September hits and suddenly you're "recommitting" — new plan, four workouts a week, 100g of protein, daily meditation, all of it, all at once. By November you're the person who's cold, tired, buried in Christmas admin, and quietly furious at the version of you who made these plans in the first place.

This week I'm breaking down why autumn fitness resets fail on a schedule (roughly: about the time it gets dark at 4pm) and three shifts that actually make it stick past half term.

In this episode:

• Why outcome goals ("lose a stone by Christmas") set you up to feel like a failure the second life gets in the way — and what to measure instead
• Plan from your lowest energy self, not your optimistic September self — why one honest workout a week beats four ambitious ones that don't survive October
• Pick one lever, not five — why stacking every habit at once overwhelms your nervous system into doing nothing at all
• A real example from my 1:1 PT clients getting stronger on one session a week, consistently, for months

My free Consistency Codes workshop digs into this properly — helps you spot your own self-sabotage/protection style so you can build consistency that actually survives autumn.

Get instant access here.

Welcome to the Busy Woman's Guide to Wellbeing.

I'm your host, Alex, and I'm here for every single one of you who is nailing so much in your life and is so busy looking after everybody else's well being while your own.

Well, it often ends up getting put on the back burner.

And here's where we're going to fix that.

Today is all about autumn fitness.

How to make it easier and how to get it done.

Because we don't want you burning out before half term even hits.

Let's get into it.

So we have arrived in September, well and truly, and it's kind of a mini new year, if you like.

So it's a time when an awful lot of us recommit to fitness and wellbeing because we've got enough time, haven't we, to really see a result the next few months before we hit the end of the year.

But it also feels like a short enough period of time that we can really get our teeth into it and we can get committed.

So it's definitely a time where we double down on our goals and where we're really looking to get some great results.

The only problem is that while we often come back feeling refreshed, we come back feeling like, yeah, I'm ready to get disciplined, I'm ready to put the work in.

Often a few weeks in, we're bored, we're burnt out with it and life stuff has happened to make it a bit harder to stick with.

So your optimistic self, who had made all the plans at the start of September, who was like, yeah, this is going to be amazing, it's going to be awesome, is maybe not the same person as you at the start of November when things are starting to kind of get a bit dark and cold.

So we're going to really talk today about three key ways that we can make this whole thing a little bit easier and so it doesn't become another in quotes failure, but it actually starts to feel more sustainable and more enjoyable and importantly, something you can actually maintain even when things are busy and even into the new year when all you want to do is hibernate.

So I've got three key ways that you can start to do this.

Number one is change what you're measuring because I know you're about to fall into the trap of I'll have the exact body I want by the end of the year or I'll lose a stone by Christmas.

So you're sitting there, you're making those goals for yourself, you're making those outcome based goals that you can't always control, but also that you have put a really, really big deadline attached to it.

And that can really work against us.

Because if we fall off track at any point, if we have a difficult couple of weeks at any point and we can't do the workouts we want to do, I don't know, we go for a weekend away and the eating goes a bit to sh it, then it starts to create a lot of pressure.

It starts to create that pressure of oh my God, now I've kind of ruined this bit of it.

It's going to be that much harder to get back on track again.

I'm going to have to make up for it.

I'm going to have to do more when I get back into the swing of things or simply I fucked it.

What's the point?

If you have maybe given up on your goals, you have given up on your routine at any point in the past because of that, then you definitely want to be looking at what am I actually measuring here?

What is the thing that I am working towards now?

This is not to say that outcome based goals are bad and that you shouldn't have any, but it's about what else are we looking at here?

Because if we just have those outcome based goals, it creates a lot of pressure.

And if you are already really busy, if you're already juggling lots of things, then it sets an awful lot of store on that one single measure.

And it also sets a lot of store on what you look like rather than what you feel.

And can be very difficult as well.

Because sometimes we will reach our goals and we still will feel like we're not there yet.

It doesn't feel like I expected it to feel.

Why?

Why does this not feel the way that I want it to feel?

