Calm the Chaos with Weekend Anchors

How to Savor Your Weekends Without Undoing Your Progress

Weekends can feel like a free-for-all—Friday hits, and suddenly, every habit you built during the week goes out the window. Pizza Night turns into Why Not Night, which turns into Weekend Me is an Entirely Different Human Night. By Sunday, you’re sluggish, bloated, and wondering how the person who meal-prepped salmon and quinoa on Tuesday became the person eating cookies alone in the pantry on Saturday.

This cycle came up on the latest episode of The FitSister Podcast because Nat has been living it. Her weekdays run like clockwork—structured, predictable, and ruled by school bells. But by Friday? A pizza arrives at her door and a switch flips.

It’s not just about craving food—it’s about craving freedom—freedom from meal prep, freedom from eating the same boring lunch everyday, freedom from being “good” all week.

I firmly believe we should absolutely enjoy our weekends, but if every Monday feels like a full-body reset after three days of chaos, something has to shift.

The Problem With the “All or Nothing” Weekend Mindset

When you treat your weekends like a free-for-all, your body notices. It’s not just about eating pizza or having dessert—it’s about completely disconnecting from the habits that make you feel good.

But the answer isn’t to add more rules to your weekends. You don’t need to “crack down” or get rid of Friday night pizza. The solution that Nat and I discussed on the podcast is something we named weekend anchors.

What Are Weekend Anchors?

Weekend anchors are small, intentional habits that keep you connected to the healthy version of yourself without sucking the joy out of your days. They act like guideposts—helping you stay on track just enough to avoid the “Sunday night regret spiral,” but with enough flexibility that you still enjoy your weekend.

I’ve been experimenting with this idea myself, and here’s what I’ve learned: when I have a few key habits that keep me grounded, I feel better—without feeling like I’m missing out.

Nat and I talked through some possible anchors to help keep her dialed into her healthy self without making her weekends feel rigid and boring. Some of these might work for you, or inspire you to create your own weekend anchors.

1. Upgrade Your Friday Night Default

For Nat, the weekend spiral starts on Friday at 4 p.m. She gets home from work—hungry, exhausted, and so ready to check out. And guess what’s waiting for her? Pizza Night! Thanks to our adorable dad, Nat has dinner hot and ready for her hungry family every Friday. The joy from this pizza doesn’t just come from the food itself, it comes from not having to plan, cook, or clean which is a huge gift!

My Friday night vice is wine. “Just a glass to take the edge off” quickly becomes multiple bottles shared among friends. And it feels so good… until the next day.

Pizza isn’t the enemy, and I’m not ready to get rid of wine completely—we just don’t want to let them steal the show. The real problem is the pattern it sets in motion. It’s the trigger that says: The weekend rules are different. The structure is gone. Go ahead, you deserve it!

The solution? Create a Friday night plan that still feels like a treat without sending you into a downward spiral.

For pizza-lovers like Nat, this could be:

• Order healty-ish takeout, but from a place that actually leaves you feeling good afterward. You can keep enjoying the treat of a stress free, no cooking, no dishes night—but leave dad’s pizza treat for the kids.

• Stock the freezer with a weekend-specific easy meal—something you look forward to that still aligns with your goals.

• Add a veggie or protein to pizza night. No, this isn’t about “earning” the pizza. It’s about giving your body something it actually needs, too.

  
  

For wine-lovers like me:

• Set a limit in advance and pair each glass with a full glass of water.

• Swap one round for a non-alcoholic option like a sparkling water with lime.

• Avoid mindless refills - put your glass in the dishwasher after one or two and move on to a new activity to signal the shift from "wine mode" to the rest of the night.

For Everyone:

• Let the people around you in on your plan. They love you, they support you, and their encouragement can make all the difference. It’s not their responsibility to keep you on track, but a little accountability never hurts.

  
  

You don’t have to eliminate the thing you love—just tweak it so it doesn’t send you into an all-weekend free-fall. It still feels special, but it doesn’t make you feel like you’ve opened the junk food flood gates for the whole weekend.

2. Health Habits on the Go: Making It Work in the Chaos

For many of us, weekends don’t mean slow mornings and lounging around—they mean kid’s soccer games, birthday parties, family obligations, and non-stop running around. Sometimes the problem isn’t that we have too much time to snack—it’s that we barely have time to eat anything that isn’t a handful of Goldfish from a snack bag at the bottom of our purse… and side note, why is it wet?

If you’re spending hours at the field, running errands, or shuttling kids around, you probably don’t have time for a full workout or a perfectly home-cooked meal. But that doesn’t mean you have to abandon your health habits entirely.

