Why Spring (Not January) Is the Best Time to Set Health Goals

I used to think something was wrong with me.

Every January, like clockwork, I’d try to force myself into a new routine—meal plans, early workouts, elaborate wellness intentions scribbled into a brand-new planner. Q1 Performance Goals for my team and a new (always higher) revenue goal for my gym to hit! I would sign up for a 30-day challenge at Barry’s Bootcamp or Y7, maybe even decide to do some two-a-days. Dry January for no reason other than to deprive myself? Sign me up!

And every year, by the end of February, that momentum had fizzled. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t unmotivated. But I sure felt like I was failing. Inevitably, I’d caught some cold that had made it impossible to stick to my crazy fitness regimen. January is the season of “new year, new me, right?” So why was it so hard to stick to these changes? Even though those goals were a disaster from a behavior-change lens, I still pondered why Winter-me had to work so hard to accomplish everything.

Eventually, I realized:

It wasn’t me.

It was the season.

Well, it was kind of me, because I’m the one who set the goals. Let me explain: It wasn’t until I started working for myself that I realized the start of my energetic year was in late March/early April. 

Working for myself expanded my opportunities to tune into my natural energy rhythms. On a micro level, if I had a creative burst of energy at a non-traditional time, I learned that I could be highly effective and accomplish a day’s worth of tasks in a mere hour. On the flip side, if I found myself exhausted in the afternoon, allowing myself to take a nap instead of pretending to work proved to be much more productive in the long run.

On a macro level, this concept also applied to my yearly calendar. During the cold, dark months of winter, I noticed a decreased shift both in my own energy levels and those of my clients (and therefore the service-based portion of the business). But come late March/early April I was excited and energized, and so were my clients! My calendar filled up, and people were beginning to make real progress towards their goals. I was crushing my workouts again, and easily excited about incorporating more fresh ingredients into my cooking.

January might mark the beginning of the calendar year, but it’s not the most supportive time to create sustainable health habits. If you’ve struggled to stay consistent with your health goals in the winter, you’re not alone—and you’re not broken. Turns out that for a lot of people, Spring is actually the best time to set health and wellness goals! 

Your Biology Is Coming Back to Life

There’s a reason you feel a little more alive this time of year—it’s physiology, not coincidence.

As the days get longer and sunnier, your body naturally produces more serotonin (a neurotransmitter that supports mood and motivation) and vitamin D, both of which play a key role in improving energy levels, emotional well-being, and even immune function. Your circadian rhythm becomes more regulated, helping you sleep more soundly, feel more mentally clear, and tune into your natural hunger and fullness cues.

But it’s not just about hormones—it’s about rhythm and resonance with the natural world.

Think about it: in January, most of the Northern Hemisphere is still in the grip of winter. The earth is quiet. Trees are bare. Plants are dormant. Animals are hibernating or conserving energy. And yet—we're told to launch bold goals, overhaul our routines, and force transformation while everything in nature is paused.

That push-push-push energy in January often feels jarring because it’s out of sync with what our bodies and biology are designed to do in winter. It’s completely normal to feel more introspective, inward, and slow-moving during that time—it’s your body honoring a natural cycle of rest and restoration.

Spring, on the other hand, is the season of awakening. The frost begins to melt, the soil softens, buds start to bloom, and the world gradually stretches toward light and growth. Your body responds to that shift, too. You might notice more energy, more clarity, more ease in getting started—and it’s not willpower. It’s alignment.

Even though the Gregorian calendar marks January as the start of the new year, many spiritual traditions, ancient philosophies, and religious calendars align the idea of rebirth, renewal, and awakening with Spring—not winter. In Judaism, Passover commemorates liberation and new beginnings. In Christianity, Easter represents resurrection and renewal. In Persian culture, Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is celebrated on the Spring Equinox as a symbol of new life. In Chinese philosophy, Spring marks the beginning of the Wood element in Traditional Chinese Medicine—a time of growth, vision, and upward movement. In Ayurveda, Spring is a time for clearing, cleansing, and preparing the body and mind for new energy. Across cultures, Spring is seen as a sacred reset—a time to shed what’s stagnant and step into what’s blooming.

