5 Wellness Trends That Are Holding You Back In 2026

If you have been trying to “do wellness right” but somehow feel more overwhelmed than supported, you are not alone. A lot of what gets promoted as healthy is actually just more pressure, more noise, and more reasons to doubt yourself.

This article is based on a recent episode from the Thick Thighs Save Lives Podcast, and I wanted to turn it into something you can read, save, and come back to when wellness starts feeling like a second full time job.

Here are five wellness trends to leave behind, plus what to do instead so you can move forward with more clarity and less stress. #5 is my favorite takeaway!

1. Tracking Everything Until You Feel Paralyzed

Tracking can be useful. I'm not anti data. I'm anti data becoming the authority over your body.

When you're tracking calories, macros, steps, sleep, stress, recovery, heart rate, water, mood, cycles, workouts, and everything else, it stops being informative and starts being exhausting.

I see this all the time. People tell me they had a bad day because their sleep score was low. Or they skip movement because their watch told them they were not “ready.” Or they feel like they failed the entire week because one number did not line up.

Here is what I want you to hear clearly. Your lived experience matters more than any metric.

• If you are tired, you are tired.
• If you are hungry, you are hungry.
• If movement would feel good today, that matters.

Tools should support your intuition, not replace it. If tracking makes you more anxious, more rigid, or more self critical, it is no longer helping.

You do not need to quantify your existence to be healthy.

2. Cortisol Panic

This one escalated fast.

Somewhere along the way, cortisol went from being a hormone we should understand to something we are actively afraid of. People are avoiding workouts, foods, and even normal life stress because they are terrified of raising cortisol.

Here is the truth. Cortisol is not the enemy.

Your body is supposed to release cortisol. Exercise does that. Waking up does that. Living does that.

The issue is not cortisol itself. The issue is being in a constant, prolonged state of stress with no regulation or support.

What concerns me is when fear of stress becomes more stressful than the stress itself.

You do not need to eliminate stress. That is not possible and it is not healthy. You need to regulate it.

Movement can actually reduce mental stress. Adjusting intensity is not the same as avoiding effort. You are allowed to listen to your body without treating it like something fragile.

Regulation over elimination always.

3. Following Her Everything

Her workouts.
Her supplements.
Her food rules.
Her morning routine.
Her aesthetic.

I get why this is tempting. The marketing is good. Really good. But pause for a second.

• You do not have her genetics.
• You do not have her schedule.
• You do not have her stress load, resources, or support system.
• And you are seeing her highlight reel.

Buying her routine does not give you her life.

This is not about never learning from others. It is about not outsourcing your authority. You know your body better than anyone else ever will.

Start with the basics that actually move the needle. Enough protein. Enough water. Strength training. Movement you can sustain. Sleep when you can.

There is no missing secret hiding in a prettier package.

4. Hunger as Proof of Success

This one breaks my heart because it is so deeply rooted in diet culture.

Being hungry is not a badge of honor. Suffering is not discipline. Hunger is not proof that something is working.

If you are lifting more, moving more, and genuinely feeling hungrier, that can be your body asking for fuel. Especially protein. That is a good thing.

But chronic hunger as a strategy will always backfire.

It disrupts mood, sleep, hormones, focus, and energy. It creates cycles of restriction and burnout. It turns your body into something you are constantly trying to control instead of support.

A fed body is a cooperative body.

You are not meant to white knuckle your way through your life.

5. Researching Everything Instead of Starting

This is the one I see derail people the most.

Endless research looks responsible, but it often becomes a sneaky form of procrastination. The perfect gym. The perfect shoes. The perfect plan. The perfect wearable. The perfect time. And while you are researching, nothing is actually happening.

Research can feel productive, but when it keeps you from acting, it becomes paralysis. Decision consider fatigue sets in before you ever even start.

Here is what helps. Pick a time. Make it repeatable. Put on your shoes.

Action creates clarity. You do not need to know everything before you begin. You learn by doing.

You do not need perfect conditions. You need momentum.

What To Do Instead

If wellness has been feeling heavy, here is what I want you to take with you going forward.

• Awareness without obsession. Pay attention without turning every signal into a crisis.
• Support instead of punishment. Move and eat in ways that help you, not ways that punish you.
• Curiosity instead of fear. Discomfort is often a sign of growth, not a sign you are doing it wrong.
• Consistency over extremes. The plan that works is the one you can repeat.
• Trust your body. It is not the enemy. You are allowed to work with it instead of fighting it.

Your body is not something to shame into submission. It is something to support for the long run.

If any of this hit home, start simple. Pick one thing to stop overthinking and take one small action today. Put on your shoes and go from there.