How to Get Back on Track with Weight Loss and Healthy Eating (9 Tips!)
My top tips showing you how to get back on track with weight loss and healthy eating, easier and quicker if you’ve gone off!
Table of Contents
Need to Get Back on Track?
So I’m writing this at the end of December, and this time of year after the Holidays and alll the festivities in between – pretty much everyone I run into is telling me:
“I really need to get back on track”
“I ate way too many sweets”
“I overdid it the past couple weeks”
“I need to stop eating ______”
And I can’t say I haven’t been there myself. Even with all my mindful eating practices, overall maintaining most of my healthy eating and workout routines, I’ve had a few more cookies and glasses of wine then I prefer as well. So usually at this point we’re all not feeling super great – mentally, physically, emotionally. (If that’s you – make sure to also check out my 3-day debloat detox here!)
Regardless of what time of year it is, or what the situation is for you – sometimes we want to course correct, but aren’t exactly sure how or what to do next. Maybe we feel like we’ve blown it, and like we have to start ALL the way back over anyways, so why not keep eating and drinking the good stuff…at least until after New Years. Then we can start over fresh.
But let me tell you – you didn’t blow anything and you don’t have to “start over” you can just take the next best step.
It really doesn’t matter what we ate yesterday or last week. All that matters is:
- How we decide to think about it NOW
- What we do next
Wondering how to get back on track with weight loss and healthy eating? Read through my tips below to move forward in a healthy way and let me know what you think!
9 Tips – How To Get Back on Track With Weight Loss and Healthy Eating
Getting Back On Track Tip 1: Don’t beat yourself up + focus on self care
The most important thing! Beating ourselves up is more damaging than any food or drink and there is no benefit. Think about this – when your child, family member or someone you love makes a mistake or takes something a little too far and regrets it after, do you want to make them feel worse than they already do, or help them learn for next time?
Consider treating yourself the same way you would your child or someone you love. When this happens to me – I acknowledge the negative thoughts and sometimes journal about them – allow them to be there and then choose the ones I want to intentionally think. Usually it’s something like “it’s fine.” or “it’s no big deal” learn from it and move on.
Why does this matter?
Because our thoughts, create our feelings which DRIVE our actions and results. If we’re thinking negative thoughts about ourselves, essentially “punishing” or beating ourselves up – we likely feel horrible which rarely drives us to go eat healthy and exercise, especially not sustainably.
We take care of things and people we value – and treating ourselves in a negative way like that doesn’t show that we value ourselves. What I see happen more often here – is we continue overeating and drinking to then make up for how bad we make ourselves feel and it becomes a vicious cycle. Luckily, it’s one we can break.
Getting Back On Track Tip 2: Use whatever happened as a learning experience
Sometimes when we overeat or drink, go off our plan or binge on “unhealthy” foods, we just want to avoid the situation and just tell ourselves not to do it again, we need to be better, etc. But when we do this we miss the opportunity to get curious about what happened – so we can learn and improve for next time.
We’re taking these actions we don’t want to be for a reason, and if we don’t uncover WHY, it’s harder to find a sustainable solution. We want to reflect back to one exact moment where we ate or drank something we didn’t want to, or the situation as a whole and ask ourselves these questions:
- What went well?
- What would I have liked to go differently?
- What was I not only doing, but thinking and feeling in each of these situations? (We can use what we were thinking and feeling in #1 and apply to other areas, and evaluate #2 so we can take different actions in the future)
For example – I recently had a situation where I definitely overate this really good kettle caramel corn I brought to my sisters. I followed the exact steps above afterwards, and realized that I really didn’t make a clear plan around how much I wanted to eat of it and why – I was just telling myself I could eat it. So next time, I’ll make sure to think that through beforehand for a different results.
Getting Back On Track Tip 3: Realize Food Guilt is optional
Know that It’s not the food, actions etc. that are making us feel guilty or upset, but our thoughts about them. This is actually great – because we have control over them! If you’re feeling guilty and it’s dragging you down – try to identify the thought you’re thinking about the food/drink causing it. It’s usually something like
“I shouldn’t have…” or “I can’t believe that I….”
Once we identify the thought, we can question it, and decide to let it go and/or stop focusing on it. We can then intentionally decide how we want to think about the situation going forward. I like thoughts like “that was interesting,” “I wonder why that happened,” “It’s done and I’m not going to obsess over it but learn from it” or “I’m going to learn from this and do something different.”
