How to deal with a lapse in your weight loss efforts

If you've had a bad day on your diet (or a bad binge or even a bad week) don't despair.

I know it's all too easy to beat yourself up over it. You feel guilty for breaking your promises to yourself and sabotaging your diet and more than a little angry and depressed at your lack of control.

But before you get too gloomy and reach for the Ben and Jerry's which somehow escaped you last night, stop and think for a moment.

A bad day or even a bad week is not enough to "break your diet" unless you let it get you down. It's what you eat over the long run that counts. It's eating more calories than you need day after day after day that makes you fat not a one-off over-indulgence.

But what can you do if you really did go mad last night? What can you do today to get back on track after you've come off the rails?

1. Whatever you do don't weigh yourself unless you love being miserable. Chances are you had a load of sugar and/or salt last night and you'll be retaining more water than a camel embarking on a trek across the Sahara. Consequently, you'll have gained more pounds than you possibly could from the extra calories you ate. So don't even think about stepping on the scales for 2 days.
2. Every day, but especially today you should aim for eating modest portions of healthy foods whenever you are hungry, stopping when you are satisfied rather than stuffed. More than ever today you need to feel in control. So no starvation rations or you'll only set yourself up for a hunger-induced "clear out the cupboard" binge later on.
   
   
3. Normally it's best not to skip breakfast but if you are still full from the previous day, it can wait. Just make sure you have a healthy snack ready for when hunger does strike.
   
   
4. Take time to enjoy your food today. Sometimes we hardly taste the food when we are eating too much, we eat it so quickly, trying to stop ourselves thinking too much as we shovel it in. Actually taste everything which passes your lips today and put yourself back in control.
   
   
5. Spend a few moments thinking about why you temporarily blew your weight loss plans. What thoughts were running through your head? What situation had you put yourself in? What can you learn from that? How will you deal with those thoughts, those situations next time because as sure as eggs are eggs they, or something similar, will happen again. Be prepared.
   
   
6. Stay positive. Relax a little. Tell yourself "Yes, I broke my diet but that's OK. I'm human. I'm not meant to be perfect. I'm going to treat myself well, eating healthily as much as I can. If I have the odd lapse it doesn't change my determination to keep going." Build yourself up. Give yourself a little (non-food) present. You deserve the best and you can do whatever you set your mind to.

The best way to get over a lapse is to treat it like the insignificant blip it is and just get right back on track!



Copyright 2005, Janice Elizabeth Small

Janice Elizabeth is a successful weight loss coach, slimming club owner and author of "The Diet Exit Plan", an 8 week coaching program for automatic permanent weight loss. Request her FREE 15 page report "How to lose weight without dieting - 7 secrets the diet industry doesn't want you to know" at http://www.simplyslimming.com today.