If you are struggling with how to get back on track with weight loss this post is for you. And I am right there with you. The struggle is real. In this post, I will give you practical, helpful ways to get back on track with weight loss after you have binged. I think this is especially relevant with the holidays right around the corner.
I joined Weight Watchers in August and I was really skeptical of seeing any results since I really struggle to lose weight and rarely have success with “diets” or specific eating plans. However by October I had seen a loss of just over ten pounds. I was ecstatic! Then I left on vacation.
I went to London for a week with my daughter. Enjoying my trip was the priority so I agreed (with myself) that i was not going to track points while I was there. I let myself indulge in every good food we could find. We are foodies at heart. Even after averaging 18,000 steps a day I was two pounds heavier when I got back.
If i had gotten right back on track things would have been fine. But I didn’t. I always find it very hard to resume an eating plan when I have let myself cheat for an extended period of time. So one day home turned into another and now it’s been an additional two weeks.
So this is it–I’m pulling myself together–and I thought I would share my strategies with you in case you struggle in this way as well.
Tip # 1 Remember the reason why you chose this
After a few weeks of eating pastries and fried food it’s easy to lose sight of why I thought following a healthy eating plan was important. So I have to remind my self. This is NOT about fitting into some mold of what a woman should look like. This is NOT about self deprivation. This is NOT punishment.
What this IS about is staying healthy. This IS about being able to be active with my children and grandchildren for as long as I possibly can. This IS about beating diabetes which runs in my family. This IS about me being comfortable in my clothing, being able to sit down in a pair of jeans. This IS about being confident in myself.
What is this about for you?? The answer to that question is your power.
Tip #2 Clean house
Get rid of anything in your cupboards that is not going to help you move forward. Don’t buy or keep anything that you know will work against you in a weak moment. Because the truth is all of us run out of willpower. It’s easier not to have temptation than to resist temptation.
Then fill your house with the food you love that you can eat. Healthy food that feeds your body and soul. In my family, we love to eat. We spend many weekends with the family gathered together sharing food. Rather than depriving myself of food I try to focus on healthy food that I love that I can eat.
I’m only in the beginning of my journey with Weight Watchers but the thing that I have really loved so far is that I can eat so many foods for 0 points. If you are not familiar with the system, each person is allotted a daily points amount and also foods that are 0 points.
The theory is that if you stay within the points they assign you then you will lose weight. So far that has proven to be true for me–to my surprise. I am not associated/affiliated with Weight Watchers in any way (other than being a paying customer) but I love the freedom it gives me. For example, I can make a huge fruit platter and then eat as much of it as I want because fruit is 0 points.
I keep fruit, vegetables, and my other 0-point foods stocked in my house so that I’m not without them and then reach for things I shouldn’t when I’m hungry. Clean the cupboards, and then restock. Most importantly enjoy the food you eat!
Tip #3 Focus on consistency rather than a specific weight goal
I don’t know about you but if I’m focused on a specific amount of pounds I want to lose and I don’t reach that goal it sends my whole day into a spiral. The conversation in my head goes something like this, “well I ate well and I didn’t lose weight so why bother? I’m going to eat whatever I want today.” It’s the catapult that often leads to multiple days of poor choices.
So instead of focusing on short-term payoff, let’s work toward something else–consistency. Consistency is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way.” If the reason that most people fail on “eating plans” is because they struggle to maintain them long term, then it follows that our focus should be shifted from trying to obtain a certain goal, to making the goal being consistent over the course of time.
Aristotle said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” As I have gotten older I have really come to understand that consistency is really the key to gaining/obtaining almost any good thing that life offers.
When I joined weight watchers in August I decided it was time for a change–to consistency. So rather than giving my self a weight goal i wanted to obtain, the goal i set for myself is to be consistent with the program for one year. Regardless of whether my weight went up, down, or stayed the same. Because the weight is not my focus. Being consistent to the plan is. I want to see what possibilities lie at the end of a road of consistency for 12 straight months. So although I got off track for a few weeks, I’m back on the consistency train again.
Tip #4 Find an accountability partner
Like every other thing in life, weight loss is easier when you have support. Enlist the support of your spouse, children, friends, coworkers, and anyone else you are close to in your life. They don’t necessarily need to join you in your new eating habits, but it’s important they understand and support you. Even having one other person to talk to about it with can make a difference.
Tip #5 Prepare for the week with food prep
Food prep is a necessary evil. At least that’s how I see it. I don’t enjoy it. I don’t want to take time out of my weekend to do it, but on a stressful afternoon mid-week at the office, I am extremely glad that my lunch is sitting in the refrigerator. That I have a healthy snack on hand when I have the munchies.
So make a grocery list, go shopping, and then spend an hour or two food prepping to save yourself hours of regret later in the week
Tip #6 Get enough sleep
I’m speaking on this purely from personal experience, although there is plenty of science to prove that sleep is supremely important to weight loss. If I am even a little tired during the day, my ability for me to be consistent and make healthy choices drops dramatically. Especially if there are stressful events during my work day. I accept this about myself, and I think I’m probably not alone in this struggle. So we need to prioritize sleep rather than evade it.
Tip #7 Refocus with a gratitude journal
One of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves, and our own health, is to focus on gratitude. Keeping a gratitude journal, or spending time in our day focusing on gratitude, brings to our attention all of the blessings we have to be grateful for. This brings joy to our lives. Joy in turn impacts our decisions. Healthy, happy people make health, happy decisions. It’s that simple. Focus on the blessing in your life that feel you with gratitude and joy and this will overflow into every other area of your life.
I hope you find these tips on how to get back on track with weight loss helpful. They are the very tools that I am using to propel myself forward on my journey with consistency. Best of luck to you on your journey!
Aristotle said: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”
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