Slip to Strategy: How to Build from an Off Day
Sunday morning, backyard WOD. I jumped up to the bar for banded pull-ups, and a set of three felt harder than it should. Just two days earlier, I had eight solid reps. What happened?
The answer was simple: my diet the day before. I didn’t eat a proper dinner. Saturday had been too hectic, and food prep got the short end of the stick. Instead of feeling strong and invincible, I was slogging. That workout reminded me how much the nutrition choices I make shape the way I feel the next day.
It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen this play out. Years ago, I gave up drinking because I got sick of waking up feeling at best, half-mast. Even a couple of glasses of wine left me sluggish, impacted my workouts, clouded my food choices, and took days to shake off. The thing is, I didn’t know how much better I could feel until I removed the alcohol or improved the quality of my diet. It was only when I went back and felt weakened that I knew, for sure, that these really do make a difference to my health and well-being. Each one of those mornings when I woke up feeling “gross” from booze served as reinforcement to change my ways. Now it’s the same with diet: every time I feel the drag of poor choices, I’m reminded that there is a price to be paid for it.
A key thing I’ve learned on the nutrition side is that it’s often not about having a “food choice” issue. It’s about having an energy leak. When my reserves get drained by other matters, food prep slips, and choices happen out of starvation and exhaustion. Protecting my energy for eating well is what makes nutritious, calorically rational choices possible more often than not.
For me, consistency is where traction is built. It isn’t about getting it right every time but rather finding ways to stay the course when the chips are down, learning from those moments, and coming back stronger the next day. Weekends can be a hard stretch, but awareness is the first step to changing patterns. If I know Saturdays are going to get to me, I can do something about it. That might mean:
Going to bed earlier Friday night so I can wake up with time to prep food.
Carrying a “snackle box” of vegetables and nuts in my gym bag.
Stopping myself in the moment and asking how I want to feel for Sunday morning’s workout.
Playing the game of “Would I rather?” Would I rather wake up strong and ready, or eat/drink this thing now and pay for it tomorrow?
When I start framing choices this way, I see that food isn’t just about the moment; it’s about setting myself up for tomorrow’s energy, performance, and mood. That shift is what creates lasting change, and it’s exactly the kind of work we’ll be practicing in the upcoming Built on Basics Fall Fitness & Nutrition Series.
Here’s what we’ll cover together:
How to hit a daily dose of 800 grams of fruits & veggies.
How to get enough protein for your needs.
Practical meal prep hacks that fit into real life.
Mindset strategies to tackle slips.
A fun, simple tracking system to keep you focused.
In the end, dietary change isn’t about hitting it out of the park every day; it’s about asking the right questions in the moment. The most powerful one is simple: Would I rather wake up strong and ready, or feel weighed down tomorrow?
👉 Join us for the 8-week series September 29 – November 24, 2025, here.
