The September Reset Trap
You know the feeling. Whatever September looks like for you, it arrives with a bang.
Maybe it's uniforms and lunchboxes and a kitchen calendar with more on it than it had all summer. Maybe it's that the office has gone quiet in a different way - heads down, everyone knuckling in, projects that were parked in July suddenly urgent again. Maybe it's your mother's appointments landing back in the diary, the phone calls, the bit of shopping dropped up on a Saturday.
The clubs and classes have started back. The days are still long enough that you feel like you should be doing more.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, you decide: right, this is it. I'm getting back fit and healthy again.
So on top of a diary that's already filling up, you throw in a calorie deficit. You go from zero workouts to three a week. New routine, new food, new everything - all starting Monday.
Three weeks in, you've hit a wall. You're wrecked. You're frustrated. You didn't stick to the eating plan, you're barely able to get out of bed in the morning, and you're not even getting out for a walk, never mind near a gym.
And here's the biggie - you blame yourself. The guilt creeps in. Another fail.
The myth we keep buying into
The myth is that a fresh start needs a full overhaul - new eating plan, new workout schedule, new everything, all switched on at once, like flicking a light switch. We think that's what commitment looks like.
It isn't. There was nothing wrong with your willpower. What let you down was the structure, the systems, and a fair bit of unrealistic optimism.
Coming into September with everything starting back up after a relaxed summer, and then layering every health change you can think of on top of it - that was never going to hold. Not because you're not committed, but because there's only so much change a person can absorb in one week while also holding down a full inbox, a full diary and whoever else is depending on you.
What does work is picking one area. Just one. You work on it for a week or two, and when it no longer feels like a challenge, you add the next thing in. Then you build from there.
It sounds too slow. It isn't. If you add a new layer every couple of weeks, by November you have real habits stitched into your actual life - not a plan you're clinging to by your fingernails.
We plan our health around events
Have you noticed we only ever do this around something? Christmas. A communion. A confirmation. A wedding. The summer holidays. We get ourselves sorted for the event, and then it all falls away again until the next one.
What if health was a twelve-month thing instead?
And I don't mean 100% all the time - nobody's doing that. Think 80/20. There will be stretches of the year that look more like 50/50, and the odd one that's 20/80, and that's grand. You're still doing something. The habits are still there, ticking away in the background. So when you do want to push it up a gear, it doesn't feel like starting from a standing start. It's not as hard, not as exhausting, and there's no big dramatic overhaul required.
Listening to your body, putting a bit of structure in place, and keeping some form of habit going all year round will always work better than the extremes. And it means you can stop with the guilt when September doesn't go to plan.
Your challenge this week
Today, write down two goals you want to achieve in the next four weeks. Not ten. Two.
Pick something you're already half doing. If you're getting one workout done and you want two consistently - that's your goal. Just that. Then plan it properly: the day, the time, the alarm set, the clothes out the night before. Make the decision once so you're not deciding again on the day.
Take the overthinking out of one meal. Breakfast is the easy one. Find four high-protein breakfasts you actually like. Make one a week - just one - so there's no big overhaul and nothing to think about. By week four you've four breakfasts you can rotate every few days without a second thought.
Then week five to nine, you choose two more areas and build them the same way.
Don't overthink it. You're probably already doing more than you're giving yourself credit for. But please, stop with the guilt - it's the thing keeping you stuck. Just reset at a slower pace, and see where you are in four weeks.
Where I come in
If you're looking for a Health Coach who understands the challenges women face during midlife and wants to help you build simple, sustainable habits, I'd love to chat. I work online, so wherever you're based - Dublin or elsewhere in the world you can book a free 20-minute discovery call and we'll talk about where you are now, where you'd like to be, and whether I'm the right person to support you. No pressure, no obligation, just a friendly conversation about helping you feel more like yourself again.