Something I talk about with clients a lot is the idea that we can’t DIRECTLY control our weight or body size… however difficult that may be to accept, we can’t go out and magically choose to automatically be our perfectly desired size.

That doesn’t mean throwing all care about our health and wellness out the window… far from it!! On the contrary, I see pursuing life-giving healthy behaviors (which we can generally control) as the best path to improved health, not first and foremost fixating on weight loss or changing your body size.

Letting go of fixating on weight is not the same as letting go of caring about your health!

Actually, I see fixating on weight as generally being detrimental to health. You can read some more about my thoughts on weight here.

“Weight loss” or “body change” are not actions we can go out and directly “do” or make happen. Nor do those things necessarily mean improved health! When we instead choose to focus on caring for ourselves well physically through behaviors we can actually do and control, we can trust we are on the path to improved health. When combining this approach with addressing any underlying root issues (such as environmental toxins, hormonal imbalances, gut issues, etc.) that are preventing our bodies from being in balance despite healthy behavior changes, our actions are likely to lead our bodies to the sizes at which they are the healthiest. This could mean losing weight, gaining weight, or staying roughly the same. I see the point as better health, not a specific weight or size goal.

I am all about self-improvement and setting intentions. Not focusing on weight does NOT mean “giving up on health progress.” Instead of pursuing weight loss as a goal, here are 5 behavior-oriented nutrition & exercise goals to consider! Maybe one or two will resonate with you depending on where you are currently at in your own health and wellness journey.

5 Nutrition & Exercise Goals to Consider (Other than Directly Pursuing Weight Loss):

Any exercise goal you are interested in! 

As someone who loves exercise and fitness, I am all about exercise goals/intentions! I am an advocate of pursuing fitness and enjoyable movement for the sake of physical health and personal enjoyment… not for the sake of manipulating your body. (At risk of sounding like a broken record, this, again, is not something we can automatically guarantee will happen through our exercise choices). Feeling strong and in shape can be encouraging side effects for sure, but I find focusing on actual behaviors to be the most life-giving approach!

Maybe you are in a season of life and at a good place in your relationship with exercise where you want to focus on a more time-consuming goal like training for a race or going skiing multiple times a winter. Maybe you want to focus on getting outside for a walk each morning. There are countless ways to pursue exercise and fitness goals without the main or primary purpose being weight loss or body change. Think strength training goals, yoga and flexibility goals, regular walks or hikes or swims, or going to the park with your kids once a week. One of my current exercise intentions is to explore more trails in the Ann Arbor area each Saturday morning that I can!

How life-giving would it be to focus on what your body can do and how you feel instead of looking to the scale for some sort of external validation? Health and fitness is SO much more than a mere number, and there are so many factors that go into weight anyway! Why give it more power over your life and food/exercise decisions than it deserves?

Taking a break from exercise:

On the flip side, there are certainly times when scaling back exercise or taking a total break is the healthiest approach. This doesn’t need to be a “forever thing,” by any means, but maybe your body is in a place where it needs more rest and less exercise. Too much exercise is not a healthy thing at a certain point and/or without enough nutrition fueling it.

I have had seasons in my life where I needed to scale back my preferred level of exercise, whether that was to focus on regulating my period/hormonal health or to reduce my overall bodily stress levels. There was even a time where I took an entire year off of formal exercise to officially get my period to return after over 6 years of not having it. That was hands-down the healthy way to go for me at that time, even if it was extremely difficult for a former compulsive exerciser like myself! If that is where you are at, taking a break from exercise can have both physical and mental/emotional health benefits as your body recovers physically and you grow in managing your emotions in ways beyond a rigid exercise routine. 

If you sense your body needing more rest, let this be your *friendly push* to consider what scaling back exercise in the coming weeks or months could look like. What might it look like to have an “exercise goal” in this way? This is also an excellent opportunity to grow in “swimming upstream” against a culture that is constantly harping about exercising more. Staying in your own lane with your own health (despite what others are doing) is where it’s at!

Eating nutrient-dense, satisfying meals:

Instead of focusing on cutting out food groups, creating rigid / unsustainable food rules, or vowing to “get it together tomorrow,” why not make it a goal to create nutrient-dense, satisfying meals? Instead of cutting foods out, why not focus on adding in all the quality nutrition you can?

Some of my favorite nutrient-dense foods include eggs (w/ the yolk), nuts + seeds, nut butters, fresh blueberries, tasty dark chocolate, red meat, salmon, whole milk yogurt, flavorful granola, roasted veggies, and homemade bars + energy bites. For the most nutrition and health benefits, I recommend buying organic whenever possible.

What would it look like to make your breakfast, lunch, or dinner 5% more nutrient-dense? A few ideas to get your brain churning…

–> If you like oatmeal, consider adding some sesame seeds, chia seeds, or pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top.
–> If you are a smoothie aficionado, add 1/2 an avocado for some creamy satisfying goodness and extra boost of potassium! #winning
–> Give some evening dark chocolate a go, maybe even smeared with some peanut butter for some extra healthy fats + staying power!

Respond to hunger and fullness cues: 

What does hunger feel like to you? What about fullness? For many of us these can seem like elusive or abstract concepts. Maybe a goal could be getting to know your hunger or fullness cues! Check out my hunger + fullness guide in this post as a useful tool to get started.

As an RD, I’m not generally one to “prescribe” specific amounts of food to eat (#lame). (Unless someone is really underweight due to an eating disorder and needs to gain weight relatively fast… then in that case we are likely focusing on specific amounts of food).

Instead, I usually advocate tuning into your hunger + fullness levels (as well as using general nutrition rules of thumb) to help guide yourself with how much to eat. Why let an external “voice” like calorie counting, “macros,” or “points” tell you how much to eat? How could that totally generic guesstimate be more accurate than tuning into and listening to your body’s actual needs?? Another nutrition goal to consider could be giving up letting an external tool guide your eating choices!

Regularly allowing foods just for fun/enjoyment:

This is my one of my favorite nutrition goals! Yes, eating is about meeting physical bodily needs, but it is also so much more than that! Food is fun, social, psychological, emotional, and cultural. Whenever I see people trying to cut all the “fun” out of food, I see chaos, obsession, and *seemingly ironically* a lack of actual nutritional health abounding.

If you struggle with allowing yourself to eat foods you enjoy, a goal to think about might be including a tasty food each day! Yes, every day! Including enjoyable treats and desserts regularly is not only one of life’s pleasures, but it also helps keep us calm and centered around food in general. When treats and desserts aren’t placed on a “pedestal” in our minds and we don’t have rigid rules + conditions surrounding them, we are able to peacefully enjoy and be around all foods without fear or obsession.

Enjoyable food goals to spark further thought:

–> Take a tip from me and enjoy some high-quality dark chocolate each night!
–> Head to out for some ice cream with a friend each weekend during the month of June!
–> Head to Pinterest or your favorite recipe blogs and choose a few baked good recipes to try this summer.

To quote one of my favorite dietitians, “When the joy goes out of eating, nutrition suffers.” ~ Ellyn Satter

What’s one healthy, life-giving behavior you want to incorporate this week? For me, I’m focusing on some good sleep hygiene practices!

Have a wonderful rest of the week!