So don't fall into the trap of just measuring those very specific, very high pressure outcome goals, but instead think about how you can reframe your goals for the next few months.

What other measures can you start to use as well?

So things like, I've shown up for two workouts a week for the last eight weeks.

Amazing.

I'm getting stronger every time I go to the gym.

I'm lifting more.

Brilliant.

So what are the other things that you can tick off each week that show you taking those actions towards your goals, that show you moving forwards, that show you making progress that aren't just about the big goal?

Because the big goal can become demotivating, it can become the thing that you're not Achieving it can become the thing that is really hard to get to.

And if you feel like you're not moving fast enough, you feel like you're not quite on track, then you are going to get closer into, oh, I'm just gonna sod it.

I'm gonna leave it till the new year now.

There's no point.

I'll do it in the new year when I've got the time, when I've got this, when I've got that, when I've got the other.

So that's where we often end up when it is just an outcome based goal.

So process based goals, the ticking things off, seeing what progress you're making week to week, it can keep you in the game, it can keep you with that shorter term focus, looking at things which are actually happening for you right now in this moment, those are the things that are going to help to keep you going.

And like I say, I'm not saying don't ever have an aesthetic related goal, but what I am saying is if this is all you're measuring, you're putting a lot of pressure on the end result and that can be the thing that trips you up.

So what are the other things that you can focus on as well?

What are the other things that are going to keep you going from one week to the next week to the next week?

So that's number one, change what you're actually measuring number two.

And I know this might sound a bit pessimistic, but plan from your lowest energy self.

What I mean by that is at the start of September you're probably pretty optimistic.

You're feeling motivated, you're ready to go, you've got this now, optimistic.

Early September.

You can be a very different person from November.

You the one who is thinking it's getting dark really early, I'm really tired, I'm so busy already starting to think about all the Christmas stuff that needs organizing, all the things that the kids need for school, et cetera, et cetera.

Now I'm not saying be a pessimist, I'm saying this to be a realist because I'm willing to bet you have been there before where you started planning.

It felt super reasonable that you were going to do four 60 minute workouts a week.

But once you've actually got going, you've realized it's maybe not so easy.

So when you're planning, think ahead to November, you what would feel like a victory to her.

And remember, it might be that you do one workout in a week that's absolutely Fine.

Or maybe you set a target of eight to 10 workouts a month and you tick those off.

It might not feel like it's enough, but ultimately you're going to be better off doing a couple of workouts a week for the next four months than you are going for it for four weeks and then stopping because you feel like you can't do it all.

And so it's not worth it.

And to take the example of some of my clients, so I do some personal training alongside the coaching that I do.

I've got several clients who have been with me for a really long time, and so I keep working with them and they all pretty much all only come to me once a week because they're busy women, they're working four days a week, they're all working full time.

Some of them, they haven't necessarily got time to come to me more often than that.

And so they will come to me once a week.

We will do one strength training workout a week.

Some of them do do other workouts by themselves.

They won't necessarily be heavy lifting ones, but they will do other workouts by themselves where they can not all of them do that.

And yet, and yet they get results.

They are lifting heavier, they're getting stronger, they're seeing a bit of definition in their shoulders or whatever.

So they are getting results.

And no, it may not be really quick, it may not be spectacular results that they get in the space of a couple of months, but ultimately it's the consistency that is winning out for them, rather than short, intense periods followed by nothing at all.

And so the clients that I work with, a lot of them are just really realistic about actually what's available to them, the time and the energy that's available.

Because like I say, they're working either four days a week or full time.

They've got kids, they've got to manage the school run, they've got to manage parties at the weekend.

You know, they've got a lot going on, but they're saying to themselves, look, this may not be perfect right now, but if I can get to see Alex once a week and I can do this workout once a week and then maybe do one other thing by myself, I'm making progress, I'm doing something, I'm moving my body and they are seeing results.

So don't feel like just because you're only doing a workout or two a week that you're not going to see the results.

