Stop Letting the Calendar Boss You Around

Your Post-Thanksgiving Reset Starts This Week, Not “Someday” 

If you’re in this community, I already know three things about you: 

1. You’re not trying to coast into your 60s. 

2. You don’t buy “I’m getting older” as a full explanation for anything. 

3. You know exactly how far off the rails last week went. 

Thanksgiving did what Thanksgiving does. 

You ate more, slept less, moved less, drank more, scrolled more. The usual “plan” turned into “whatever is in front of me.” That’s not a moral failure. That’s a stress test. 

The question is not, “Did I mess up?” 
The question is, “How fast do I get back to sending my body the right signals?” 

Most people answer that with: 

“I’ll start in January.” 

If that still sounds reasonable to you, you’re on the wrong website. 

Age-defiant people don’t wait for the calendar to grant permission. They recover fast, adjust fast, and move on. So this isn’t another “be kind to yourself, you’ll get there” speech. 

This is: You know better, let’s act like it. 

What Really Happened Last Week  

You already know the feeling: puffy, foggy, a little inflamed, a little annoyed with yourself. 

Here’s what actually shifted under the hood. 

1. You turned up the sugar, turned down the brakes 

Big meals, extra dessert, cocktails, snacks you’d never touch on a normal Wednesday. 
Your blood sugar did exactly what it’s supposed to do when you do that: spike hard, crash hard. 

At 25, your muscle mass and insulin sensitivity could absorb a lot of that chaos. 
At 50+, the same dose hits differently: 

• Sharper afternoon crashes 

• Stronger “must eat now” urges 

• Brain fog that lingers 
   

This isn’t “your age is the problem.” This is input and capacity. You increased the load and temporarily lowered your ability to handle it. 

2. You broke sleep on multiple fronts 

Late dinners. Alcohol close to bed. Blue light in your face. Guest bedrooms. Travel. Family stress. 

You know what that does: 

• Restless sleep 

• Elevated resting heart rate 

• Next-day cravings and short fuse 
   

Again, not a mystery. You flipped every switch away from recovery at the same time. 

3. You marinated in stillness 

Travel days, long drives, couch time, sitting at tables, “I’ll get back to it next week.” 

Your joints noticed. Your digestion noticed. Your mood noticed. 

Nothing here requires a lab. You sent your body a very loud message for a few days: 

“Store more. Move less. Stay alert. React to everything.” 

No wonder you feel cooked. 

The good news? Signals are reversible. And you do not need a ceremonial New Year’s resolution to change them. 

The January Myth (And Why It’s Soft Thinking) 

Let’s say this bluntly: 

“I’ll fix it in January” is code for “I don’t want to think about it yet.” 

You’ve seen this movie: 

• January 1: heroic declarations, expensive programs, kitchen purge. 

• February: “Life got busy.” 

• March: back to baseline, plus a little more frustration and a little less trust in yourself. 
   

That cycle is not about willpower. It’s about fantasy. 

If you need fireworks, a new planner, and a marketing slogan to start, you won’t last. If you need a holiday to start, you’re not really starting—you’re stalling. They use the next available week. 

So here’s the upgrade: 

Not “new year, new me.” 
New week, same me… cleaner signals. 

You already know what better feels like. Our job now is to stop pretending we’re confused. 

The Seven-Day Reset For People Who Don’t Need Hand-Holding 

This is not a detox, a cleanse, or a “quick fix.” 

It’s a pattern interrupt: seven days of clear, consistent inputs that remind your body who’s actually in charge. 

Use it as written, or adapt it. But run it. Don’t just nod along. 

1. Rebuild Your Plate  

For the next seven days, every meal answers two questions: 

1. Where is my protein? 

2. Where are my plants? 

If you can’t find both on the plate, you already know what to fix. 

Aim for: 

• A solid palm or two of protein at each meal 

• Half your plate in vegetables (frozen, fresh, roasted, soup, salad — no one cares as long as they exist) 

That’s it. No macro spreadsheet. No calorie counting. 

This alone will: 

• Smooth your energy 

• Tame the “graze all day” impulses 

• Give your muscles a reason to stick around 

Want to flirt with lower-sugar or keto-leaning days? You don’t need a label. You simply: 

• Put starch near movement (walks, lifting, yard work) 

• Cut out the lazy carbs that show up only when you’re tired and scrolling 

This is not about perfection. It’s about behaving like someone who respects their future self. 

2. Move Like You Intend to Be Useful in Ten Years 

You don’t need a new gym membership. You need to stop letting entire days go by where your body only moves between chairs. 

For seven days, here’s the minimum standard: 

• Two walks a day, around ten minutes each 

• Two or three strength sessions 

That’s it. If you do more, great. But this is the floor. 

