Jumpstart Your Health in 2026 With a Simple 4-Week Checklist

The start of the new year can be overwhelming when everyone besides you seems to be getting fit.

But did you know only 28% of adults in the U.S. are meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines (at least 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise or 150 of moderate-intensity exercise and at least two days a week of muscle-strengthening)?

And for women under 44, that amount may be even lower, between 6-25%, according to research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So don’t worry if you don’t have it all worked out — or haven’t worked out yet.

“If you’re brand new to fitness or coming back after time away, the most important thing to understand is that meaningful change doesn’t come from trying to overhaul your entire life at once,” Rachel Vaziralli, director of fitness of Orangetheory Fitness, tells TODAY.com.

That advice can also apply to your diet and many other aspects of health. As you’ll see with TODAY.com’s Expert Tip of the Day this week, which will all focus on New Year’s resolutions, changing behavior is most effective when you start small and give yourself a measurable goal.

The Start TODAY app, now offering 30% off with an annual plan, is a great place to start thanks to its specialized meal and workout plans and regular coaching calls with trainers and dietitians.

If you know you want to get healthier this year but don’t know where to begin, here is a checklist for the month of January, with one simple activity to accomplish each week, recommended by experts.

Week 1: Make a Primary Care Appointment

“If you are looking to take charge of your health in manageable steps, the best first step is to make an appointment with your primary care physician,” Dr. Rebecca Andrews, director of primary care at UConn Health and chair of the Board of Regents for American College of Physicians, tells TODAY.com.

By formalizing goals with a medical professional, it can also motivate us more by not just saying it but also being held accountable for it.

“An appointment like this can focus on your goals and the easy prevention items, such as vaccinations to keep the effects of influenza to a minimum or prevent a more severe case of pneumonia that could result in a hospital stay,” she adds.

Prevention strategies help us stay well, which in turn means avoiding setbacks to your goals on exercise or diet changes when we get sick.

“I personally recommit to getting more sleep every year, and I double-down on that effort when I know I have an upcoming appointment with my primary care doctor,” Andrews says.

Sleep experts recommend at least seven hours of sleep every night for adults to avoid medical issues from lack of inadequate sleep.

Week 2: Structure Your Nutrition Needs

“When you’re new to improving your nutrition, it helps to focus on structure rather than strict rules,” Jessica Bachman, Ph.D., registered dietitian, and nutrition and lifestyle advisor at Orangetheory Fitness, tells TODAY.com.

She recommends developing a routine to help address these challenges:

Nighttime snacking: Set a guideline like “kitchen is closed after 8 p.m.” and brush your teeth to signal your done eating for the day.

Overeating: Try three balanced meals per day with no snacks to reduce food decisions and help you feel more satisfied. The Start TODAY app offers dietitian-designed meal plans based on your eating goals, whether you’re trying to lose weight, strapped for time or want to follow a heart-healthy diet.

Dehydration: Even mild dehydration can make you feel fatigued or hungry. A simple goal is drinking about half your body weight in ounces of water per day (for example, 150 pounds means 75 ounces) or simply keeping a bottle nearby throughout the day.

Unbalanced meals: “Pairing protein with fiber-rich carbohydrates, like yogurt with fruit, eggs with vegetables, or nuts with whole-grain crackers, supports better satiety, blood sugar control and smoother digestion,” Bachman says. “Most beginners notice more stable energy and feeling more satisfied after meals within just a week of trying this approach.”

Try adding balanced recipes from the Start TODAY app into your rotation like, Cheesy Green Breakfast Quesadillas, Berry & Banana Yogurt Parfaits and No-Bake Peanut Butter Granola Bars.

Not eating enough plants: “Simply swapping out meat in your meals for these nutrient-dense legumes (beans and lentils), which are linked with a lower risk of disease, provides the dual benefit of health-promoting dietary fiber and plant-based protein,” Jamie Mok, a Los Angeles-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.com.

Eating more plant-based meals is easy with delicious recipes in the Start TODAY app, like Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls, Chilean Lentil Stew with Salsa Verde and Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.

Week 3: Personalize Your Exercise Routine

First take a step back and ask yourself the reason you want to exercise more.

