1. Eat More Plants

Most of us don’t get enough plants to fortify the microbiome (beneficial bacteria) optimally. Don’t feel pressured to eat only plants, as gut microbes like animal products too. However, increasing fruit and vegetable intake can be a simple way to improve gut health, reduce inflammation, and support microbiome diversity. This goal could be aiming for five different colored fruits and veggies each day or simply fitting leafy greens into the diet at one or more meals. Depending on your baseline, this challenge could be modified for practical success. Baby steps!

If you want to take this challenge a step further, try eating 30+ different plant species each week! This might sound like a lot, but if you count legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, as well as fruits and vegetables, it’s achievable with some meal and grocery list planning. Why 30? The Human Microbiome Project, which has been ongoing since the early 2000s, shows evidence that a greater diversity of plant foods correlates with greater microbiome diversity. This makes sense since most gut bacteria (not all, but most) like fiber from plants for fuel. I like to check in with myself on this one periodically. My typical framework to achieve this includes:

• Beans: 2–3 types
• Seeds: 3–4 types
• Nuts: 4–5 types
• Fruits: 6–8 types
• Veggies: 10+ types
• Grains: 2–3 types

This is a fun one to involve kids and make it a friendly family competition!

With all the incessant marketing around self-improvement, longevity, and beauty, it’s easy to get sucked into aesthetic or appearance-based goals for the new year. Yet isn’t there so much more to health and beauty than what meets the eye?

I firmly believe in an inside-out approach. If we nourish and support the gut, all other systems follow suit. Research supports this, as new evidence surrounding microbiome diversity shows that microbiome diversity is correlated with longevity and healthy aging in areas of the world called “Blue Zones,” known for their vibrant senior populations.

There’s no overnight quick-fix to true wellness, but inner wellness is the shortcut to mitigating the effects of aging and chronic inflammation. This shows up in our skin, eyes, hair, teeth, and muscle tone. So in light of pursuing true wellness, not just a facade held up with medications and fillers, here are a few challenges that can actually slow inflammation and support graceful aging!

2. Improve Diet Quality & Sourcing

If you don’t feel like you have the capacity to change your diet right now, then maybe shift focus to improving current diet quality and sourcing. For example, locally sourced foods can provide additional benefits—not just for your health, but for your community and the planet. Purchasing meat, dairy, eggs, and produce locally can be a simple way to support community farmers, reduce waste and fuel usage, and fuel your body with higher-quality ingredients. 

Many local communities offer farmers markets, co-ops, and delivery services around regeneratively-raised, organic, and local foods to make this practical and affordable!

3. Prioritize Protein + Fiber

If you’ve already mastered the above goals or want something a little more weight-management focused, instead of counting and measuring food or tracking calories, consider setting daily fiber and protein goals. Protein and fiber are both filling and help to support balanced blood sugar, muscle repair, and of course gut health. These are all important factors in healthy weight management and can help to reduce the mental clutter around what to eat and how much.

Protein recommendations are all over the map depending on who you ask, but a general range is 0.8-1.5g/kg of body weight. This equates to about half a person’s body weight in grams of protein as a good starting point (150 lbs = 75g protein). The RDA for fiber is 20-25g (recommendation decreases after age 50, which doesn’t make any sense to me!), but slowly inching your way up to 30-40g per day makes choosing whole foods much easier as packaged foods tend to be lower in fiber.

• Protein: Aim for 0.8–1.5g/kg of body weight
• Fiber: Gradually increase to 30–40g per day

Although I can’t offer personalized goals here, in general I find when clients are focused on eating protein and fiber with each meal, they have fewer issues feeling overwhelmed by cravings and macro tracking, or guilty about splurging.

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Do any of these goals resonate with you for 2025? I personally am going to commit to stretching more every day (anyone else over 40 feeling this?!), walking the woods on my property every day, and moderating caffeine intake (maybe).

Any other health goals you’d add to this list? If this all sounds overwhelming, I’d love to partner with you! Set up a Jumpstart Call and let’s craft a plan for your best year yet!