Have you fallen (or jumped!) off the wagon and you’re not sure how to get back on track with weight loss?
If so, then this post is for you!
Whether you indulged in a cookie, a whole cake, several bags of chips…
Whether that indulgence lasted a few minutes, a day or it’s been going on for a while now…
I want you to know that you can ALWAYS get back on track with weight loss.
Just because you had a bad day, that doesn’t mean that you have to have a bad week.
Or a bad month!
In this post, I’ll be sharing the most effective tips that you can use to get back on track and achieve your weight loss desires.
Ok, so let’s get into this, shall we? 🙂
8 EFFECTIVE TIPS TO GET BACK ON TRACK WITH WEIGHT LOSS
1. Stop over-relying on willpower
Willpower is a type of strength that helps us in the short-term, but tends to fail us in the long-term.
You see, once you rely on willpower to get you through life, then you put a lot of pressure on yourself. Constantly.
And that pressure leads to a lot of stress.
Stress is no good for your mental, spiritual or physical health.
So, stop over-relying on willpower and effort to move you forward.
Instead, reach for the comfort of why you want to lose weight which I’m going to explain in the next point 🙂
2. Remind yourself of how you want to feel
You probably have all sorts of practical reasons for why you want to lose weight.
Maybe you need to lower your blood pressure, reduce chronic pain or manage diabetes.
But beyond those practical reasons, I bet you also want to feel a certain way.
You want to feel more alive, feel more confident, feel more feminine or feel more creative.
Remind yourself of how you want to feel when you lose weight.
Tap into the good vibes that come with thinking about those feelings.
Use those feelings as inspiration to get back on track with weight loss.
Connecting to those feel-good feelings is a powerful way of reminding yourself WHY you want to lose weight and it will help you to stay focused.
3. Let go of perfectionism
There’s a fine line between wanting to do your best and wanting to do everything perfectly.
Doing your best is something you can achieve.
Trying to be perfect is a myth that causes frustration and leads you to give up on yourself.
It’s ok to slip up and have the pizza, ice cream, chips or whatever you had previously denied yourself.
You are a human. You are not a robot.
Accept that this happened and realize that you are always doing your best.
With this mindset, you can get back on track with weight loss and continue practicing the healthy habits that will help you reach your goals.
Remember: Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes habits.
4. Recognize that being healthy is a lifestyle, not a short-term project
With the fast pace of modern life, we’ve become accustomed to having a to-do list.
Everything is a project that we get to eventually cross off our to-do list.
While that approach is practical and necessary, it’s detrimental when we’re working on our health.
That’s because if you look at your health as a short-term project, then you expect everything to be fixed quickly.
When that quick fix doesn’t happen, you can get frustrated and fall off the wagon.
Your health is not a project.
Rather, your health is a lifestyle and it is something that you have to constantly nurture.
So, throw out the idea that your health should be fixed within a specific time frame.
When you look at your health as a lifestyle, that takes away a lot of the pressure.
And less pressure makes it easier to get back on track with weight loss 🙂
5. Speak to yourself the way you would speak to a loved one
Is there a voice in your head that tells you that are weak, undeserving or not good enough?
This voice tends to get really loud when we slip up or fall off the wagon.
And it is time to shut off that voice (or at least lower its volume)!
Imagine if that voice was a friend.
And what if that friend was constantly saying negative, belittling and un-supportive things to you?
You probably wouldn’t continue to be friends with that person, right?
So why allow the voice in your head, which is with you 24/7, to treat you poorly?
Start cultivating a more loving, kind and supportive relationship with yourself so that you can get back on track with weight loss.
With time, that negative voice will get less loud and the supportive voice will become your new BFF!
6. Take note of why you went off track
Once you realize that you’ve gone off track ask yourself “What caused this in the first place?”
In cases like this it is very helpful to have a journal where you can write down answers to these 3 question:
- What event triggered me to get off track?
- How long did I stay off track?
- What changed and made me realize that I was off track in the first place?
Answering these questions will help you see patterns and identify the things that trigger your slip ups.
In addition, you will be able to spot any unacknowledged fears that may be holding you back. (Pssst…I talk more about overcoming common weight loss fears in this post.)
By identifying your patterns, you can come up with a plan for how you will react next time the trigger shows up.
Having a plan that works just for you makes it much easier to get back on track with weight loss.
7. Recognize your excuses
Have you found yourself saying things like “I’m too busy,” “I’m too tired” or “I don’t know where to start?”
If so, ask yourself if those statement are true or just convenient excuses.
You see, changing our habits is always uncomfortable at first.
And it’s very easy for your mind to come up with reasons why you can’t do it.
But the truth is many of us make time to work a full-time job, go to school part-time and have dinner with friends…all in the same day!
So, are you really too busy or too tired?
Or are you simply not making yourself and your well-being a priority?
Decide that YOU are a priority and then organize your life to make room for the things that will improve your health.
8. Plan your “fun days”
Have you noticed how little children always do the things that they’ve been told NOT to do?
Well, the same thing happens with us grown ups.
When we say “chocolate is bad” or “I am never going to have cheesecake,” guess what?
We immediately become more curious about cheesecake and chocolate!
Banning foods is a surefire way to fall off the wagon.
So, lift the ban and allow yourself to have a “fun day” every week when you can enjoy you favorite treats.
That gives you something to look forward to and you don’t feel like you’re living in a straitjacket!
So, those are my top tips to help you get back on track with weight loss!
Now if there’s one thing that you remember from this post, let it be this: falling off the wagon is not a failure.
Your willingness and ability to pick yourself up, is what ultimately determines your success.
It’s not always easy. And yes, each time you fall off, it’s a blow to your self-confidence.
BUT, each time that you pick yourself up and keep your promise to yourself, that feels soooo amazing!
So, use the tips in this post to help you get back on track with weight loss whenever you’ve had a bad day or two (or whatever)!
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