“Our goals are allowed to be different from our loved ones’, neighbors’, or social media influencers’,” Dr. Samantha Harden, associate professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech and physical activity specialist of Virginia Cooperative Extension, tells TODAY.com.

“Maybe for you it is keeping up with grandkids, avoiding the daily afternoon slump, or generally feeling better in your body.”

Next, make a fitness goal for yourself — and it doesn’t have to be a big change. Start with activities that you genuinely enjoy, and it’s OK if they don’t meet the guidelines at first.

For example, “commit to moving your body for just 10 minutes at a time, a few times a day, gradually working up to a daily total of 30 minutes,” Mok says.

Harden adds: “You can add a five-minute movement ‘snack’ at your desk or park farther away from the door at the grocery store to get extra steps in.”

Ease into a workout routine with the Start TODAY app’s 7-Day New Year Jumpstart program, which gets you moving with walking podcasts, beginner strength routines and breathing exercises to combat stress.

It’s also helpful to focus on doing more physical activity of any kind rather than just exercise, which may feel intimidating at first. “All movement counts!” Harden says.

Another tip? Try working out outside the home and in a group setting, which can also help combat social isolation.

“My research is founded on group dynamics — which posits that you’re more likely to stick with a goal when you have a social support,” Harden explains.

In other words, the best place to reach your fitness goal may be a your spin class, yoga studio or local walking path.

Connect with other members of the Start TODAY community during our live coaching calls: Twice a month you can tap into a support system of others with similar health goals and get your questions answered by health experts.

Week 4: Assess Your ‘DRESS Code’

Longevity is a big wellness buzzword these days, so if staying healthy as you age is one of your 2026 goals, know the best tools to do so are actually free, says Dr. Shad Marvasti, author of “Longevity Made Simple” and executive director of the Integrative Health and Lifestyle Medicine Institute at HonorHealth.

He recommends focusing on mastering the ‘DRESS Code’ — diet, relationships, exercise, stress and sleep:

• Diet: Prioritize whole foods with color and fiber to lower inflammation at the cellular level.
• Relationships: Protect your relationships, as strong social ties can extend lifespan as much as quitting smoking.
• Exercise: Start with a 15-minute moderate-intensity daily walks, which can reduce your risk of early death by nearly 20%. (Moderate intensity while walking means you can talk but can’t sing easily during the activity.)
• Stress: Practice slow breathing for one minute throughout the day to help your body recover from stress. Press play on a simple 3-minute guided breathing podcast in the Start TODAY app whenever you need a moment to reset.
• Sleep: Guard your sleep like medicine. Just one night of poor sleep can raise stress hormones, increase cravings and accelerate aging pathways.

And remember these goals don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Wellness has eight dimensions, including happiness, physical and mental health, close social relationships, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, material and financial stability, experts say.

“Since we’re all so time-compressed, I highly suggest targeting more than one dimension of well-being at once,” Harden adds.

“For example, I like to call my best friend while picking up litter on the side of the street in the rural town where I live. This gets me fresh air, a sense of meaning and purpose, and with the bags of trash, I am doing both weightlifting and walking.”

Bottom Line: Whatever You Do, Be Consistent

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed about how to improve your health in the new year, choose one habit you can consistently repeat, the experts advise.

Start with something simple and realistic — like a 10-minute walk a few times a week, going to bed 20 minutes earlier, cutting down daily screen time by five minutes, or swapping one junk snack for something nutrient-dense, Vaziralli says.

Lock in one habit until it feels automatic. To help you get there, make your progress visible. For example, Vaziralli keeps a giant paper calendar on her wall and writes down what she did every single day.

“It’s in my face, unavoidable, and it keeps me honest,” she says.

Checking off one small thing each day helps keeps Start TODAY members stay motivated on their health journey. Download the app to have a new simple task revealed each day — and feel the motivation roll in as you check it off!

And it’s OK if some days feel uncomfortable and some moments may feel almost impossible — that isn’t a red flag, it’s the adaptation phase, she adds.

“Once you’ve built that foundation, a structured, supportive environment can accelerate everything,” Vaziralli says.