How do you get back on track?

JMMac121
JMMac121 Posts: 37 Member
in Motivation and Support
I find whenever I start getting back in to the groove of exercising and eating healthy, I sabotage myself in some way..I have recently got back on the wagon so to speak a week ago, and although my exercising has been on point, I have already had two awful days of eating crappy. I find myself discouraged and want to just start over..forget the rest of this week and say, ' I will start again on Monday.'.. But I really don't want to. I want to recover from my lapse and find the motivation to move forward. Can anyone help me?
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Replies

  • Tat2dDom624
    Tat2dDom624 Posts: 1,226 Member
    I had a minor setback last night, but i'm accepting the fact that i can't change what happened yesterday and to just keep moving forward in reaching my fitness goals.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    you just dust yourself off and try try again...! lol
    no leaving it til Mon...start again TODAY.....track your food, make friends on here which you will feel accountable to and soon you will be seeing positive results...I promise :)
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I think starting over is a great idea, but why wait until Monday? Start over today. Every day is a new opportunity to do things the way you want to do them. Don't fret about the last two days, just do your best today!
  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    Hi- The only thing I find that helps me is to have no expectation of getting enjoyment or entertainment from my food. i know it sounds wierd, but I eat for fuel not for fun. I used to get down and think about what food I would eat to pick myself up- but honestly- it never worked. I find that if i make a meal plan and stick to it and not think about what I'll be eating before hand, i do much better. i just cook whats on the plan, eat it and move on to doing something more interesting.
  • CraigCooke
    CraigCooke Posts: 22 Member
    A Rocky quote 'There is no tomorrow!" - start now....
  • pegrama
    pegrama Posts: 6 Member
    Don't beat yourself up. Start again from now. Try and see what set you off and change or avoid the trigger.
  • FJMilner
    FJMilner Posts: 407
    Hi- The only thing I find that helps me is to have no expectation of getting enjoyment or entertainment from my food. i know it sounds wierd, but I eat for fuel not for fun. I used to get down and think about what food I would eat to pick myself up- but honestly- it never worked. I find that if i make a meal plan and stick to it and not think about what I'll be eating before hand, i do much better. i just cook whats on the plan, eat it and move on to doing something more interesting.

    I like this idea....I love food, I love eating and sometimes I want to eat something just because it's yummy, not because Im hungry. I like the idea of making a meal plan ahead, not really giving it too much thought other than fuelling my body, fab way of looking at it, thanks :smile:
  • NanzyBoek
    NanzyBoek Posts: 151 Member
    starting Monday is just you giving yourself an excuse to eat worse and "get away with it". If eating properly was easy you'd be doing it all the time .. so time to stay on it even when you dont want to. In order to change you need to do just that, change.
  • Spokez70
    Spokez70 Posts: 548 Member
    Yeah it's difficult- the Monday thing killed me for years always putting it off or restarting next week. You just have to make a decision that if you screw up (or consciously decide to indulge in something) that's fine- just move forward in the right direction then and there.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    I used to have that mindset all the time. Always pushing the starting date out a few more days. Then I realized that the only person who can change this is me. I miss all the binges with lovely sweet, salty, fatty,( fill in your guilty pleasure ) foods! But you know what? I finally realized (at 54 years old) that I am the one responsible for what happens to me. I have to make this happen. I've been doing this for 5 months and so far have had the strength to do my best everyday. I have been tempted, but for some reason for the first time in my life, I resist. Dig deep inside yourself and find that part of you that will make this happen. It's hard. I know. I've lost and gained so many times. I also agree with Whitezombie - you have to look at food differently and you have to make this a thing you will do forever. That's what makes it happen. I wish you so much success!
  • shadowedgrove
    shadowedgrove Posts: 3 Member
    I find every time I chance my exercise habit, I get ravenous- I "plan" to eat healthy (without actually planning out what Ill eat), and then eat a whole bunch more to make up for and exceed the extra calories I burned. One thing that helped me was to plan out what I would eat the day before- plan out everything, including pre, during, and post workout drinks and nutrition, as well as snacks throughout the day. I find that if I add in an extra smoothie post workout in addition to my normal food- that I dont count towards my calories- then Im OK. BUT, I HAVE to PLAN to STICK to my plan. If I make a plan and then say "well, maybe Ill just do this here" the whole things falls apart.
  • AliJelliBelli
    AliJelliBelli Posts: 39
    If I've lapsed I find that I have to spend a couple of days concentrating more on not overeating until I get back into the habit of it. I've got over 20 years of bad eating habits to forget - it's going to take time to ingrain new habits! The idea of planning what you're going to eat and then putting it from your mind is a good one. Another useful mindset is to stop seeing 'crap' food as a treat. It might taste nice but what kind of treat is it if it's bad for you and ultimately makes you unhappy? Think of treats as things that make you feel good - eating crap doesn't...

    Don't wait for monday - don't even wait for tomorrow - start making healthier choices right now. You deserve it.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I agree, no waiting til Monday, start again right away. Don't try & make up for your lapse by being extra strict - just forgive yourself & get back on the wagon with no self-punishment. Did you know that most people start diets on Mondays? What for? It just gives you another week-end of "bending th rules". You can do this - you've got a whole lifetime to practice in - sometimes you'll not get it quite right, but you need to look at the bigger picture & keep moving towards your goal.
  • Squible
    Squible Posts: 359 Member
    Recently I keep sabotaging myself I'll have a week of good eating and excersise then at the weekend it'll all fall down.

