Well, in case you haven't noticed, I am definitely in an introspective, kinda "put it all out there" phase right now....really it feels like I am juggling so many thougths and feelings and fears all at once, and I know it doesn't all make sense piecemeal, but maybe if I put bits and pieces out there, eventually they'll all come together.  Right?

• Think about how many years you have been using food for purposes other than fuel for your body. It is a habit, and until you have created enough new habits to replace the old, those old ones (and old emotional ties to food) will still rise up. Be gentle with yourself and recognize that you are working to change those habits, and one slip up is just that, a slip up. It doesn’t mean that you have erased all of the good that you have already done in the past week or two on your weight loss plan.

• Look at this slip up objectively by writing it down. Write down exactly what you ate and how much. Is it really that much in the grand scheme of things? If you get back on your healthy eating plan immediately, have you really “blown” anything? On the other hand, if you choose to go the other way and hit the drive-through on the way home, won’t you be doing the exact opposite of what you set out to do: lose weight? Our bodies are amazingly adaptable and resilient and you can choose to allow this one slip up to just be a bump in the road while you continue back down the path towards your original goal of weight loss.

• Recognize how you feel after eating the food. Do you feel guilty, shameful, are you putting yourself down for it, or saying that you were “bad”? Start right now by loving yourself through this slip up. Sit and breathe in the fact that you did it, ok, you did it. You are still the same person you were before you ate that food, you still have all of the wonderful qualities that make up the you that you are, and they have nothing to do with what you ate. This slip up has not erased any of your life’s accomplishments, and it has not taken any value away from the work you have already put into changing your health. Make the choice to not give it the power to derail you from your goal.

• Imagine that you are already at your goal weight, how would you proceed differently? If you were already at your goal weight, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise program, and you ate the cookie, how would your thinking be different at that time? Would you still think you had blown it all, or would you instead think “well, one’s enough, I don’t want to regain any of the weight that I’ve lost”. Would you remember your accomplishment of reaching and maintaining your goal weight, or discount it as wasted work because you ate a cookie? Just like today, your current weeks of accomplishment leading up to a slip is not wasted time. You can get right back on track now, and keep heading towards your goal.

• Review your motivation for losing weight in the first place. Have you written down why you want to lose weight? What are your reasons? Is there strong emotion behind them, do they truly motivate you? If your reasons are strong and you have written them down, then you stand the best chance of beating perfectionist thoughts and getting right back on track. Keep your reasons on a piece of paper or 3×5 card, easily accessible and with you at all times. By keeping your reasons forefront in your mind, you stand the best chance of not getting derailed from your diet and reaching your goal. I have found this technique to be the most valuable one for getting me back on track after a slip up.

My next step is to write down my reasons for wanting to lose weight.

This is such a great post.

The one that got me was "what if you were at your goal- what would you do diferently?"

I was thinking over the weekend how my life would change if I met my goal... I believe my biz would be more successful, I'd feel more confident.  My weight would be at an all time low and I'd finally be an example of hard work and dedication.

 Hi, my name is Marcy and I am a yo-yo dieter. There I have said it along with you. How did the appt at the Renfrew Center go? I have never heard of it and am now interested.

Thanks for the message, it is that that got me back on here.