Intermountain Health Experts give tips on making goals realistic and meaningful to help people continue and achieve better health in the New Year.

(PRUnderground) January 25th, 2026

Losing weight is one of he most popular New Year’s resolutions, but studies show the majority of people will fail and give up by February.

Health experts say there’s a variety of reasons for this which include setting unrealistic expectations and only focusing on overall weight instead of other important health milestones.

“Our sports medicine team often are focused on health and wellness on decreasing people’s pain, increasing their function, but ultimately trying to achieve their goals,” said Dr. Marcus Alexander, Intermountain Health sports medicine provider in Nevada. “This time of year, people are setting all kinds of health and wellness goals, trying to feel better, like the way they look, feel better. But those habits and goals are really hard to maintain. Most goals take eight to 12 weeks to get set. Many of us stop at four weeks.”

Dr. Alexander said to set challenging, yet achievable goals is the start to success.

While a healthy weight is important for people to maintain, there are several measurable factors which can determine a person’s improving level of health.

Weight can go up and down for several reasons, and just because a person is losing weight doesn’t mean they’re reaching their overall health goals. Setting goals around our overall health means we can still be improving even if our weight loss has stopped.

An important first step is meeting with a doctor and receiving a physical. An annual checkup can help with guidance on becoming healthier and tests for important health markers like cholesterol, kidneys, and A1C levels which checks for diabetes and prediabetes.

A doctor may also recommend further testing of metabolism and other health measures to ensure there aren’t other factors preventing people from reaching their goals.

“If I was to pick one goal, I would say is to get good sleep,” said Dr. Alexander. “It’s one thing we don’t think about, we don’t do well. But seven to nine hours of sleep makes a big difference on how we feel.”

Dr. Alexander said to think about health goals in what you want to accomplish.

Feel Better:

• Sleep – 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted high quality sleep each day (helps physical health, cognition, mental health)
• Hydrate – 64 ounces of water a day but can vary with exercise, your environment, and your health conditions

Like the way you look: One objective measure can be a body mass index or BMI with

• BMI 19-24 = normal ( less than 25 is optimal for cardiovascular health)
• BMI 25-29 = overweight
• BMI over 30 = obese
• Overall mortality significantly increases with BMI > 30

Health benefits with as low as 5% loss of body weight. Weight loss goal of 5-10% over 6-12 months with a focus on healthy balanced diet.

Even when working to lose weight try to include in your balanced diet 1 gram of protein per kilogram (or per 2.2 pounds) of your body weight to maintain muscle while losing weight.

Physical exercise improves cardiovascular health and helps maintain healthy weight (see your primary care physician to make sure you are safe to exercise)

• Recommended 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic activity (can be broken up into multiple bouts of any length throughout the day)
• Recommended 2 days per week of muscular strengthening activity

Live Longer More time to do things you haven’t done, enjoy things you value longer, spend more time with people you value.

• Cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States
• Smoking is the #1 modifiable cause of death
• High Blood pressure is the #1 risk factor for cardiovascular disease

Optimizing the Life’s Essential 8 from the American Heart Association even after age 50 significantly increases life expectancy. Even if not started until 50 years of age , optimizing Life’s Essential 8 can add 8-9 years of life expectancy on average

Health Behaviors (nicotine exposure, sleep, Diet, physical activity, etc.)

• Quit tobacco and nicotine products
• Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night
• Get 150 minutes per week of moderate physical activity (brisk walking)
• Eat Better: enjoy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, plant-based proteins, lean animal proteins, plenty of water, unsweetened tea/coffee
  • Limit sweetened drinks, alcohol, fatty foods, processed meats
  • Avoid trans fats in baked goods and fried food

Health Factors (Blood Pressure, BMI, Cholesterol, blood sugar)

• Optimize your blood pressure to 120/80
• Optimize your BMI to less than 25
• Optimize your non-HDL cholesterol with your primary care physician, PA, or NP
• Keep your Hgb A1C less than 5.7

Along with an assessment there are tips people can use to improve their health:

• Picking obtainable goals will keep people motivated and allow them to change slowly over time. Picking health goals that are too big can leave people frustrated and they often give up.
• Do exercises you enjoy because people are more likely to stick with them if it doesn’t seem like a chore.
• Avoid diets and look at nutrition as long-term change to adopting healthier eating habits. By avoiding heavy restriction on food people are more likely to stick with healthier eating if they can still enjoy other foods they like in moderation.
• Remember that consistency is more important than perfection. People will hit bumps along their health journey but sticking with it and making even small progress will lead to better overall habits in the future.

You can find helpful tips and providers at intermountainhealth.org.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a nonprofit health plan called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://news.intermountainhealth.org/. For more information, see intermountainhealth.org/ or call 801-442-2000.

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