6 Ways to Make Your Health Improvements Last

Lost weight? Lowered your blood pressure? Here are six things doctors say you should do to maintain your success

Kristen Fischer,

AARP

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Published May 15, 2026

illustration of an older adult with short white hair wearing a t-shirt and headphones, standing in the center of a large, blooming purple flower and performing a standing quad stretch. The background is a solid, warm orange, symbolizing vitality and the growth associated with sustaining healthy lifestyle habits.

Federico Gastaldi

Key takeaways

Reaching health targets can be beneficial, but it can take work to maintain results.
Gradual habit changes are easier to sustain, especially as your body changes with age.
Consistent sleep, medication routines and doctor check-ins help prevent backsliding.

For many people, a yearly physical comes with familiar reminders to lower your cholesterol, blood pressure or weight — and for good reason.

Hitting recommended targets for these numbers reduces heart disease risk, but the benefits don’t stop there. “This kind of healthy lifestyle can improve mental health, reduce joint pain and even cut your risk of cancer,” says Dr. Gregory Roth, a cardiology professor at the University of Washington.

But what happens after you finally get those numbers down — and how do you keep them there? Here are six things doctors say you should be doing to maintain success — plus eight important health markers to stay on top of.

1. Exercise regularly

Regular exercise is the biggest factor in maintaining results, says Dr. Heather Ferris, an associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

Hate working out? Find some sort of physical activity that brings you joy, says Dr. Shannon Dowler, a family physician in Marshall, North Carolina. Dancing, gardening and walking all count as physical exercise, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“You don’t have to set Olympic measures for success,” Dowler says.

2. Go slow on lifestyle changes

Making slow, sustainable shifts — for instance, adding vegetables to your plate once a day instead of forcing them at every meal if you’re not a fan — is better than making drastic changes that are harder to keep up with, Dowler says.

And recognize that things may change as you age. For example, if you have knee problems, consider swapping your running route for a biking one.

3. Prioritize sleep

Prioritizing healthy sleep habits and treating any sleep disorders is essential for your cardiovascular and metabolic health, according to a 2025 report in the International Journal of General Medicine. Short sleep duration is linked with a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, while insomnia is linked to 45 percent greater odds of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease, the report found. Ample, consistent sleep is common in those who maintain their weight loss, Ferris says.

4. Eat more plants

Research shows the broad benefits of plant-based diets, from helping people maintain weight to thwarting disease. Try swapping a plant-based protein for an animal protein twice a week, Ferris suggests. It could be having bean chili instead of beef chili or using extra-firm tofu instead of beef or pork in a stir-fry, she suggests.

5. Take your medications

Dowler encourages her patients to get 90-day supplies of medication to reduce the hassle of maintaining an ample supply. Use pillboxes to help you remember to take the medications as directed, she points out.

If you’re having difficulty with a lot of medications, ask your doctor how you can simplify your regimen, Dowler adds.

Medication timing is also key. If you’re on a statin like simvastatin, lovastatin or fluvastatin, take it at bedtime rather than in the morning. It works better that way because cholesterol synthesis by your liver is controlled by your circadian rhythms.

Other statins are longer acting and can be taken any time of the day, Ferris says.

6. Connect — and reconnect — with your doctor

Roth recommends checking in with your health care provider about once a year — possibly more often if you are on medications. Also, make sure your doctor knows if you take supplements, he says.

“The science behind healthy metabolic targets and the available medications keeps expanding, so it is always good to make sure [your doctor] is up to date,” Roth says.

Regular communication with the same doctor over time can help maintain results, Dowler says, and gives your doctor a better sense of what’s normal and when something is wrong.

“We would much rather see somebody who is struggling to come up with solutions — and give them pep talks and think about how we can be creative together — than to see somebody a year later and find out that everything is so much worse than we expected it to be,” she says.

Also, ask your doctor how often you should have your blood work done.

8 key health metrics to monitor

1. Weight

Losing weight doesn’t just move the needle on the scale. Dropping a few pounds, or several, can also have a significant impact on your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar numbers.

Weight loss is “the piece of the puzzle that we believe is a big part of what’s been missing,” says Dr. Louis Aronne, a professor of metabolic research at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.

In the same way statins are prescribed for high cholesterol, Aronne says, we could see doctors turn to obesity medicines to help people shed pounds and treat related factors like high cholesterol. While GLP-1 medications work well, they aren’t the only option for medical weight loss, he notes.

2. Inflammation

Chronic inflammation contributes to many diseases, making its reduction a major health advantage, Aronne says. However, he adds, doctors aren’t always measuring it.

A high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) blood test can help doctors gauge inflammation levels. A normal CRP level is below 0.9 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Excessive fat can produce inflammatory substances recognized by an hs-CRP test, so shrinking fat cells by losing weight can help lower inflammation. In fact, shrinking fat cells seems to work better than anything to battle inflammation, Aronne says.

3. Cholesterol

Your cholesterol levels should be checked annually with a simple blood test, Ferris says.

The heart-healthy level for total cholesterol is under 200 mg/dL. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) should be between 40 and 80 in men and 50 to 80 in women. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) should be below 100.

If you have been prescribed a cholesterol-lowering medication, stick with it. Most people still need the same dose after losing weight unless they have changed the kinds of food they eat dramatically, Ferris says.

4. Blood sugar

Elevated blood sugar can not only lead to diabetes; it can damage blood vessels and tissues, causing issues like gastroparesis, heart disease and stroke. As with cholesterol and blood pressure, doctors know that lowering glucose levels can have significant health benefits.

5. Blood pressure

Keep tabs on your blood pressure, which measures the force of your blood going through your arteries.

Normal: Below 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).
Elevated: Systolic blood pressure (the top number) between 120 and 129 mm Hg is elevated if the diastolic (bottom number) is below 80 mm Hg.
Stage 1 hypertension: Systolic from 130 to 139 mm Hg and diastolic from 80 to 89 mm Hg.
Stage 2 hypertension: Systolic is 140 mm Hg or higher and diastolic is 90 mm Hg or higher.
Severe hypertension/crisis: When systolic is higher than 180 mm Hg and diastolic is over 120 mm Hg.

Blood pressure is very responsive to lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, Dowler says. Medication can also help lower blood pressure.

6. Kidney function

Staying on top of your kidney function is critical because it “tells a lot about our overall health and a lot of people don’t really pay attention to it,” Dowler says. She adds that your doctor will likely test the microalbumin, creatinine and glomerular filtration rate.

“There are a lot of lab numbers that we can adjust [with simple interventions],” Dowler adds.

7. Liver health

Liver health markers, such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), will help your doctor evaluate your liver function. A blood test to check liver health is a must because our country has very high rates of liver disease, Dowler says.

A 2024 study published in Nature Communications Medicine estimates that 42 percent of U.S. adults have fatty liver disease.

8. Anemia

In older adults, anemia — which is when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin to deliver oxygen to the tissues — is linked with sickness and death. It can occur because of a nutritional deficiency, chronic kidney disease, inflammation or cancer.

The most common type of anemia is from not getting enough iron, but there are other forms. A complete blood count (CBC) test can also tell if you’re anemic, which is something else to keep an eye on, Dowler says. Your doctor may then go on to order a ferritin test, which measures the protein that stores iron.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Kristen Fischer is a contributing writer at AARP based at the Jersey Shore. She has also written for Health, WebMD, and McKnights and is the author of Zoo Zen: A Yoga Story for Kids.