    You just gotta pick yourself back up. I have a habit of beating myself up abouty it for ages telling myself I'm a failure and I should just Give up. But I'm having to tell myself if I so that it'll make things worse.

    SO what if you had fast food or chocolate or crisps instead of healthy food. Learn from that lapse and continue on the journey with healthy eating the rest of the day.

    Look at it this way if you have 5 meals a day (thin includes 2 snacks) over 7 days thats 35meals. If you eat bad even 10 times over those 35 meals then you still hav 25meals that are healthy and worth it. So the majority of your week would be healthy ad then you can just work to lessen those 'bad' meals

    If you gave up and started again monday and just ate what you wanted its gonna be harder to get back on track and continue.

    Feel free to add me for any motivation or support :)
  • gjulie
    gjulie Posts: 391
    I uaually get to this point once I am 3 months into my diet or lifestyle change or whatever you want to call it,for example back in April I was 168lbs Im 5 foot 2 and looked like the michellin man so I got back on MFP joined back up my gym membership and now Im at 144lbs and I can feel the old Ive had enough now I can stop now and Im recognising a lifelong pattern so I must break this cycle have a look at how you do things you might see a pattern to this too how to break the habit I dont know its not just about the odd slip up or the odd bad day its the over all that counts so dont wait until Monday or give up keep going keep looking ahead when my clock goes off at 5.45 and I think maybe Ill skip today I remember I have 2 young men my eldest sons waiting to go with me so I have to get up and face the gym whether I feel like it or not only for them I think I would be at the old,ok so Im fine now,lol
  • cordianet
    cordianet Posts: 534 Member
    Fundamentally, I think you misunderstand what's needed. Way too many people like yourself think there are only two "modes" if you will. "Dieting" and "regular". Until you understand that this is for keeps, you're going to have this problem. This is not a "diet" that you go on for a while and then stop when you get to your goals. The other major issue I see you're having is that you seem to believe you need to change everything, or it's pointless. This is absolutely wrong. Look, you're trying to overcome a lifetime of bad habits here, you can't expect to flip a switch and expect to be perfect. Instead, focus on just changing one simple thing. Maybe for you it's eating a healthy breakfast, or eating out less, or avoiding fast food, or going for walks in the evening, etc. Remember, pick just ONE. Once you have that change down, you can move on to other changes, but take it slow. Change just one or two simple things at a time and wait till those are going consistently well before adding in other changes.

    It's a marathon, not a sprint!
  • likemeinvisible
    likemeinvisible Posts: 309
    I find whenever I start getting back in to the groove of exercising and eating healthy, I sabotage myself in some way..I have recently got back on the wagon so to speak a week ago, and although my exercising has been on point, I have already had two awful days of eating crappy. I find myself discouraged and want to just start over..forget the rest of this week and say, ' I will start again on Monday.'.. But I really don't want to. I want to recover from my lapse and find the motivation to move forward. Can anyone help me?

    I browsed through your diary. You seem to be eating way below your goal and end up crashing. Eat more, crash less.
    I also see that like me you like long walks outside. I find that no matter how tired I feel, once I'm outside I'm loving every minute of it. So even if you don't feel like it, go for a walk. You might burn less than the gym, but at least you won't dread it so much.
  • shellebelle87
    shellebelle87 Posts: 291 Member
    Recently I keep sabotaging myself I'll have a week of good eating and excersise then at the weekend it'll all fall down.

    You just gotta pick yourself back up. I have a habit of beating myself up abouty it for ages telling myself I'm a failure and I should just Give up. But I'm having to tell myself if I so that it'll make things worse.

    SO what if you had fast food or chocolate or crisps instead of healthy food. Learn from that lapse and continue on the journey with healthy eating the rest of the day.

    Look at it this way if you have 5 meals a day (thin includes 2 snacks) over 7 days thats 35meals. If you eat bad even 10 times over those 35 meals then you still hav 25meals that are healthy and worth it. So the majority of your week would be healthy ad then you can just work to lessen those 'bad' meals

    If you gave up and started again monday and just ate what you wanted its gonna be harder to get back on track and continue.

    Feel free to add me for any motivation or support :)

    I like that idea!! I always hate myself after I eat crappy but it's generally only my snacks (and weekend meals :frown: ) that are terrible. I need to think like you and dust myself off and start again!
  • JMMac121
    JMMac121 Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you sooo much guys for the support!!
  • donnasjohnson
    donnasjohnson Posts: 71 Member
    I totally relate to your post. This time around I am having more consistent success by really focusing on changing just one thing for awhile before adding another. I'm finding that mentally I'm not "giving up" at anytime because even if I slip a little on my new habit, I'm still on board with other aspect of my health that I'm working on. I found this quote on here a few weeks ago, and it just spoke to me. I repeat it to myself anytime I want to avoid one of the habits I'm working on. "If you are tired of starting over, then stop giving up." I may slip a little going up the hill, but I refuse to slide all the way back to the bottom!

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