebrations without Abandoning Your Goals

Holidays and special events are meant to be enjoyed. There is a time and place for precise tracking of your food, and often holidays are a time for us to practice flexibility. When aiming for balance between your goals and relaxing for the holidays, I like to remind my clients of these tricks.

Choose the foods that are most important to you. Special family recipes, holiday favorites and foods that don’t come around that often.

• Bild your plate around protein and produce

• Decide in advance how many alcoholic beverages feel right for you at each event

• Eat mindfully, and aim to stop when you’re satisfied, not when you’re stuffed

• Focus on the people and the experience! When food isn’t the star of the show, it’s much easier to limit overeating.

• Frequent Check-ins and Reflection

Often clients will mention that they’d like to skip their check-ins around this time of the year, as they feel they won’t have anything meaningful to say or share. I discourage this as much as possible. Even if we connect quickly, it’s valuable. Each week ask yourself what went well, what felt challenging and what habit can you priortize next week?”

These small reflections keep you engaged and highlight wins!

Final Thoughts

As we enter into this busy end of the year season staging connected to your goals is so important to success. Staying engaged isn’t about perfection, it’s consistency over time. Every small action or decision leads to a future version of you. It starts with one next choice.

If you need support, guidance or accountability, your WAG community is here to help!