25 goal ideas for health & fitness

Get some inspiration and motivation with this list of 25 goal ideas for health and fitness. If you always set goals, but never follow through, this article can help. These notable examples of actionable fitness goals can transform your body and mind!

If you’re someone who always makes plans & has a hard time following through, if you’re always putting off the things you want to do, we’ve got something in common.

How It All Started For Me

2016 was the first year we found out people set goals and don’t just live waiting & hoping for things to happen. We know.

Since then we read a lot of articles, listened to some audiobooks, podcasts and watched A TON of youtube videos and TED talks about setting goals. And then we watched some more. And did nothing about our own goals.

We then made some vision boards, filled out planners and wrote never-ending to-do lists and lists with dreams, goals and detailed plans. Then we ripped them apart after we stared at them for 3 months.

Our organizational skills were like those of a toddler. We had to-do lists flying everywhere. Pretty much the same items on each and every one of them. We had 10 different planners that we've been filling out with the same things we think we had to do.

But the good thing is, even this mess, us, actually achieved most of her goals. Maybe not as quickly as possible, but she did it. And she’s still doing it, it ain’t simple, but it’s possible. We feel so self-important when we talk in 3rd person.

How To Start Achieving Your Goals

Now on our journey during the past 4 years, we noticed something.

The difference between the goals we achieved and the goals we didn’t achieve was whether they were actionable or not.

In the past, we often used to set goals like:

We will have ___

or

We will be ___.

We made them SMART, but it didn’t work. The goal was always to own something we didn’t have. Or someone we want to be, someone completely different from what we were.

As if we wasn’t grateful for what we have and who we are and couldn’t wait to change our situation.

The other thing that those goals kinda made us feel after being inspired for a few minutes, was powerless. We can’t control how much weight we lose or gain in a month. Even if we push myself to our limits. If we didn’t see progress, we'd feel frustrated and stressed.

And that’s the completely wrong way to go about a goal. Because what’s a reliable way to change anything?

It’s to face reality, express gratitude and start with what you already have. With what you can do.

That’s it. You need to empower yourself. Work with what you have, because that’s all you’ve got. The rich lady you want to become isn’t going to take you out of the dirt. She’s too rich for that. And she doesn’t even exist yet. But you know who can do something about it? You.

How To Set Goals You Can Achieve

It’s a different story when the goal is an action you can take now. Here, you can start doing something right now. It’s not impossible, it’s not overwhelming. All you have to do is: Just do.

For example, if we say:

We will lose 10 pounds by the end of this month.

We actually put on weight for some weird rebellious reason.

But when we say:

We'll do 2 weeks of intermittent fasting because we wake up feeling lighter in the morning.

We do it. We say what we want to do and we give myself a strong reason for it. It’s a specific action we can take. This way instead of feeling powerless, we feel empowered and motivated to get disciplined and take that action.

The outcome? Well, we might even lose some weight. Because losing weight is not an action. It’s a byproduct of a healthy lifestyle.

With this, we have the vision, a bigger goal in mind, but we break it down and focus on the steps. On the action. If you struggle with goal setting, you can use a goal planner like this one. Make sure to use the code NTB20 for 20% off.

How it comes together

You picture yourself doing the action over and over again and you actually do it. And start to enjoy and appreciate how it makes you feel. This action then becomes a part of your daily routine.

It’s tough in the beginning, but then it gets easier and easier and it becomes something you just do. Then you say you want to add to this.

For example, after a week of intermittent fasting, you say we want to have a green smoothie every day. So you picture yourself making green smoothies, start collecting recipes and you actually start your mornings with a green smoothie.

Set goals about what you want to do, not have or be.

It’s all about exploring. About approaching things with curiosity. Trying out something new more often. Surprising yourself. What will happen if we do this for a week?

A healthy lifestyle is not a boring lifestyle, it’s just different kind of exciting.

Think more like: “we want to do this” and not “we have to do this” or “we want to have”, “we will be…”.

The One Question To Ask Yourself

What are you not doing that you should be doing that will make your life and your health WAY better?

That thing’s probably not that hard to do. Find out what your biggest struggles are, what causes you stress and figure out your goals from there. Let’s take us as an example.

The major things we struggle with are:

• eating too late (like we'd actually eat right before we go to sleep)
• sitting for hours at time
• spending too much time indoors

So for us this month, these are the things we want to achieve & get better at:

• Last meal at 5 pm. We love the lightness we feel when we don’t eat late at night and this will also help us sleep better, so we can wake up early feeling rested.
• Hike 2-3 times/ week. To move our body, relax and to get more connected to nature again.
• Get into a healthy evening routine: some stretches, maybe bedtime yoga, some reading, shower, candles 30 min before going to sleep. No phone/computer.

We'll start with the biggest struggles one at a time. We've tried to do everything at once in the past, but, sadly, it did not work. We realized you need to have a plan, to know what’s important and to prioritize.

via Karolina Grabowska

25 Goal Ideas For Health & Fitness

Now here are some goal ideas for health and fitness that can help to transform your body, mind and to improve your life.

1. Wake Up Early

Wake up early so you have time to take care of yourself before you start taking care of everyone else. Don’t skip over this. We know everyone’s talking about it and it’s getting old and annoying, but it works. It actually works. That’s why it’s the first one on our list of goal ideas for health and fitness! Because it’s important.

Last week we made a challenge to wake up at 5:30 am every day and for the 5 days we actually did it, we got so much done for myself and for our work. It made us feel so happy and productive. Truly if we had to describe it, we felt like a winner.

