In just a year, you can transform your life. Changing your look will take some time, and you must be diligent about following your routines. If you’re serious about experiencing a full-body glow-up, learning how to transform yourself physically shouldn’t feel overwhelming. The small changes you make throughout the year can add up to something big, which will allow you to become a different person physically.

1. Set Goals

If you want to know how to change yourself physically successfully, you must learn how to set goals for yourself — and stick to them. Without defined goals, you can’t be sure you’ll achieve everything you want this year. Make sure that your goals are attainable over the time period you set, which can work with other metrics to ensure you achieve them. All goals should align with your overall purpose — transforming your life for the better.

2. Eat the Right Foods

Much of your body composition is determined by what you eat. If you’re trying to lose weight, cutting sweets out of your diet will help. Similarly, if you want to build muscle, you have to include high-quality protein in your diet. Make sure to cook your food, so you know everything that goes into it from the beginning. Planning meals ahead of time might take time, but it’ll be worth it to know exactly what’s going into your body.

Try to eat a healthy amount of vegetables, whole grains and protein at every meal. The majority of your plate should contain vegetables and fruits, which will help you stay healthy. Just remember that the quality of your food is more important than the quantity — how much you eat doesn’t matter as much as the nutritional value.

3. Drink Enough Water

Stay hydrated. You may think you’re hungry or feel pain for no reason when you’re actually just thirsty. Figure out how much water you need each day and strive to meet that goal whenever possible. Drinking the right amount of water can help regulate your metabolism and potentially help you lose weight. You can add flavoring to your glass, but the end goal should be to drink pure, clear water.

4. Build a Skincare Routine

If one of your goals is to look youthful, you must build a skincare routine and follow it throughout the year. What products you’ll need depends solely on what you want to achieve, but you should always include moisturizer and sunscreen in your plans. Moisturizers can protect and repair your skin when used regularly. Sunscreen can protect you from the harsh UV rays of the sun, which can age you prematurely and even cause skin cancer.

5. Spend Time Away From Screens

Smartphones are handy, but they can also get in the way of you living your life. People who spend too much time working with screens may not have self-control or get sleep at the level of their peers or colleagues.

Strong self-control and adequate rest contribute to physical fitness. Be fully present by putting away all distractions and spending time on what matters — the people you love and activities you value. Less screen time means more time and energy to work on your looks.

6. Create an Exercise Regimen

Learning about new exercises is the best way to learn how to transform your body physically. Whether you want to lose weight, gain weight or build muscle, you’ll likely need to be in the gym or participating in some sort of activity throughout the year. Plan out what part of your body you’ll work out on certain days, but make sure to leave a day for rest so your muscles can repair themselves.

Even if the shape you want doesn’t require exercise, you can still benefit from extra movement. Exercising regularly can prevent certain types of cancers and chronic illnesses, and it can also improve your mental health. Remember not to push yourself too far out of your comfort zone.

7. Be Confident in Yourself

Confidence can change a lot about a person. While walking with an air of self-assurance benefits your mental health, it can also manifest in your appearance in various ways. An unshakable belief in your abilities can make you glow. Embracing your imperfections and celebrating your strengths can help you feel less anxious about what others are thinking. Less self-consciousness can improve your posture and make you seem taller.

If you don’t have the best self-esteem, work toward boosting your confidence and advocating for yourself. Find ways to make you feel more comfortable in your own skin and pursue them. Once you learn to stand up for yourself and be confident about your words and actions, people will look at you in a new light.

8. Dress for Success

Another way to transform yourself physically is to refresh your wardrobe. Pick clothing items that fit your body type well and make you feel confident. You don’t have to replace your wardrobe all at once, especially if you plan to alter your weight in some way. Research your options before impulsively buying them.

Also, pay attention to your hair. How you style your hair can say a lot about you, and you should keep your hair neat if you want people to take you seriously. You may want to invest in a silk or satin pillowcase, which can minimize breakage and keep your hair and skin feeling hydrated and soft. Paying attention to the small things will pay off after a year of following them.

9. Stop a Bad Habit Slowly

Kicking an unhealthy habit is a surefire way to transform yourself physically in a positive way. Your lifestyle correlates with healthiness and fitness, so quitting something that’s not good for you can improve your looks in one way or another.

Think of any habit holding you back from becoming who you want to be. Maybe you hit the snooze button too many times in the morning and it makes you late for your responsibilities. Instead of telling yourself you’ll never press snooze again, challenge yourself to only press it twice instead of three times.

After a few days or weeks, press it once a morning instead of twice. Let yourself enjoy gradual change over time. You’ll build better habits and maintain your transformation momentum without feeling stressed.

10. Learn How to Reflect

True maturity is realized when you understand how a situation or event made you feel and how you can shape your communication around those feelings. Reflecting on something you did or how it made you feel allows you to plan any changes you want to make in the future.

Reflection helps you know more about yourself by examining your actions and reactions. Insight can help you change yourself for the better and learn how to overcome challenges to your physical fitness and health goals.

11. Track Your Progress

Remember taking exams at the end of the school year in grade school? They may have felt frustrating, but they showed how much you learned throughout the school year. Using a similar tool to track your progress will make it much easier to see.

Grab a journal, open a digital notepad or doodle your daily efforts in a sketchbook. As long as you’re logging your efforts once a week, you’ll quickly see the difference between where you started and where you are at any point in your transformation.

12. Never Stop Learning

One thing you’ll want to carry through this year and beyond is that you should never stop learning. Learning is essential to your growth, whether you’re trying to explore healthier food options or wrap your head around color theory to fill your wardrobe with items that complement your complexion and you can mix and match.

The more you learn, the more you can do — and the better person you become. Mastering new skills is vital to genuinely transforming yourself.

Learn How to Transform Yourself Physically

Teaching yourself how to change yourself physically doesn’t have to be complicated. Like any goal, you should make sure you can actually achieve what you want in a year. Once you’ve set your goals, work to transform yourself however you can. Showing special attention to your skin, wardrobe and hair can make you feel confident at any size.

If you plan to alter your body composition, make sure you’re doing it in a safe and healthy way and for the right reasons. You should only transform yourself because you want to change, not because others want you to. The people who love you will continue to love you, no matter what you look like after your year of transformation.