Start Over or Keep Going?
Missed some workouts?
Think back to January 2nd.
You’re ready to launch 2026 with a fresh calendar, a simple plan, and a quiet sense of determination.
💪 Three strength workouts a week. Walks and mobility on the off days.
Nothing extreme. Just steady, sustainable effort.
And for a few glorious weeks? You nailed it.
You feel stronger. Clearer. Proud.
Then February rolls in.
One of your kids wakes up with a fever and that glassy-eyed look.
A week of caretaking and canceled plans later, then your oldest goes down.
And just when you think you’ve dodged it?
You’re hit.
Workouts have been skipped. Sleep is spotty.
Then, when you finally start to feel human again, you’re stuck.
🤷♀️ Do I really have to start all over?
🤷♀️ Why is it so hard to do this healthy lifestyle thing perfectly?
Here’s the truth:
👉 No one does this perfectly.
Not in midlife. Not with careers, aging parents, growing kids, shifting hormones, and real life happening all around you.
The goal was never perfection.
It’s progress.
Why This Matters
The “yo-yo effect” can be one of the most damaging patterns for long-term health. How you respond to inevitable setbacks—whether you get stuck in a cycle of “starting over” or simply keep moving forward—has a bigger impact on your health and fitness than you may realize.
FITNESS SIMPLIFIED
When it comes to your fitness goals, success isn’t built on heroic effort — it’s built on showing up.
Again and again.
Fitness Tip to Get Unstuck
Just Get Moving
Almost no goal—especially in midlife—follows a neat, upward-trending line.
Some weeks you’re climbing the ladder.
Other weeks? You hit the chute.
Here’s the difference-maker:
When you slide down, you don’t stay there.
You brush yourself off and just log some movement—any movement.
That smallest of actions shift everything.
🌞 Your body releases mood-boosting dopamine and serotonin.
⚡ Your energy lifts.
🌟 Brain fog starts to clear.
And just like that, you’ve interrupted the “I fell off” discouraging narrative.
Momentum doesn’t require a restart.
It just requires a next step.
If you’re feeling stuck, try this simple no-equipment-needed workout👇
Simple Routine to Refocus & Regain Momentum
- Single-leg Bridges (8 reps/side): With one heel planted, push both hips up without arching the back.
- Modified Side Plank with Hip Abduction (8 reps/side): Perform a side plank from the knees, then lift the top leg.
- Prisoner Squats (8 reps): Place hands behind your head while doing squats
- Bent-over T's, Y's, and W's (8 reps each): Squeeze arms back into the shape of each letter
- Push-ups (8 reps): Elevate your hands on a couch or countertop if regular push-ups are too difficult
- Reverse Lunges with Knee Drive (8 reps/side): Step back & down into a lunge, then stand up strong driving the back knee up
Extra Tip: Do this sequence of simple no-equipment exercises 3-4 times through as a circuit, moving smoothly but quickly.
Did You Know...
- “Bodyweight-only” strength training is STILL strength training. You do not need a full gym workout for it to count.
- If you’ve missed 2-3 days of your current workout program, it’s OK to just move on—there is no need to repeat those missed days. However, it you’ve missed one week or more, then go back and redo the week which you left off.
- Doing something is better than doing nothing. If you only have time for a quick workout, but not your full plan as outlined…just do your warm-up, one set through of the main exercises and then the cool-down. Never skip the warm-up and cool-down. This shorter version still stimulates all of your major body parts in very beneficial ways.
NUTRITION SIMPLIFIED
Here’s my little trick for when I feel totally off track with my nutrition and tempted to “start all over” with something strict and extreme—I just focus on eating more PROduce.
Nutrition Tip to Get Unstuck
Eat More PROduce
If I’m honest, when my eating feels off, it’s usually not mysterious.
It’s not hormones or lack of willpower.
It’s that fruits and veggies quietly disappeared… and other foods took their place.
So instead of overhauling everything, I give myself one simple target:
🎯 Eat at least one serving of produce at every meal. Ideally two or three.
That’s it.
And almost instantly, things feel back on track.
Leafy greens are especially powerful — toss them into eggs, blend them into smoothies, pile them as a salad next to your PROtein for dinner. They crowd out the junk without you having to fight so hard.
If you’re feeling off right now, don’t start over.
Just add in.
At your very next meal, put one (or two) servings of PROduce on your plate — and let that small, powerful shift build your momentum back.
Here’s a nutrient-packed recipe to kickstart your day!
Green Breakfast Smoothie
More seasonal eating ideas:
- Wash & precut veggies like celery sticks, cucumbers, bell peppers, and carrots for an easy addition to hummus or Tzatziki sauce
- Keep bagged salads on hand, add a can of tuna, toss with the dressing and you’re set.
- Dice onions and mushrooms to add to ground beef when you brown it for taco meat or spaghetti sauce. You and your kids won’t notice the extra goodies mixed in!
MINDSET SIMPLIFIED
Progress over perfection has to be more than a cute phrase—it has to become your mindset.
Getting stuck in the “starting over” loop is exhausting…
…back to Day One, back to thinking you erased all your progress.
But if you’ve done this before, you are not at the same starting line.
👉 You gained skills, experience, and familiarity that don’t disappear just because life interrupted your routine.
Like riding a bike, it may feel a little wobbly at first—but you’re not a beginner anymore.
You’re returning—wiser, stronger, and more capable than before.
Be encouraged. You’ve already done harder things than this.
Mindset Tip to Get Unstuck
Think: Progress Over Perfection
THE TAKEAWAY
“Consistency does NOT mean you’re doing all your habits perfectly.
It just means you keep doing them—even when they’re imperfect.”
In midlife, that truth matters more than ever. There will be weeks where your routine looks nothing like you planned. That’s not failure—that’s life.
So measure your success differently.
Measure it by how quickly you return.
By how gently you speak to yourself.
By how ready you are to take the next step forward.
Lift your eyes to the future you’re building.
- Just Get Moving
- Eat More PROduce
- Think: Progress Over Perfection
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Self Care Simplified podcast
SELF CARE SIMPLIFIED PODCAST EP 421. When Discouragement (Inevitably) Hits & You Lose Motivation
SELF CARE SIMPLIFIED PODCAST EP 194. How to Stop Falling Off the Wagon and Having to Start Over
SELF CARE SIMPLIFIED PODCAST PROtein & PROduce: "Eat your PRO's!"
SPECIAL RESOURCE
Follow along with this workout targeted to help get you back in the groove.
Full Body Strength + Balance Workout
Until next week... Be strong
