Here’s another way to eliminate saying, “I blew it.”
Anytime you slip up and eat something that’s not on your diet plan, skip beating yourself up with harsh, punishing words.
Instead, label the incident as a PAUSE in your diet plan. This allows you to take a break in your efforts, then rest and regroup.
Imagine that you’re taking a hike in the mountains, but an hour into the hike, you begin feeling a little tired and a bit thirsty.
At this point, you stop walking and sit down on a large rock to take a couple of sips from your water bottle. After resting a few minutes and catching your breath, you stand up and return to the trail.
You would not say, “Look how awful I am! I told you I couldn’t do a hike. I guess I’ll just lie down on this rock and give up.”
You also wouldn’t punish yourself by saying, “Since I blew the hike, I have to go back a few hundred yards and walk that part over again!”
Instead, you would view this brief rest as a pause in your hiking efforts. After your break, you would get back up and continue your journey.
Use this same approach with your weight-loss program. If you slip up on your diet plan, simply say, “I had a brief pause, but now I’m back on track.”
Today’s assignment (My answers are in blue)
1. Next time you’re tempted to say “I blew it,” stop yourself immediately. Instead, label your slip-up as a pause.
Since moving to my new home in April, I’ve had a number of “pauses.” Most of them were very brief, but a couple have been longer pauses.
2. Decide how you will bounce back from an eating pause. Write a short plan ?that includes what you’ll say to yourself as well as what you’ll do next.
Today, I will remind myself often that I truly CARE about my weight and my health. And I will live in a way that honors my body and moves me toward my goals.
3. Whenever you slip up, instead of dwelling on it, practice the skill of “erasing the board.” Write a few notes about this.
I mentally made a list of the foods that were in my pause. Then erased it and said, “Today is a good day!”
Excerpted from Day 68 in the book 100 Days of Weight Loss