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If You Keep Falling Off Track, Maybe The Track is The Problem (Not You)

July, 2025 | By Kelli Foerster, MS, CNS, CPT

That Familiar Feeling

“I was doing so well… until I wasn’t.”

You’ve probably said this to yourself at some point. Maybe you fell off your workout routine, stopped meal prepping, and started ordering takeout again. Or perhaps you bought the cookies you swore you’d never keep in the house.

Suddenly, you feel “off track” and you feel like you lack willpower or just can’t stay motivated.

But what if none of that is not actually the case?

If a bridge collapses every time a truck crosses it, we don’t blame the truck.

In this case, we re-engineer the bridge. But in your case, your “bridge” (aka your plan) collapses, and you blame yourself?

Behavior change isn’t about brute force. If your habits aren’t sticking, the issue is usually the system, not the motivation to follow the system.

Plain and simple: if you can't keep up with the plan, it's not the right plan. Shame, self-blame, and punishment aren’t tools for consistency. Flexibility and realistic expectations are.

Think about it:

You don’t call yourself a failure when you can't make a meeting. You reschedule.
You don’t quit your job because you showed up late. You adjust your timing for next time.
You don’t burn your to-do list because you didn’t finish it. You move tasks to tomorrow.

So why is it that when it comes to food, exercise, or wellness habits, we go straight to: “I failed?”

Here’s the mindset shift that can change everything:

Health isn’t black and white. You don't just pass or fail.

Instead, think of managing your health as a series of experiments that you test, tweak, and evolve over time. First make a hypothesis (aka a prediction), then test it, gather the results, make a conclusion (without judgment), then make any needed changes or tweaks. Repeat until you find something that works.

For example. You are trying to eat less sugar. You make a prediction that if you completely cut out sugar you will feel more energized. Run the experiment. You may find that yes, you feel more energized; Great! But you may find that you feel mentally exhausted from the stress of cutting out all sugar. Take that information (because it's valid), and tweak. Your next prediction may involve reducing, not eliminating sugar, and that might make all the difference! Instead of ruminating on cutting out all sugar (which is a little extreme), you find a realistic solution to reduce sugar and stll feel more energized.

Most of us treat health like a universal test we’re supposed to ace. But in reality, progress comes from feedback, not perfection. Ideal habits will look a little different for everyone and will even vary based on your current life demands.

You'll always fall off of a rigid track.

You don’t need to stay on one narrow “track” to be healthy. In fact, trying to stay on a single, rigid path is often exactly what causes people to fall off in the first place.

Life doesn’t move in straight lines, and your habits shouldn’t be expected to either. What you need isn’t a flawless routine. You need a system of lanes, turns, and alternate routes that can flex with the seasons of your life, your energy, your schedule, and your mental bandwidth.

Here's a dynamic approach that works:

✔️Flexible Structure: This means that yes, having a plan is important, but you need a plan that can adapt without falling apart.

Can’t do your full workout? Go for a 15-minute walk.
Can’t cook dinner? Order something simple and nourishing.
Can’t journal for 20 minutes? Take 2 minutes to brain-dump.

Flexible structure lets you stay connected to the habit even when your circumstances change, because they will change.

✔️Low-Barrier Entry Points: Habits are more likely to stick when they feel doable, not daunting. Set the bar low enough that you can show up even on your hardest days.

Instead of “meal prep every Sunday,” try “chop one veggie while watching Netflix.”
Instead of “no sugar at all,” try “pause before reaching for dessert and check in with how you feel.”
Instead of “work out five days a week,” try “move in a way that feels good, most days.”

Small steps compound over time, and they keep you engaged instead of overwhelmed.

✔️Self-Compassion: When you miss a day, mess up, or get off course, it’s not proof that you’ve failed. It’s proof that you’re human. Beating yourself up won’t help you get back on track. It will only keep you stuck in the cycle of guilt and perfectionism.

Acknowledging the slip without shame
Speaking to yourself like you would a friend
Recommitting gently, instead of restarting harshly

Research continues to show that self-compassion leads to more motivation, not less. It helps you learn from what happened and stay in the game instead of quitting entirely.

The Takeaway

So many people fall off track not because they aren’t committed, but because the structure they’re trying to follow can’t accommodate real life. You don’t need stricter rules, more motivation, or a perfect streak. You need a better track that includes detours, slower lanes, re-entry points, and support beams that hold you when things get heavy.

And the best part? You can build that track over time, starting exactly where you are.

So next time your plan doesn’t go the way you expected, don’t ask: “Why can’t I stick to this?” and Instead, ask: “What is this experiment teaching me?” Then tweak it. Rebuild it. Try again. That’s how you stay “on track." You building one that bends with you.

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