It may be hard to believe, but the year is almost over! The holiday season is upon us, and many people are taking time to pause and reflect on their lives. With the new year just around the corner, December is a great time to review your health goals from the past twelve months. Doing so can help you better understand your strengths and weaknesses in your overall wellness plan and make necessary adjustments as you transition into the new year.
As healthcare providers, we encourage our patients to review their physical, mental, and emotional health thoughtfully. It’s important to understand which factors impact your health throughout the year so you can get a clear picture of what it takes to make improvements and continue to become a healthier person. So what exactly can you do to review your health goals and progress in 2025? Keep reading to learn more!
Was Preventive Care Prioritized?
Here at Montes Medical Group, we are passionate about providing preventative care to our patients. Simply put, preventing health problems is simpler and more effective than treating them. Ask yourself how well you scheduled preventative care appointments such as annual check-ups, screenings, and vaccinations. These visits can make it easier for your healthcare provider to flag potential problems before they impact your health in a negative manner.
For example, vaccinations can reduce the severity of an illness or even prevent it entirely. Annual exams can pick up on high cholesterol, blood glucose, or blood pressure levels. Identifying key metrics such as these can be a big part in preventing chronic diseases and reducing damage to the body over time. After taking time to reflect, make preventative healthcare a priority and actively plan to schedule necessary appointments in the coming year.
How Did Eating Habits Evolve?
Eating a healthy and nutritious diet is one of the pillars of good health. Developing healthy eating habits is often a gradual process, representing an evolution in our relationship with food. Unfortunately, sometimes our eating habits can also get worse and move in directions that harm our well-being. Think about your eating habits during the past year and how happy you are with them.
Do you find yourself gravitating towards more nutritious foods or sliding backwards towards unhealthy options? Did you prioritize balanced meals and limit processed foods and sugary drinks? Is alcohol a bigger or smaller part of your life than it was a year ago? Taking the time to answer questions such as these can clarify what kind of progress you may have made lately. Be honest with yourself and decide where you want to be next year when it comes to eating and nutrition.
Are You More or Less Active?
In addition to nutrition, our activity levels play a large role in shaping our overall health. The goal is to find ways to move our bodies that we enjoy and are likely to stick with in the long run. Ask yourself if you have already identified exercises or activities that make you happy. Has being active been a priority over the last year? Are you consistently moving and exercising in ways that benefit your mental, physical, and emotional well-being?
Regardless of how happy you are with your activity levels, think about what you may want to modify as the new year arrives. You may want to stick to your current plan or try something new and exciting. For example, if you find your current exercise routine a bit isolating, consider joining some group classes, hiking groups, or racquet sports clubs.
Managing Stress Levels & Anxiety
Did you know that managing stress levels effectively is an important way to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy? In fact, poorly managed chronic stress can be incredibly harmful to our well-being. As the year comes to an end, think about how stressful life felt for you in the last twelve months. Were you able to decompress and find positive outlets for your stress? Do you have a support network in place to help you when things become too stressful or anxiety-inducing?
Usually, there are positive and negative habits that impact our stress levels over time. We may not even realize how things are impacting us, so taking time to reflect can be important for building awareness. Once we are aware of helpful and harmful patterns in our lives, we can make a conscious effort to move towards healthy habits that bring us more benefits in the new year.
Conclusion
In conclusion, taking the time to reflect on our current health can help us better understand our physical and mental well-being. As we build this awareness, we can better plan for the coming year and tweak how we move, eat, and unwind. Getting regular preventative care can make it easier to catch health problems before they become serious concerns.
Talk with your healthcare provider to review important health metrics and get their feedback on what you can do to become even healthier as time goes on. Once your review is done, you can look forward to the coming year and feel confident in your health goals.