Diet 101: Dealing with Setbacks

It was bound to happen…. you were going along so well on your diet, sticking with it for more weeks than you knew possible, even exercising! The pounds were coming off, one by one, and you were so proud of yourself.  Then, something happened. Maybe you had a crisis at work or a close relative became ill. Maybe you started a new relationship or went on vacation.  Bad or good, life events can throw our diet off course. Now you’re discouraged, angry at yourself, and wondering if you should toss the whole deal out the window.

First of all NO you shouldn’t!!  Judith Beck of the Beck Diet Solution likens this attitude to someone getting a traffic violation for going through a red light and then saying, “Well, I blew it for the day now. I might as well not stop at any red lights!”  What good does that do? It just puts you (and others) in danger for the rest of the day.

What you should do is acknowledge that you fell off the wagon and you just need to brush yourself off and get back on. There is a huge difference between a “lapse” and  “relapse”.  In the first, you temporarily forgot about your good behaviors and wise decisions. You know the choices you made weren’t smart and you feel like you let yourself down. You’ve been working hard on establishing these new habits and they’re almost a part of your everyday life now. You can get right back into it!  A relapse, on the other hand, is completely forgetting everything you’ve been trying to learn. Unless it’s been many weeks since you’ve paid any attention to your food diary, your activity, and your food choices, you are in a great place to proceed as planned.

Remind yourself of all the days of success you’ve had and how well you’ve been treating your body. Focus on the positive, allow yourself one good pout, and get on with it.  After all, you have the rest of your life to eat right … you might as well get started right now!

photo credit: English106

Written by Laurie Beebe

About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a diet coach and life coach at www.mycoachlaurie.com

Related posts:

1. A Great Diet Solution
2. You Don’t Have to Diet Alone
3. Diet 101: Dealing With Roadblocks (special occasions, travel, and the unexpected)