Yes, it's going to take a little bit longer, but you will see them as opposed to doing it hell for leather for a month and then not doing anything at all.

And remember that if you do have more in the tank some weeks, do more.

But set yourself a goal that's really doable.

Set yourself a goal that leads to more consistency, because that is going to be the thing that sets you apart in the end, is the consistency.

It's not how much you can do in a short amount of time.

So look ahead to how might November you be feeling or early December you, when there's a lot going on, how's she feeling and what's going to be a victory to her.

And then when you can do more, you do more.

But even if you're getting to a point where you're doing a workout a week, you're going, hey, I'm still doing a workout a week.

I'm still moving forward.

I'm still committing to my wellbeing.

So that's number two.

And then number three is pick just one thing.

Because another trap that we often fall into is wanting to upgrade everything all at once.

So we want to do four workouts a week.

We all want to eat 100 grams of protein a day.

We want to do a daily meditation.

And it's amazing that you want to do all these things.

It's amazing that you want to overhaul things.

But if you are getting back to things after a summer off, for example, I want you to start concentrating on just one lever.

It doesn't mean you can't track your protein at the same time as getting focused on your workouts.

But choose one thing to be the initial focus.

Because like I've talked about a million times on this podcast, our nervous system is not a fan of change.

So the more you throw at it, the more likely you are to end up doing nothing at all.

Because it feels overwhelming.

Because we don't know what to do with that quantity of change and information that's coming into the system.

So decide what's most important to me right now.

If it's getting back into the gym, do that for a few weeks.

Establish that rhythm.

Find out what works for you, what feels sustainable.

Because once you start to lay that habit and that habit has started to lay roots, you can then move on to the next.

So the next one might be right now.

I'm going to start focusing on my protein intake to support my training.

And it's so easy to have our head turned to be thinking, well, I need to do that and that and that and that.

And especially when you're on social Media, you know, I know I scroll through and I'll see business related things.

I'm like, oh God, I should be doing that.

Oh, and I should be doing that.

And I should be doing that.

And in the past I would have signed up for all of these little like courses and all sorts of things, but I just, I keep going back to no, I know what I'm doing at the moment.

I've got a plan.

I'm focusing on this one thing, I'm going to move ahead with that.

And I want you to treat this in exactly the same way.

Don't let your head get turned, get focused.

What's the one thing that is most important to you now?

The one thing that is going to make the biggest difference to how you feel?

And think of it as starting to stack one thing at a time.

We're making sure that every single layer is stable enough to then carry everything else that comes after it.

And what I want you to really remember is diet culture loves an excuse for a hard reset, for a bit of go hard or go home.

But in my experience, it's exactly this which keeps many of us feel like we are failing, makes us feel like we can never do enough.

So this is your opportunity to take back control, to, you know, decide the one thing that's gonna make the biggest difference to plan from maybe a lower energy version of yourself, a realistic version of yourself, and to really hone in on what is it that I am measuring.

Let's not just make an outcome based goal, let's also make it a process based goal as well.

So we can see week to week to week what's changing and then that is you taking back control.

This is you deciding what counts for you and what feels sustainable.

Because a lot of what gets thrown at us just is not.

So if you want something that's going to serve you now and in six months when it's dark and cold and wet, then the decisions you make now, the approach that you take now is going to determine exactly that.

So make wise choices, let yourself gradually build that capacity, build that consistency over the next few months and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what changes for you by the end of the year.

Now on that note, my free Consistency Codes workshop is a brilliant resource for this.

It's going to help you to identify your personal self sabotage style, or as I like to call it, your protection style.

And then you can use that to help you create that deeper level of consistency with food, with exercise and with wellbeing as well.

In the future.

If you want to sign up for that, if you want to get hold of that, go to lifeeditcoaching.com consistency codes.

I'll put the link in the show notes as well, but that's where I'm going to love you and leave you.

If you've enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend who needs it.

And of course, make sure you're following me over on Instagram @lifeeditwithalex and I'll see you back here again next time.

Sam.