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Have You Experienced A Healthy Habit Slip?
Does this sound familiar? The diet is going well or maybe you are in the maintenance phase of dieting and into the groove of eating just what your body need without overeating or over thinking.
Then, it happens. You slip.
Maybe you have an “off day” and fall into stress eating then fall into the “oh it’s all ruined now” mentality and go right back to overeating.
It could be an event, Christmas, a holiday, a birthday or other occasion that is the catalyst for falling off the “sensible eating wagon”.
Sometimes it’s more of a gradual thing. Bad habits can creep in gradually and it’s not until we try on a pair of jeans that previously fit that are now a little snug that we realise how far we have drifted from healthy habits.
The Truth Is That We Have All Been There
We have all experienced these slips. We have all beaten ourselves up about abandoning our original path in favour of moving our bodies less and filling them full of junk food more. You are not alone.
How To Get Back On Track
Whatever your health goals currently are, be they weight loss or weight maintenance, I have a 7 step method of getting back on track that I am going to share with you today.
1. Get Accountable To Someone Else
The first thing that I do when I realise that I have veered off course is to call my best friend. I tell her how I am feeling and declare that from this moment that I shall be taking steps to get back on track.
Because she is simply one of the most wonderful humans that I know, she will start by telling me I’m gorgeous as I am (she’s amaze-balls like that). She’ll say that she totally “gets it” and usually add that she feels like she could do with a kick up the rear end to get back into better habits too.
We then pledge to be each other’s cheerleaders for getting back into the groove. We text each other details of what we are eating throughout the day and how much we are “moving” (more about that in a bit).
Having someone in your corner that you know is rooting for you to succeed makes it much easier to achieve your goals. Not only do you want to do well for them, but it keeps you accountable to know that they “will know” if you slip too.
Your buddy doesn’t have to be someone in your “real life”. In the digital age we now live in, there are now numerous online places to get support.
2. Get Accountable To Yourself
You’re probably thubnking that this step should have been first, but I’d argue that no, it shouldn’t.
Until you declare your intentions, either outloud or online for others to hear, it’s far too easy to change your mind and quietly continue with habits that you are ultimately not happy with.
Once you’ve made yourself accountable to someone else, there is no going back. It’s time to really decide for yourself that changes will happen. Don’t wait to start on a Monday or the first day of the month or when Mercury is in retrograde, start right now.
Commit to whichever plan you will have decided to follow (more about what I do in a minute) and promise yourself that you will make the changes.
It helps to know why you want to make these changes. Do you want to be able to run around after your kids without getting out of breath? Set a good example for your children? Or simply be as healthy as you can to care for them? Have you got an upcoming event you want to fit into a certain dress for? Or do you just want to feel more energised?
Figure out your personal “why” and keep it front of mind. Make it the screen saver on your phone, stick it to your fridge, have a reminder pop up daily in your notifications. If you know when you are doing something, it is far easier to find the motivation to stick to it.
3. Plan For The Win
Staying on track with anything, especially sensible eating and weight loss is far easier with a plan. In fact, I would go so far as to say that without a plan, it is almost impossible to reform the healthy habits that you need.
Here are some of the things that I do get organised & plan when I need to get back on track after a slip;
- Stock up on my favourite sensible food choices. I love the exante meal replacement bars as they keep me fuller for longer and stop me reaching for junk food. If I have all of my favourites there ready to grab, I’m far less likely to reach for something unhealthy.
- Meal plan before I grocery shop. Planning sensible meals and knowing what you need to buy means you will be less likely to end up with unhealthy impulse purchases and takeaways.
- Pile on the salad! Make sure you have plenty of salad in stock to add to the side of every meal. This will add in some essential nutrients and you’ll end up eating less of the calorific food on the plate too.
4. Eat When You Are Hungry, Not When You Are Emotional
If you’re anything like me, you may “fall off the diet wagon” following a traumatic event. A stressful time (hello pandemic of 2020), the baby going through a sleep regression, a breakup or even a heavy period can often result in eating because you are stressed, tried, sad or just bored.
A product that I love for reminding me about emotional eating vs eating for nourishment is Slender Sip.
When I am coming out of a season of stress eating, each time I think I am hungry but I have a slender sip 30 minutes before food. I know that I need to wait 30 minutes after my slender sip before eating (which forces me to stop and think rather than just mindlessly stuff my face), then when meal times come around, I am far less likely to overindulge.
Slender Sip is a great way to help to re-train your body to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full.
5. Get In Those Steps!
Fitting in proper exercise, especially if you have small children, can be a logistical nightmare. Do you know what we can do though? You can move more. Simply walking a bit more will make all the difference.
The NHS recommends that in order to stay healthy, we take 10,000 steps a day.
If you’re recovering from a slip, aim to get in your steps by doing things like walking rather than taking the car whenever possible. Even parking just a little further away from your destination can help and every step counts.
6. Measure It To Manage It
They say “what gets measured gets done”. This saying is an oldie but a goodie and can make all the difference when attempting to get back on track.
I use an apple watch to record my steps, movement and exercise and the My FitnessPal app to record I eat.
Having to input that data into my phone really helps me to think about what I am eating and reminds me to make healthier choices.
7. Forgive Yourself When You Slip
This is an important one.
Just because you have slipped, it does not mean that you cannot turn things abound. If you have a mini slip when recovering from your slip, do not give up!
We’ve all had those “I have one chcolate, it’s all ruined now, I may as well eat the whole box” moments, but we must realise that this is self destructive behaviour.
We all slip up from time to time, we’re only human! So forgive yourself then repeat the steps to get back on track with your healthy habits.
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