Striving for perfection rarely makes you feel perfect, it simply leaves you feeling less than perfect and less inclined to pursue your goals.
It’s important that you don’t sabotage your health, fitness and weight loss aspirations by trying to aim for perfection 100% of the time.
How many times have you enthusiastically started a new eating or exercise programme only to find yourself a few weeks later back where you started or worse still heavier than when you started. I think most of us have experienced the guilt and disappointment of another failed health kick because we let one bad meal or one bad day undo all the previous good work we’d put in.
Going off track for a couple of meals or missing a few exercise sessions won’t undo all of your previous good work unless you let these lapses turn into your old habits.
- If you have a bad hour and reach for something naughty or spend the night on the sofa instead of working out, don’t let it turn into a bad couple of days.
- If you come off track, don’t waste time feeling guilty, pick up where you left off and simply get back on it.
- One unplanned bad meal or missed workout will not ruin all of your hard work as long as you don’t let it.
When you do go ‘off plan’ and you will because we all do, just remind yourself that you’re just one meal or one workout away from getting back on track. There’s no need to give yourself a hard time over it, just focus on moving forward and keep going with your plan.
Have you given up on your summer health goals because of a few lapses?
Try writing down at least 10 answers to the following statement, “I will get back on track and stick to my plan because ……………”
Writing down your reasons for following an eating and/or exercise plan will help your mind to start focusing on what you want and give you the impetus to get going again.