Rethinking Resolutions: Setting Goals That Support Your Hormones in the New Year

Lifestyle |
6 min read

Written By

Jessica D. Buck

Published

December 22, 2025

Medically reviewed by

Alyssa Dweck MS, MD, FACOG, MSCP, Chief Medical Officer

Have you ever wondered, “How can I set realistic goals that actually last during menopause?” The start of the new year naturally invites reflection, but when you are in a season of hormonal changes, healthy progress may look a little bit different. Many women may start to notice changes in motivation and overall energy levels, which may make traditional resolutions feel misaligned with what their body truly needs.

Resolutions often become less about finite milestones—like sending a child to college—and more about sustaining your body through healthier lifestyle choices that support long-term wellness and resilience.

In this article, we’ll explore how to rethink New Year's resolutions through a lens that supports your whole body and mind by offering grounded strategies that honor where you are during menopause and beyond.

Keep Your Goals Simple

Try to keep your resolutions simple. Traditional resolutions, like “I want to lose 15 pounds,” sound straightforward, but they’re actually a cluster of smaller tasks: planning balanced grocery lists, prepping healthy meal options, finding time for daily movement, and navigating the emotional load of changing habits. When you don’t acknowledge those steps, the goal becomes unrealistic before you even begin. This may trigger that familiar cycle of “all-or-nothing thinking” that drains motivation.¹

In psychology, all-or-nothing thinking (also called black-and-white thinking) is where you see situations in extremes, like things are either all good or all bad, a total success or a complete failure, perfect or pointless.²

Instead of recognizing nuance or progress, the mind jumps to absolute categories.

Examples could include:

“If I can’t work out for an hour, it’s not worth doing at all.”
“I ate one thing off my plan, so the whole day is ruined.”
“If I don’t do this perfectly, I shouldn’t do it at all.”

This pattern often increases pressure, reduces motivation, and fuels the belief that small steps “don’t count.” When in reality, the small steps you are making, are building that very real foundation for lasting change!

It’s like cultivating a blossoming garden, where each seed needs to be continuously tended to and nourished for the fruit to grow. For women in menopause, where energy and mood may already be naturally fluctuating, all-or-nothing thinking may make goals feel even more overwhelming and unattainable.

Shifting to a “both-and” mindset (e.g., “I moved my body today, even if it was only for ten minutes, and that still counts") can help build consistency and self-trust.³

Be Honest with Your Hormone Needs

Consistency and self-trust grow when your goals honor your body’s internal signals rather than forcing rigid routines.⁴ You can consider starting out by tracking your habits realistically, such as initially tracking your habits for one day, then for three days, and then for a week.

Write it down in a journal, if that helps you, or make it fun by keeping a whiteboard with colored markers in your bedroom or kitchen, where you can clearly see your habits written down to reflect on what is and isn’t working for you.

You could write things like: “Skipped breakfast today and Tuesday, worked until 7 pm, felt on edge and uneasy midday, slept only four hours, and had a date night with my partner.” Be sure to include all those relational habits and emotions present for you throughout the day as they play a part in your mood and sense of well-being.⁵ Ignoring or downplaying your body’s signals and less helpful habits may lead to burnout or resentment, making it harder to build that consistency and self-trust your goals rely on.⁶

Take small, incremental steps to note how movement, nutrition, and sleep are currently affecting how you feel without judging yourself. If you notice that you’re judging yourself, pause, breathe, and then acknowledge what you did accomplish.

Reframe the moment as information rather than failure. For instance, if you missed a planned workout, instead of labeling it as a failure, note that you still ate a nourishing breakfast, took a 10-minute walk, or got extra sleep. Those small actions still support your health in the grand scheme of things.

Stay Motivated in Midlife Without Burning Out

Practical strategies can help you stay on track while respecting your evolving needs. Use flexibility as a tool. Some days, a short walk counts just as much as a full workout, and some weeks, adjusting meal prep or sleep schedules may be necessary, depending on your life circumstances. Use these moments as an invitation to connect with yourself by honoring what your body can currently handle, your schedule, and your life circumstances—because goals that ignore your life and what’s actually happening rarely last.

If you are feeling more inconsistent, you can try habit stacking, which involves pairing a new goal with an existing routine, like stretching after brushing your teeth or journaling with morning coffee.⁷

Schedule weekly check-ins with yourself—consider a Sunday morning after coffee at the kitchen table—taking time to reflect on what’s working and where you need to adjust habits. Make it as specific as you can by using imagery to visualize the day you would like to check in with yourself.⁸ Include where you will be when you do and even how much time you need, like from 10 am to 10:30 am.

Consider leaning on supportive communities, like friends, online groups, or wellness circles in your town, to share progress, swap tips, and normalize the ups and downs of menopause if that is possible for you. By aligning goals with your physiology and starting to practice self-compassion, you build lasting habits while reinforcing to yourself that your body’s signals do matter and that you are worthy of attention.

Practical Examples of Mindful Resolutions

Categories to guide your resolutions or intentions in the upcoming year may include:

Prioritize sleep and your circadian rhythm.
Nourish your body with balanced nutrition and anti-inflammatory foods.
Incorporate stress management and mindfulness practices.
Maintain gentle movement and strength work.
Encourage relationship-building, socializing, or other pleasurable activities.

Here are some actionable examples to make these intentions concrete:

“I will prioritize seven to eight hours of sleep most nights this week.”
“I will take my supplements with breakfast in the morning and then do a guided five-minute joint-loosening yoga session on YouTube.”
“I will include at least one anti-inflammatory meal daily or two days a week.”
“I will schedule 10 minutes of gentle movement in the morning after breakfast and before I start work at 9 am.”
“I will practice five minutes of a guided meditation each morning with my cup of coffee.”
“I will schedule one social activity or enjoyable hobby each week (e.g., on Friday afternoon around 6 pm), such as a coffee date with a friend, a virtual book club, or a nature walk, to nurture connection and pleasure.”

Even small, consistent steps can create meaningful support for balancing your hormones in the new year. The key is alignment with your body and lifestyle, where a short walk, a nourishing meal, or a moment of reflection counts just as much as a major milestone. By using these strategies, you can transform New Year’s resolutions into sustainable, hormone-supportive habits that truly enhance your well-being well beyond January.

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