How to Get Back On Track (Without Punishing Yourself)

If you’ve fallen off track, welcome to the club of literally everyone who has ever tried to get healthier. This isn't failure - even if it feels like it. This is being human. And if you’re reading this at 11 pm thinking “I just need someone to tell me WTF to do tomorrow,” I’ve got you.

I build science-backed plans that make sense for real life—and a Reset Week is one of my favorite tools. It’s not a detox. It’s not punishment. It’s a calm, structured, 7-day return to the habits that make you feel like you. Strong. Clear. In control. And yes, a little sweaty.

Here’s how to do it right—mentally and physically.

The Dos and Don'ts of a Reset Week

The key to an effective Reset Week is doing enough to feel an obvious shift towards health without overdoing.

Mental Reset: How to Think About It

• Do: Name what actually pulled you off track. Travel? Stress? Over-scheduling? You can’t fix what you won’t name. It's also worth recognizing whether or not you had control over what happened. Laziness is not the same thing as getting sick, or a sudden deadline at work.

• Do: Choose one primary focus for the week. Choose something actionable. Something that is a small challenge but not overwhelmingly so. For example: commit to 2 workouts at the gym, or swapping your drive-thru breakfast coffee and a muffin for an at home version.

• Do: Talk to yourself like you would a beloved friend. Be your best hype-girl.

• Do: Expect it to feel a little uncomfortable. Change happens when you choose hard—on purpose. But as my client Whitton says "hard isn't automatically a sign to stop".

• Don’t: Try to “make up” for anything. There’s no debt to pay - no erasing yesterday. There are only the reps you do today.
  
  By the way...that holds true whether yesterday sucked or rocked. Doesn't matter. There's just today.

• Don’t: Let the scale dictate your mood. Data is neutral; use it, don’t worship it. Think about all of the variables that shift weight: meal timing, sodium intake, alcohol, where you are in your cycle, a hard workout, whether you've gone to the bathroom or not. None of that tells us about fitness.

• Don’t: Over-plan and over-commit. Pick 3 non-negotiables (or follow the guide I built for you - scroll down) and win them daily.

Physical Reset: What to Actually Do

• Do: Lift weights 3 times this week. Strength training is the driver of shape, metabolism, and long-term fat loss. After a couple of off-track days or weeks, working your muscles is a great way to feel better immediately.

• Do: Walk 7–10k steps daily. Movement regulates stress, appetite, and recovery. If you can't fit in 7-10k, aim for 1k more than your daily average last week.

• Do: Eat 25–40g protein per meal. For most women that's 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein, or 1 cup of yogurt/cottage cheese.

• Do: Hydrate like you mean it. 80–100 oz water, plus electrolytes if you’re training hard.

• Do: Sleep 7–8 hours. Go big on this one by considering both quantity and quality. Set a hard bedtime alarm and stick to it: 7.5-8.5 hours before you have to be asleep, be in bed. Keep your room cool and dark. Avoid any stimulating activity too close to bedtime.

• Don’t: Slash calories to “jumpstart” or punish yourself for an off week. Under-fueling torches energy, training quality, and muscle and will almost certainly lead to a miserable week and another weekend of "I guess I'll restart on Monday".

• Don’t: Change everything at once—no new supplements, detox teas, or 2-a-days. Stick to the basics. It might be boring, but boring works.

Your 7-Day Reset Plan

The goal: get back on track with your fitness goals - and feeling like yourself again - without guilt-driven overwhelm.

The vibe: simple, repeatable, no drama.

Use this as a framework and personalize it to your schedule.

Daily Non-Negotiables

• Protein at every meal

• Steps: 7–10k

• Water: 80–100 oz

• Bedtime routine: screens off 30–60 min before bed, lights dim, repeatable ritual

• 5-minute “reset brain dump” each evening: what worked, what didn’t, one tweak for tomorrow

Training: Minimum Commitment + Room for Growth

If you were following a plan or program before you got side-tracked, hop back into it. Don't worry - if you were only side tracked for a week or so, you haven't lost so much strength that you can't re-start right away. If it's been a bit longer, try this:

Day 1: Lower Body Strength

3–4 sets, 6–10 reps:

Barbell or Dumbbell Squat
Barbell or Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift
Single Leg Glute Bridge
Active Plank

Day 2: Conditioning or Zone 2 Cardio (20–30 mins) + mobility

Day 3: Upper Body Strength

3–4 sets, 6-10 reps:

Barbell or Dumbbell Bent Over Row
Barbell or Dumbbell Chest Press
Lat Pulldown
Side Lateral Raises
Reverse Crunches

Day 4: Conditioning or Zone 2 Cardio (20–30 mins) + mobility

Day 5: Total Body Strength

3-4 sets, 8-12 reps:

Dumbbell Walking Lunges
Barbell or Dumbbell Hip Thrust
Dumbbell Incline Chest Press
Barbell or Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Cable Row
Hamstring Curl

Day 6: Active Recovery Walk + mobility (20 min)

Day 7: Long Walk or Yoga + full-body mobility

Setting Up For a Week of Success

Create a “frictionless” kitchen

• Pre-cook protein: after years of nutrition coaching I've found that the number one success factor when it comes to eating enough protein is to have it readily available. Carbs are easy. Fats are pretty easy. Protein...requires some work. Make it easy on yourself: rotisserie chicken, shrimp cocktail, hard-boiled eggs, tuna salad, single serving cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, beef jerky.

• Out of sight, out of mouth: throw out (or at least put away for now) any foods that don't serve your goals or trigger you to over/mindless eat.

• Set a fruit bowl out: if it's there, you're more likely to eat it!

Calendar audit

• Hard-schedule your three lifts like work meetings.

• Set a timer to remind you to get up and walk, or get ready for bed.

• Use the focus or airplane mode on your phone to make it harder to doom scroll in the morning or at night.

What to Do If You Miss a Day?

1. Do not “double up.” There's no need to make up for anything. Simply resume the plan. Consistency beats intensity!

2. Shorten, don’t skip. 20 minutes of something trumps 0 minutes of nothing. If you can't make it to the gym, do bodyweight reps at home: squats, walking lunges, table pushups, plank holds.

3. Don't give up. Return to your 3 non-negotiables and stack a win before the day is up!
   

Common Myths to Ignore This Week:

“I need to sweat buckets to make it count.” No—you need progressive overload and recovery.

“I’ll just eat less and do more cardio.” Enjoy burnout, cravings, and muscle loss. Hard pass.

“If the scale doesn’t drop fast, it’s not working.” Strength and habit consistency are the first wins. Fat loss follows.

Want to make this even easier?

I built a Reset Week Implementation Challenge - complete with a workbook, checklists, printable resources and daily coaching insights - that walks you through the whole process. It’s the exact structure my 1:1 clients use to get their groove back, science-backed and real-life ready.

Grab your copy here: Start Here

And if you’re craving accountability, coaching, and a plan that’s 100% yours, my 1:1 virtual coaching is where we build the workouts, nutrition, mindset, routines, and environment that make “on track” your new normal.

You don’t need perfect. You need your next rep. Let’s go.