So waking up early (within reason) will give you time to start your day in peace, doing things for your health and your mindset.

2. Try New Healthy Recipes

3. Hike

Hike 2 times this week. This is not only going to help you make 10,000 steps and burn calories, but it will also improve your mental health and help you gain clarity. Take someone else with you and have fun!

4. Add More Fun & Creativity To Life

Strive to have fun and to learn something new and interesting every week. It might not seem obvious, but improving yourself is one of a reliable health goals you can have because it will make you happy in the long run.

And happiness = health.

You can go to local classes or try online classes – whatever works for your schedule and is easier to do.

5. More Vegetables, Please!

Make 1/2 of your plate vegetables. Even if the other half is a slice of pizza, you’ve done something good for your body.

Don’t beat yourself up for eating pizza, focus on eating the vegetables. You need 8-9 servings a day to be your best self physically and mentally.

Eating more vegetables is the most important part of ANY healthy diet. Paleo, vegan, keto – whatever you’re doing, if you’re not eating vegetables, you’re missing the point.

6. Do Yoga

When you do yoga you’re not only moving your body, you’re also calming your mind. It’s pretty magical. Again, you can go to a class at your gym or if you don’t have access to a gym, find yoga classes online.

We didn’t believe in yoga for the longest time and thought it was only for lazy people (sorry) even after we went to a few classes. It wasn’t until we started practicing it almost every day at home that we realized how good it made us feel even after the class was over. So we highly recommend, whenever you have 10-20 minutes do yoga.

7. Fix That Posture

A good posture has a positive effect on your mood, confidence and health. However, most of us these days have developed hunchbacks.

Hunchback is not a good posture. It doesn’t look good and it doesn’t make you feel so great either. So work on your posture by doing appropriate exercises and stretches. We have created a little round up of workout videos that can help you improve your posture here.

8. Books

Read every evening for 20 minutes. We don’t know about you, but reading a book is the fastest way we can fall asleep. And, of course, it’s a great way to learn new things as well.

So read more books. It will help you relax and grow as a person, all it takes is 20 minutes every night.

9. Breakfast

Have breakfast and not just coffee. Coffee gives you nothing, a healthy breakfast will nourish your body, so you stay strong and healthy.

Here are 5 simple healthy breakfast ideas you can make in 5 minutes or less.

10. Watch That Glycemic Load

Cut your grain or carb consumption in half and try to eat more nuts/ seeds instead.

This will help you reduce the overall glycemic load of your diet, which is important not only for weight loss and to manage diabetes, but also to reduce chronic inflammation in the body. If you need some inspiration here, we've got some low-glycemic recipes right here.

Read more on this: 3 diet changes to reduce inflammation

11. Go For A Walk Every Day

30 minutes a day, every day. Just like hiking this will help you burn calories, but will also give your mind the rest it needs.

12. Eat Low Carb Later In The Day

Eat carbs until lunch and then try some lower carb recipes. You don’t need to avoid carbs altogether, but be conscious of them, because they do pile up.

This is another simple way to reduce the overall glycemic load of your diet, so you can lose weight and reduce inflammation.

13. Make Overnight Oats

Overnight oats is a satisfying and healthy breakfast that you can make in the evening before you go to sleep. Learn how to make a reliable overnight oats.

14. But First, Water

If you don’t know whether you’re hungry or not: drink water first. It can reduce cravings and improve your gut health.

15. Practice This

When we want ___, we will___ (for example for us: When we want coffee, we will drink water;)

16. Be Active In The Morning

Start your day with exercise! This will wake you up, make you more alert and energize you. When you do 30 minutes in the morning you’ll feel accomplished for the rest of the day.

17. Drink Green Smoothies

Have a green smoothie every day and experiment by combining different ingredients you love.

18. Sneak In More Movement

Stay active throughout the day. Walk to work and back, whenever you forget something in the other room go and get it, don’t wait for things to pile up, tidy up for 10 minutes. Do the small things throughout the day, it’s a reliable way to maintain a healthy weight. This is so key, especially if you have a sedentary job.

19. Eat More Plants

Eat more plant-based meals. Now, you don’t have to go vegan, but plants are full of polyphenols and other phytochemicals that come with notable health benefits, which you can’t find in animal-based products. That said, stay away from processed vegan foods. Just because something is vegan, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Potato chips can be vegan too, you know? So use your best judgment and add a variety of healthy plants to your diet!

20. Eat What You Like

Keeping that in mind, have 3 healthy meals/day that you really enjoy. This way you won’t mindlessly snack on whatever’s in front of you.

21. Try New Things At The Gym

Try a different class at the gym, something you’ve never done before. Maybe Zumba, maybe boxing, maybe karate or maybe lifting weights – explore different options and see what makes you feel good.

22. Talk To Strangers

Talk to one person you don’t know and see what happens. 98% of the time we don’t regret this and it’s totally worth it.

23. Improve Your Everyday Environment

Find simple ways to improve your everyday environment. Buy some candles, get flowers, play relaxing music, declutter and organize your house or desk.

24. Reflect

Actually, write every night for 10 minutes to reflect and relax. This is important for your mental health to relieve stress and anxiety.

25. Evening Routine

Last on our list of goal ideas for health and fitness is building your own evening routine! Create a healthy bedtime routine that helps you go to bed earlier. No phones, no TV, no food, at least 30 minutes before bed.