This isn’t just a poetic idea—it’s a deeply human one. We've always looked to the rhythms of the earth to tell us when it's time to rest… and when it's time to rise. When you understand that you’re not meant to bloom in January—you’re meant to prepare—everything shifts. You stop seeing slow starts as failures

and start honoring them as part of the process.

The Environment Supports Movement and Fresh Food

As the days grow longer and the sun climbs higher in the sky, it’s not just your mood that lifts—your habits begin to shift too, often without you even realizing it. The environment around you becomes a natural cue for movement and nourishment.

More daylight hours have been shown to increase physical activity levels, particularly outdoor movement, which has additional benefits for mental health, cardiovascular function, and vitamin D synthesis from sun exposure (Witham et al., 2012). And just like you feel the pull to move more, your body also begins to crave foods that feel fresh, vibrant, and alive.

In the winter months, especially in colder climates throughout the Northern Hemisphere, seasonal produce is quite limited. Root vegetables, winter squashes, onions, and storage crops dominate the shelves. These hearty, grounding foods are perfect for winter’s slower pace—but they don’t necessarily spark that light, energized feeling most of us crave when we want to refresh our habits.

In Spring, that changes. The earth begins to thaw, and new crops start to emerge—tender greens like arugula, spinach, dandelion, asparagus, peas, spring onions, radishes, and herbs like mint and chives. It’s a return to color, crunch, and renewal on your plate.

This season also marks the time when we plant seeds to grow our food for the coming year. It’s symbolic—and literal. Just as farmers sow the ground, you have the opportunity to plant new habits that will nourish you in the months to come.

There’s something deeply grounding and intuitive about aligning your eating habits with this cycle. When you eat seasonally, you’re not only supporting your health and digestion—you’re also reconnecting with the natural rhythms that have guided human nourishment for thousands of years.

Studies even show that seasonal produce is richer in nutrients and antioxidants since it’s harvested closer to peak ripeness and doesn’t require long storage or transport (Sanzani et al., 2014).

Spring Invites a Gentle, Regenerative Energy

There’s a distinct shift that happens in Spring—and it’s more than just warmer air or blooming flowers. The energy of this season is different. It’s not harsh or demanding—it’s quietly powerful, inviting you to re-emerge, reawaken, and rebuild with softness and sustainability. Dare I say there’s an undertone of happiness on the first warm day of the year?

In contrast, our cultural energy in January is often rooted in pressure and urgency: Reset everything. Reinvent yourself. Hustle hard. But when you try to force a full-body transformation in the dead of winter, it often ends in burnout—not because you lack discipline, but because it’s not the right season to push.

Spring is different. It’s rooted in gentle expansion. Just look around—nothing in nature blooms overnight. Flowers unfurl slowly. Trees bud little by little. Grass creeps up from the soil day by day.

This season’s energy is aligned with regeneration and progression, not perfection. Even in ancient healing systems like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Spring is associated with growth, flexibility, and the liver, which is viewed as the organ responsible for processing, releasing, and flowing freely. (And in a modern context, your liver does indeed play a vital role in metabolism and detoxification.)

So what does that mean for your wellness goals?

You still don’t need a full overhaul.

You need space to expand, breathe, and re-root in your body’s natural rhythm.

And guess what? That’s when change actually sticks—when it comes from alignment, not from self-criticism or chasing someone else’s version of health.

Winter Was Meant for Rest—Not Reinvention

Let’s say this clearly: You weren’t meant to thrive in overdrive during winter. You were meant to slow down.

Nature doesn’t sprint through January—it pauses, rests, and conserves. Trees shed their leaves. Animals hibernate or reduce activity. Soil lies fallow. Even daylight hours are in short supply, nudging us to wind down earlier and sleep longer.

