It happens to the best of us
We all go through it. You have a birthday weekend or it’s a holiday and then you blow your healthy eating streak. But did you blow it really?
No! You did not!
A few missteps (or even a lot) does not mean anything. It does not mean you retreat to your old ways. You just simply go back to doing what you were before.
I will be honest, I did just go through a holiday weekend and went overboard on eating. So here is what I did to get back on track.
#1 Do not dwell on it
Give yourself a break!
Know that we all go through times when we indulge and we can all get back on the right track at any time.
Meaning if you had a rough day, month, nine months, year, even ten years, you can still get back into those healthier habits.
I say healthier and not necessarily 100% healthy because you have to be realistic with yourself in doses that will work for you. Do not feel that because you are not perfect it is over, or think you should give up. Do not make it that easy for yourself to quit!
At this point, it’s about doing things that make your body feel better. Making changes that make you feel better.
Does eating too much sugar make you groggy all week? Well then cut back on the sugar.
Do you get headaches when you are dehydrated? Well then drink water.
So cut yourself some slack and listen to your body.
#2 Prep your food for the week
If you do not do this already, make sure you do it the week you are trying to get back on track. It will stop you from temptation and you will feel more inclined to get back to healthy eating habits. Or at least obligate you into eating your prepped meals (and not the donuts your coworker brought in, (you know who you are).
In fact, do your best to prepare your overall week, not just your meals. If you go work out in the mornings, prep your clothes and accessories. If you drink detox water or tea, make sure you have all the ingredients to make it at a moment’s notice.
Try your best to be prepared for all of your healthy habits!
Also, if you know you eat out of boredom, give yourself something to do when that feeling comes on. Write in a journal, brush your dog’s hair, clean! Start a blog, haha! Distract yourself by doing something productive.
Be prepared for whatever may come that week you are trying to get back on track. And if all fails and you must eat something, have an emergency snack on standby, mine is a handful of nuts.
#3 Give your body some good fluids
So the morning I was ready to get back on track I loaded up on my
- 2 Detox Waters
- 2 Green Smoothies
- 1 Berry Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Green tea with apple cider vinegar
The berry apple cider vinegar is a recipe that J.J. Smith came up with so people can drink apple cider vinegar more easily. I also made a green tea and put apple cider vinegar in it. The green tea has several benefits in itself, adding the apple cider vinegar gives it a bit of a kick and helps wade hunger.
The detox water is also a J.J. Smith recipe, it is a great refreshing way to drink water. I usually take it to work in a large water bottle and then drink up and refill as needed.
Then, of course, I drank a green smoothie, also by J.J. Smith, from her book the 10 Day Green Smoothie Cleanse (affiliate link). These are my go-to smoothies that make it easy to take in lots of greens and fruits.
The days that I do not drink a green smoothie, I tend to go overboard with my eating or find myself retreating to junk food. For some reason, on the days I do drink a smoothie, I do well, I stay on track and I feel proud of myself!
#4 Remind yourself of your goals
Give yourself a reminder of why you are trying to be healthier. Do not just rely on yourself to automatically eat well. When I am intermittent fasting I post the hours I can eat in places to remind me. I have photos of my daughter with the words printed, ‘do it for her’ on it (that really works). I do all sorts of little things that nobody else would even notice just to remind myself daily.
When I have good days and bad ones it is usually my emotions that are taking over. My emotions are strong when I am strong. Yet they can be weak when I am not feeling well or having a bad day. It’s hard to just be strong with my own will. I have to provide myself with reminders and tangible motivation.
For you, motivation can be a picture of a loved one, like your child, who motivates you to be in shape. Or maybe it is a picture of yourself at a weight that makes you happy. Maybe your motivation is a photo of you when you were at a weight you did not like?
One thing that can be done as well, is to write down your reasons for wanting to get healthy or lose weight. Write them down in a journal or in an easily accessible place that you can find when you need them the most. Make them personal, thoughtful and convincing. Pour your soul into them, so when you need that extra motivation, they are there for you and have true meaning. Read them daily, weekly, monthly or whatever time frame works for you.
Do you have goals? If you do not, get going on them. It can be as easy as, ‘lose 5 pounds by the end of next month.’ Or you can make it more in-depth with milestones, rewards and all sorts of other things. Regardless, make them and work towards them!
#5 Reach out to your weight loss squad
Tap into your weight loss squad, your partners in weight loss success! If you read my previous post on The Weight Loss Challenge – you know to get your weight loss squad going for support. Reach out to them to get some motivation.
Always keep them in a group text and just let them know SOS. I guarantee they will come to your rescue and help you get back on track.
During your next
If you do not have a weight loss squad to do a traditional weight loss challenge, at least get a group of people will similar goals to yours for support. It’s the same concept just without the challenge.
#6 Get a good night of sleep
Once I get on the junk food train, it’s all downhill from there! It makes me do all sort of silly things like go to sleep late. And when I sleep late, I drink sugary, creamy coffee, and the cycle of bad habits begins. Late nights and the guiltiest, fattiest foods!
But it is even more than that, according to WebMD, “skimping on sleep sets your brain up to make bad decisions. It dulls activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, the locus of decision-making and impulse control.”
No wonder we make bad choices when we are tired.
So set up your bedtime and get to sleep. It will do you good for even more reasons than stated above.
As a new mom with a baby it is especially tough, so let your partner support you at night as much as possible and divide nightly duties. During really tough days (like a growths spurt) one of you can sleep in another room, so at least one of you gets a good night’s sleep.
Final thoughts
If you are reading this because you are going through the same thing I am, my best piece of advice is to start now. I am drinking a smoothie as I am writing this post. Not feeling shameful, but just human.
My other piece of advice is, if you keep falling off the horse, keep getting back on and stay on as long as you can. The culture we live in is not set up for us to eat healthily, there are many challenges. So live the best you can.
Let’s get back to it and keep achieving our goals. Yes, we mess up sometimes, but why give up all together? It is not worth it, let’s keep going and let’s help each other out along the way. Support and be supportive.
Do you have any advice on how to get back to healthy eating when you are surrounded with all sorts of yummy holiday food? Let us know, so we can benefit.
