How to you personally get back on track?

unicornpoop

Ever have an off day or off week? Maybe you ate something that set off your cravings and such. Maybe you haven't been drinking enough water....etc.... How do you personally get back on track?

lukeout007

Just do it. Yesterday I had a few too many drinks and ended up eating a candy bar and a huge butter topped cinnamon roll back to back...This morning I am in the same frame of mind I was in prior to my weak (drunken) moment. In my opinion having an off day doesn't change anything. My mindset should always be health based.

Rompa_87

I have had off weeks or off two weeks once or twice a year. It's almost impossible to be completely on track all year and sometimes you need a mental and physical break from exercise and strict dieting.

The best way to keep on track is to take things one day at a time. If you mess up one day then accept it and start fresh the next day

krystonite

It takes me a couple of days. I know I'll get back into the swing of things so I try to not be hard on myself and just let it happen naturally. I never go more than a couple of days being "off" though.

ceacheer6117

i keep a "goal sheet" in my bathroom where i am every morning to weigh myself and get ready every morning. i write down every pound from where i am now to where my final goal is (so 192-110) and i high light the number where i want to be by the end of the month (my personal end goal) you can keep this in your kitchen, or your favorite room to constantly see and by reminded of your true intentions.

kekl

Take it a meal at a time, a day at a time.

Just tell yourself it's okay to get off track for a meal, a day, a week... just don't let that meal turn into a day or that day turn into a week or that week turn into a month. No one's perfect and we all fall off the wagon every once in a while. Just kick yourself in the rear, get back on there, and never give up!

kekl

Oh yeah and I forgot to add.... think about why you got off track in the first place - were you bored? emotional? in a situation with a lot of food? didn't drink enough water? didn't eat enough the day before? etc etc

That way you can help prevent it in the future

Chagama

Accept the fact that everyone will have a bad day, or series of days. Don't dwell on it. Look at the week as a whole, often even with a bad day or two I have found I am under the goal for total calories for the entire week.

unicornpoop

Chagama- I never thought of it that way. I am probably still under calories for the week. I am an elementary school teacher and sometimes candy just jumps out at you and you end up eating some. Today is a new day!

hope516

I mentally give myself a swift kick in the hiney and move on. I reevaluate how far along I have come, what I have accomplished, and how I don't want to redo anything I have already done. I want to keep moving forward!!! I don't punish myself for making a mistake but I do stay honest and continue to make progress :happy:

emmaonamission

I always think about how good it feels to be healthy and how awful I feel when I'm eating rubbish. It's hard but I know the difference it makes in me. I visualise me getting on the scales and seeing that I've put on a few pounds and how horrible that'd be and that usually kicks me back into shape pretty quickly
I do have treat days every now and then, though. But I try and have one treat on one day and have the rest of the day be normal and healthy - for example tomorrow I'm going to have pancakes with a bit of maple syrup for breakfast, but the rest of the day will be nothing like that. Keeps me on track, makes me feel less deprived, but doesn't do much damage

japruzze

I just keep logging. Even when I'm off track I log it. Good, bad and occaisionally ugly. If I see it in writing (or in the mirror), its real. I also have a before picture on my bathroom mirror with the words "Never Again" written on it. It helps keep me from too many "ugly" days.

fiberartist219

I agree that you should think about it one meal and one day at a time. I don't worry about what the whole week will bring if I am overwhelmed. I just think about what I can do right now that is good for me.

Picking up a jump rope for 10 minutes is less scary than thinking about losing 30lbs. All you have to do is pick up the jump rope again for another 10 minutes tomorrow... and then do it again the next day.

You get the idea. Now go plan your next healthy meal and put your sneakers on for your next workout. Just do one thing at a time, and do the best you can. If it helps motivate you, you can listen to music or set a countdown timer so you know when your ten, 20, 30 minutes are up.

nathan72

Just do it. Yesterday I had a few too many drinks and ended up eating a candy bar and a huge butter topped cinnamon roll back to back...This morning I am in the same frame of mind I was in prior to my weak (drunken) moment. In my opinion having an off day doesn't change anything. My mindset should always be health based.

Great advice! I make myself pay for it...either by being extra disciplined in my eating for the following week or by increasing my exercise until i've worked those splurge calories off. For me, if there's a real "cost" involved, it helps me not feel bad...no reason to get upset, i can make up the extra calories and move on!

scs143

I am having that problem this week. I worked out a lot but my eating wasn't what it has been and my left ankle is giving me some trouble. I am not sure why. I am feeling less motivated. So this morning when I wanted to stay in bed, I just forced myself out and to the gym. I came home and weighed myself which usually gives me the swift kick I need and ate an apple. It's hard, but I am just going to keep plugging along. Some weeks, I am incredibly motivated and then every now and then, I have a week like this.

Also when I skip workouts, I am really cranky. My husband is usually pretty good about telling me that I need to get my butt to the gym because I am acting like a witch. And he is right.

rrrbecca11

Every day is a new opportunity. If I screw up one day, there is always tomorrow. Never two days in a row, though. That makes me nervous. :bigsmile:

redfroggie

This week has been a bad one for me, the worst since my injury. I had a bout of insomnia along with pain in my injured knee, scheduling conflicts and a crap attitude. I didn't make it to the gym once this week and I have told myself I just need to get over it. I will walk this weekend but start back at on Monday. I am trying to continue to eat right, but then I don't log like I should, the numbers in red are daunting.

XXXMinnieXXX

I can usually just kick myself up the *kitten*, but finding it hard this week. I'm waiting for gall bladder surgery, it was cancelled last week as I got an infection, now I have to wait atleast 6 more weeks, my liver is not functioning properly, I'm not allowed to do exercise which I hate and I've been being good for 3 months and maintaining coz apparantly my body is grabbing food coz I'm poorly, added to that I decided to cut my sleeping medication in half coz I wanna stop them. Its been a rough week and I've gone to my old days of binge eating. Today I've set my diary to maintenance and trying to atleast do that, cutting the tablets again next week. Finding it really hard to kick start again, which is different to usual. I'm only hurting myself long run though, and I've worked too hard for this so need to majorly kick myself up the bum! X