Yet somehow, our modern culture expects us to do the opposite: overhaul our routines, set ambitious goals, and power through icy mornings with motivational mantras. But trying to force transformation during this deeply reflective, low-energy season isn’t just emotionally exhausting—it’s biologically misaligned.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and general winter sluggishness are real and well-documented. A lack of natural light can disrupt melatonin and serotonin regulation, contributing to low energy, poor mood, and even changes in appetite and metabolism (Melrose, 2015).

So if you’ve ever wondered why your January resolutions didn’t stick, consider this: maybe your body wasn’t resisting change—it was just honoring the season.

Winter is meant to be a time of inward reflection, rest, and restoration—not a time to sprint toward peak performance. That slower pace isn’t laziness. It’s wisdom. It’s your biology aligning with what the natural world has always done.

And just like nature doesn’t stay dormant forever, neither do you.

Spring Wellness Goals Are More Likely to Stick

Do you know what makes a new health habit sustainable? It’s not just motivation—it’s alignment with your energy, environment, and internal rhythm.

Studies have shown that behavior change is more successful when people feel energized, optimistic, and environmentally supported—all things that naturally increase in Spring (Prochaska et al., 1992). As exposure to natural light increases, your body begins producing more serotonin during the day and melatonin at night—creating a more regulated mood and sleep cycle, both of which are strongly linked to better habit formation and stress resilience (Wurtman et al., 1989; Bedrosian & Nelson, 2017).

Let’s make it even simpler:

In Spring, you’re not pushing a boulder uphill.

You’re walking with the current.

Even the symbolic timing is powerful. This is the season when we plant seeds—in our gardens, yes, but also in our lives. And just like a seed doesn’t become a flower overnight, lasting change doesn’t need to be fast to be effective. It just needs to be planted in fertile ground and given the right conditions to grow.

You’re Not Behind—You’re Right on Time

If you’ve been feeling like you're just now ready to kick it into high gear, you're not late—you’re perfectly in rhythm. Spring is the time to return to yourself. To feel more energized, more clear, more connected to what truly nourishes you—not just in your body, but in your life.

And if your goals this Spring include re-examining the way you feed yourself—not through diets or restriction, but by learning how to trust your body and create a method of eating that actually lasts—I’ve got something just for you:

You Know What to Eat—How To Take Control Of Your Diet For Life

My free 5-day email course will help you move from food confusion to clarity—without calorie counting, meal plans, or guilt.

Each day, you’ll receive a short, powerful email where I’ll walk you through my 5-step system to help you reconnect with your body and build sustainable eating habits:

The biggest mistake keeping you stuck in food confusion (and how to fix it)

• How to use your body’s built-in hunger/fullness spectrum to guide your eating

• A simple, proven method to assemble meals that actually work for you

• How to eat mindfully without overcomplicating it

• The secret to making this method last for life—so you never feel lost about food again

• By the end of this course, you’ll never have to ask, "What should I eat?" again—because you’ll know how to answer it for yourself.

Click her to join the course!

Click the link above to join the free course now and start building an eating rhythm that supports your body, your lifestyle, and your goals—this Spring and beyond.

References

1. Witham, M. D., et al. (2012). Effect of vitamin D supplementation on physical activity in older adults. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 97(12), 4784–4792.

2. Sanzani, S. M., et al. (2014). Nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables: An overview. Journal of Food Research, 3(4), 92–102.

3. Melrose, S. (2015). Seasonal Affective Disorder: An overview of assessment and treatment approaches. Depression Research and Treatment.

4. Wurtman, R. J., et al. (1989). Effects of sunlight and diet on serotonin and melatonin synthesis. Journal of Nutrition, 119(6), 802–809.

5. Bedrosian, T. A., & Nelson, R. J. (2017). Timing of light exposure affects mood and brain function. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 139, 63–72.

6. Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102–1114.