Example: 

• Morning: 10 minutes outside as soon as you can. 

• After lunch or dinner: 10 minutes again. Not power walking. Just moving. 

On two or three of those days, add 20–30 minutes of strength: 

• Push (pushups, presses) 

• Pull (rows, bands, pulldowns) 

• Squat or hinge (sit-to-stand, goblet squats, deadlifts) 

• Carry (farmer walks with anything heavy) 

You’re not “burning off” Thanksgiving. You’re reminding your nervous system and connective tissue that you still plan on using this body for real things. 

3. Turn Down Sugar and Alcohol Like You Mean It 

I’m not going to pretend you’ll never touch either again. That’s foolish. 

But if last week was a sugar and alcohol festival, your nervous system is still buzzing. 

For one week: 

• Skip alcohol entirely or pick one intentional night and decide your limit before you pour. 

• Replace nightly desserts with: 

• Berries and yogurt 

• A couple squares of dark chocolate 

• Tea and something to read that isn’t a screen 
   

Notice the word: replace, not “white-knuckle abstain and hope.” 

Give your physiology a chance to see what “normal” feels like again. You’ll be surprised how fast your sleep and mood respond when you stop marinating your brain in sugar and booze every evening. 

4. Treat Sleep Like a Performance Tool, Not a Luxury 

Sleep is not a reward. It’s infrastructure. 

For seven days, pick two of these and actually honor them: 

• Set a screens-off time about an hour before bed 

• Keep your bedtime and wake time within the same 60–90 minute window every day 

• Stop eating at least two hours before you turn the lights out 

• Make your room cool and dark (fan, cracked window, eye mask if you need it) 

Is this rocket science? No. That’s the point. The basics still work when you actually do them. 

You don’t have to believe your wearable. You’ll feel the difference: 

• Mentally sharper by late morning 

• Less “I need caffeine just to function” 

• Less reactivity to small annoyances 

You want to age defiantly? Protect your sleep like you protect your money. 

5. Use Tech to Learn, Not to Judge 

A lot of us (me included) wear rings, watches, and straps. Good. Let’s use them efficiently. 

For seven days: 

• If you have a CGM, watch how your glucose responds when: 

• You eat protein and vegetables first 

• You walk after meals 

• You skip alcohol at night 

• If you track HRV and sleep, run your own experiment: 

• One night with alcohol, one night without 

• One late-night screen binge, one night with the screens off early 

The game is not “look at the number and feel bad.” The game is: 

“Change one variable, watch the outcome, file it under ‘now I know.’” 

Data should make you curious, not guilty. 

6. Don’t Do This Alone (You Know Better) 

You can brute force a new habit for a few days. After that, your environment wins. 

So change the environment: 

• Text someone from your circle: “Seven-day reset. Food, walks, sleep. You in?” 

• Use a shared note or chat and post one win per day instead of confessionals 

• Tell your household what you’re doing so they understand why you’re walking after dinner instead of crashing on the couch 

Humans sync. If your closest people are moving in the same direction, you won’t need “motivation” every 10 minutes. 

Where the Big Fancy Tools Actually Fit 

GLP-1 meds, peptides, exogenous ketones, continuous glucose monitors, red light devices—this space is full of toys. 

Some of them are useful. Some are noise. None of them transform a life built on lousy basics. 

If you’re already working with a smart clinician on meds or therapeutic peptides, perfect. This seven-day reset makes their job easier. 

If you’re not, start here: 

• Eat like you give a damn about next year 

• Move every day 

• Sleep like it matters 

• Drink like an adult, not a college kid on spring break 

• Build a small circle of people who think this way too 
   

Then, in a few months, if you want to layer in higher-end tools, you’ll be doing it from a position of clarity instead of desperation. 

Age Defiance Doesn’t Start in January 

You didn’t “ruin everything” last week. You simply turned all the dials away from performance for a few days. 

The privilege of being in this tribe is that you know that. You see it. And you have zero interest in spending the next month pretending you don’t. 

So here’s the ask: 

• Today, build one plate that is clearly protein and plants first. 

• Take one walk outside, even if it’s dark and cold. 

• Decide what time you’re done with screens tonight and honor it. 

• Invite one other person into a seven-day reset with you. 

That’s it. Not heroic. Just decisive. 

We’re not here to ease gently into decline. We’re here to rewrite what 50, 60, and 70 look and feel like. 

That doesn’t happen because a ball drops in Times Square. 
It happens because, on a random week after Thanksgiving, you decided: 

“I’m done outsourcing my health to the calendar. 
I’m back in the driver’s seat.” 

To your health, 

Dr. Mark 
Founder, Fitter Over Fifty