What to Do When You’ve Overeaten or Slipped Up
Big thanks to everyone who shared their motivator regrets on the blog!!
Keep using past “slip ups” as motivation to do better next time!!
RECALL how you felt doing a particular action in the past BEFORE doing it.
(This allows regrets to be powerful little red flags warning you not to repeat a misstep.)
But mistakes still happen.
And most often those slip ups are around food.
Here’s what you should do if you’ve overeaten or made a regretful choice:
#1 Take a 30-minute walk.
Help your body break down the food so it’s not immediately stored as fat. While you can’t quite run off a jelly doughnut (and a 30-minute walk won’t bring you back to equilibrium) some movement is better than none and helps switch your brain from “I hate myself” to “I’m doing a good thing.” Fuel the healthy fire -- and if nothing else, at least you’re distracted from eating more.
Don’t use your slip as an excuse to abandon ship.
Minor setbacks and frustrations are habit destroyers if you succumb to the “ahscrewit” moment. Keep focus on all the other progress you’ve made.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
It’s NOT okay to blow the whole thing off because you messed up along the way.
Regret as motivation, remember?
Don’t tighten the belt either.
Getting extra restrictive isn’t a good defense. Success requires fluidity.
Regular and consistent patterns are key.
Living on a roller coaster isn’t sustainable. Go back to what’s sustainable.
Above all: Maintain a self-SUPPORTING environment.
Cheerlead yourself to the finish.
ONE episode of overeating or ONE slip up won’t bankrupt you -- it’s when one becomes two, becomes four, and so on.
Has a crappy meal ever sent you on a weekend bender of eating all your favorite foods “one last time” before starting over on Monday?
Don’t wait for Monday.