Getting Back On Track Tip 4: Know it may feel challenging but you can handle it!
Our primal survival brain is wired to seek pleasure, conserve energy and avoid pain. Sugar, white flour, and resting versus exercising are a dream come true to that portion of our brain and the last thing it wants us to do is start eating fruits, vegetables and proteins and working out. So getting (re)started may feel like a slight struggle for this reason.
But once we know this, we can overcome it. We make an intentional decision ahead of time using our prefrontal cortex – the logical, strategic, decision making portion of our brain, and then we follow through even when it feels challenging, uncomfortable, inconvenient and like we have to stop. Remember either way we are creating, breaking or reinforcing a habit – the question is, which one do we want?
Getting Back On Track Tip 5: Take the next best step + focus on self care
Sometimes when we’ve overeaten or gone off our plan it’s hard to even think about recovering, but what we CAN do is take the next best step that we know will leave us feeling better than we do now. Sometimes this is going for a walk, drinking water, deciding to go for the salad and protein at your next meal.
Focus on simple, small steps that seem doable in the moment. These small changes will help you build momentum, help you feel better and keep moving in the direction of all your healthier habits and weight loss or healthy eating plan. The goal is to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Sometimes that feels impossible – so taking one tiny step in the right direction can make all the difference.
Getting Back On Track Tip 6: Make plan for the day and week going forward
Intentionally decide what you want the next week to look like ahead of time. Schedule in what you need to do – grocery shop, plan workouts, get rid of foods you don’t want to eat, etc. For me – that’s going right back to my regular eating plan and getting my 4-5 workouts(4 strength training/1 cardio) in and walking everyday, no matter what! I typically grocery shop with Instacart from wherever I am, and either schedule pickup on my way home or delivery for right when I get home, so there is no excuse to not start right back up with healthy eating as soon as I get home.
What my “day after” typically looks like:
Even though I wake up tempted to continue down the path I was on – I move forward with my healthy habits!
- All meals following my eating template, with no extras (100% whole food, combo of protein, vegetables, healthy fats at all meals and snacks, lots of water!)
- Green smoothie + egg for breakfast
- Big salad with veggies and protein for lunch
- Teriyaki broiled chicken and veggies for dinner
- Instacart for groceries by the time I’m back home or wherever I am
- Walk w/podcast (enjoyable and simple, but gets me back in the routine!)
- Make sure to get enough sleep (7-8 hours)
Getting Back On Track Tip 7: Get clear on WHY you want to stick to the plan
To follow through with the plan we made above, we have to refocus our brain on all the reasons we want to get back to our healthy eating or weight loss plan, especially coming off the (literal) sugar high from the holiday season (or trip, vacation, night out, etc.)
So ask yourself:
- Why DO I want to get back on track and follow my plan?
- Why do I NOT want to continue eating and drinking like I have been?
- List out all the reasons for both, and remind yourself of them throughout the day. Look for reasons you truly believe and that really resonate with you.
My Example: I want to FEEL my best, and I know continuing with the overeating, sugar, processed foods and too much of them leaves me feeling (and looking) horrible long term. My skin is clearer, I’m more focused, I’m more productive, maintain my weight easier, my clothes fit better, I’m less puffy, the list is endless!
Getting Back On Track Tip 8: Get started – commit to your plan and honor your appointments!
Get started ASAP.
The sooner you can start to incorporate your healthy routine the better you will feel, and once you start to feel better the more you’ll want to do it and maintain it.
Get everything scheduled into your calendar that you need to – commit to honoring it and follow through with your appointments with yourself like you would with anyone else. Know your brain will give you every excuse and reason to bail, or do it later, or to eat the things and sleep though your workouts – but we can continue on anyways.
Getting Back On Track Tip 9: Proactively planning for next time
The next time you know you have a similar situation coming up, check out my blog posts on How to stay on track with weight loss over the weekend and How to Stay On Track with Weight Loss over the Holidays (10 Tips!) . Make your plan ahead of time to set yourself up for success going into these situations with your favorite foods, and decide ahead of time when your “indulge plan” will start and end, and your normal routine or healthy eating plan will resume. For me – it’s usually right after I get back home, the day after the Holiday, trip or night out. The sooner the better!
Related: Holiday Leftovers and Weight Loss (Top Tips to Stay on Track)
Try these tips to get back on track and let me know what you think!
