Picking Yourself Up and Starting Over Again, and Again

Nobody ever said losing weight and getting healthy was going to be easy! I've seen it over and over again - people who start strong and then, for whatever reason, slip and fall off their weight loss plan. Even if they were strong for months on end, once they slip, the ground seems to turn to one big banana peel beneath their feet and they often find themselves slipping again and again.

What can you do if the above paragraph describes you? Here's my best suggestions, free of charge (of course)!

First, take a deep breath. You aren't the first one to ever slip, and unfortunately you won't be the last one. This is a minor setback, NOT a major catastrophe (at least, it doesn't HAVE to be a catastrophe). If this was a first, one-time slip, get right back on track. Don't go to bed until you've had a Medifast meal! Even if you've consumed WAY more "off plan" calories than you can afford, get in a Medifast meal before you end your day. That way you will go to bed knowing that you ENDED your day on plan. You didn't put off restarting until tomorrow, you did it today. That puts you in a good mindset for the next day.

Secondly, pull out 5 Medifast meals for the day and sit down and log those meals in "My Plan." If you don't know how to use this tool, spend a little bit of time exploring it, because it's fairly intuitive and easy to use. Logging your meals ahead of time helps to solidify in your mind exactly what it is you're going to eat and lets you preview your planned calories and carbs for the day. I logged my meals every day when I was on 5&1, and I usually did this the night before, once I'd selected my foods for the next day. I would check them off the next day after I'd eaten them, but they were almost always logged in advance. Sure, it took a little bit of time, but it was worth it because it helped me stay on track. I literally did not put anything in my mouth for almost a year unless I logged it :-). After you've selected your meals and logged them, do a bit of prep work so they're ready to go the next day. Mix up your soup, mix up your shake (I like making my shakes ahead of time and refrigerating them overnight, then blending them in my Healthmate blender in the morning with ice - they come out thick and creamy!). Make sure that even if you're running late in the morning, your food is ready to do. Plan, plan, plan!

If your struggle has been going on for a while, sit down and write down every reason you can think of for wanting to lose weight and get healthy. It doesn't matter how big or how trivial your reason is, write it down. Then write down every reason you can think of for going off plan - stress, boredom, fear of reaching your goal, etc. Spend some time doing some self-examination and be really honest with yourself, because you can't change what you won't or can't acknowledge. Once you have your lists, spend some time reflecting on them and, if you're so inclined, pray about them (I highly recommend this, by the way!).

Get support and set up accountability. If you have a health coach, pick up the phone and give your coach a call - that's what a coach is there for! Whatever you do, don't bury your head in the sand and ignore the problem, because it won't go away on its own.

Be encouraged to know that most of the people who reach goal found themselves faltering at one point or another. They got back on plan and made it, and you can, too!

I'm cheering for you today! No matter what happened yesterday, and no matter how today may have already begun, the rest of today can be an on-plan day that will bring you straight to goal. Go for it - you're worth it!

Blessings!
Cheryl