What to do when you fall off track & how to get out of that “all or nothing” mindset

We all do it, a big event comes up, or we’ve had a big day at work and we think “f*ck it, I’m going to order takeaway” and then that one night turns into a whole weekend of eating and drinking things that make us feel crap until Sunday evening rolls around and we think, “oh shit… what have I done?”

Sound familiar? We’ve all been there sis, but it’s all about jumping straight back on the horse and getting right back into it. I’m going to share with you my top tips for getting right back on track after over-indulging. 

• All or NOTHING 
  Think about one bad night as a flat tyre, and overeating for the rest of the weekend is like slashing the rest of your tyres. That just doesn’t make sense right? You fix the weak link (your flat tyre) and you get right back on the road. This is how you should think about your diet or training sessions from day to day. Not everyday is going to be perfect but you have the choice to make it better and either fix your tyre or slash the rest of them. 
• Where did everything go wrong?
  An action stems from a feeling or emotion. For example I may have overeaten after work because work was really stressful, I was unprepared (no meal prep), low energy, and after some fast fuel to fill the void. So, how can I make work less stressful without wanting to overeat? How can I be more prepared when this situation arises again? Maybe I missed a training session because I’m tired everyday. How can I improve my sleep? We want to find the source of the problem instead of masking it with emotional eating or missed training sessions. 
• Finding actions other than eating
  Sad? Eat, Happy? Eat, Lonely? Eat, Celebration? Drink and eat. It seems like all we want to do when we feel a certain emotion is to overeat or over consume alcohol. It’s really healthy to find actions other than eating when we have the urge to over-consume. For example, if you’re feeling sad, maybe give a friend or family member a call, if you’re feeling stressed take a bath or shower, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, go for a walk or run. The first step to making change, is identifying it when it arises. Personally, when I start to feel like I’m craving something for no good reason, I like to remind myself that I’m safe, I’m loved and I’m ok, give this a go next time you’re thinking about reaching for something your body doesn’t actually want. 
• Be kind to yourself 
  When we do fall off track it’s really important to remind yourself one meal or day isn’t going to ruin everything! Really, it isn’t. There are 7,700 calories in 1kg of body fat, meaning you’d need to eat this ON TOP OF your current calories to gain that much weight which often shows up on the scale. No, you didn’t gain 1kg+ overnight - it’s just the extra food sitting in your gut, water and inflammation weighing you down. So pick yourself up and let’s get back on track. Don’t beat yourself up, don’t ‘make up for it’ with extra cardio or over-restrict your calories. Just do what you were doing before and everything will be okay! 

Remember that the constant cycle of restricting and overeating can be very hard to break and it is not healthy to be in a cycle like this. If you find you’re overeating constantly, then something you’re doing isn’t working for you and needs to change. Get in touch if you need some help with this - TWS meal plans don’t cut out food groups, include desserts and are delicious. I don’t believe in extreme restriction, check out my coaching options if you’re ready to break the cycle!

Soph x