Instead of aiming for perfection, focus on small wins that keep you feeling good:

• Pack a few high-protein snacks so you’re not relying on concession stand nachos when hunger hits. I pack things like nuts, apples, RX bars, and beef jerky.

• Drink water throughout the day—yes, you’ll have to pee in a porta-potty, but I promise you’ll survive and maybe even build a little grit!

• Find little ways to move—even if it’s just walking the field between your kid’s events or stretching while you’re standing on the sidelines. I like to think of this time as my “active recovery” which I know is good for me even if it doesn’t feel as good as going to the gym.

  
  

Last Saturday, I spent eight hours at a track meet—filling my mama heart with pride while simultaneously wrecking my (wannabe) athlete body with cruel metal bleachers and a serious lack of nutrients. My food choices weren’t perfect, and I definitely wasn’t hitting the gym. But I walked laps between events, packed some healthy snacks, and made sure to drink water. It was far from perfect (let’s just say next time I’ll also be bringing my own toilet paper and sanitizing wipes). Walking isn’t my favorite form of exercise, but it checked the “move your body” box—and that was enough to keep me feeling like me.

And that’s the key. This little “snack pack anchor” reminds me that my health is important to me, and that this isn’t an “all or nothing” deal. Habits that remind me of my health goals mean I’m less likely to over do it later in the weekend. I’m okay with slipping a little, but I don’t want to spiral!

You don’t have to be perfect to stay on track. You just need to find the little choices that help you feel good—no matter what the weekend throws at you.

3. A “Healthy Indulgence” Routine

Reframing Indulgence: From Free-For-All to Joyful Ritual

Why do we indulge on the weekends? So many reasons! We’re exhausted, we finally have a break from the structure of the week, and food is one of the easiest ways to create a sense of reward.

The key to creating a healthy anchor isn’t about avoiding indulgence—it’s about differentiating between a joyful indulgence (which we welcome!) and a mindless binge (which feels downright crappy).

Nat described this exact struggle on the podcast. She loves food. She loves cooking. And on the weekends, when she’s no longer rushing to throw together a quick dinner between grading papers and shuttling kids around, she finally has time to experiment in the kitchen. But with all that freedom and access, it sometimes turns into a free-for-all—eating way more than she actually wanted or needed, just because the opportunity was there.

So instead of trying to restrict or "be good," we talked about reframing what indulgence means.

Indulgence doesn’t have to mean overdoing it. It doesn’t have to mean eating just because something is there. What if indulgence was about fully enjoying food in a way that actually feels good?

For Nat, that meant embracing her love of cooking while setting some intentional boundaries—turning her kitchen time into a joyful ritual rather than an all-day grazing session.

If you find yourself in this same cycle, here are a few anchors that will help reframe indulgence into something that feels just as satisfying—without the regret:

✅ Create a weekend cooking ritual. Instead of snacking all day, pick one meal to fully enjoy—try a new recipe, experiment with flavors, and make the process feel special.

✅ Plan an indulgence that actually leaves you feeling good. Maybe it’s a homemade version of your favorite takeout, or a really beautiful, fresh meal from a gourmet market. Something that still feels fun, but doesn’t derail your energy or mindset.

✅ Eat with presence, not distraction. The difference between a joyful indulgence and a binge is awareness. Sit down, enjoy the process, share it with loved ones, and savor what you’re eating instead of snacking aimlessly in the kitchen.

When you redefine indulgence as something intentional rather than excessive, you remove the guilt and keep the joy. And that’s the whole point—you’re not trying to eliminate pleasure, you’re trying to experience it in a way that truly serves you.

The Bottom Line: Find Your Anchors

There’s no single right way to do this. What matters is figuring out the small, intentional choices that help you feel good—not just in the moment, but the next day, too. For me and Nat, that’s:

✔ A Friday night meal that feels like a treat but doesn’t send us into a spiral.

✔ Small, healthy habits we can stick to even on busy weekends.

✔ A planned “healthy indulgence” that lets us enjoy food without going overboard.

✔ Being more intentional with alcohol—drinking less, sipping slower, and knowing when to switch to something else.

These aren’t rules—they’re anchors. They keep me feeling my best, even when life is hectic— with zero guilt involved.

What are your weekend anchors? Try one this week and let me know how it goes—I’d love to hear what works for you!

Listen to our full conversation on healthy anchors on the latest episode of The FitSister Podcast. Please follow and share if you like what you hear!

Interested in coaching? I’m always available for a free consultation call or check out my Small Group Coaching program. No pressure, no catch—just an opportunity to connect.