That feeling you have when you’re exercising regularly, eating great and sleeping well is something money cannot buy. And when you’re in that slightly glowing (totally smug) place you are convinced you will never, ever, leave it.
But then, from nowhere, the not-so Holy Saint of Sedentary will stealthily tap you on the shoulder and, like the Pied Piper, coax you off course turning you into a cake munching couch potato.
There’s rarely a single reason for it; if there were a recurring trigger, we could at least try and bind those pastry-grabbing hands to prevent us pulling it. Sometimes it’s the anxiety of every day life; sometimes it’s a one-off stressful event; other times it’s sweet contentedness that lures us off the path of virtue.
Whatever the reason, the feelings of frustration, disappointment and self-directed fury can be the very things that fuel inertia, keeping you on the rocky road and, well, reaching for the Rocky Road.
But when you have that dreadful realisation that you’ve ‘let yourself go’, my advice is to let IT go. Instead, brush yourself down and concentrate on this stuff instead:
- DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP ABOUT IT: If you give yourself a metaphorical hammering, expect to feel metaphorically battered and bruised. Had you been through the ringer physically, you’d be far more likely to choose a bowl of comfort food and a blanket than a salad and a circuit; well, the same is true of a self-inflicted mental bashing. Giving people a hard time, and that includes you, rarely leads to positive behavioural change.
- TRY TO BE PRAGMATIC AND POSITIVE: Say to yourself, ‘Ok. So I’ve fallen off the wagon but no road is without its bumps and jolts, so that’s pretty inevitable.’ Then, when you’re done having a word with yourself, jump (or slowly clamber) back on it, get the engine running again and give yourself massive kudos for cranking it up a gear.
- ENJOY THE JOURNEY BACK RATHER THAN LAMENTING THE DISTANCE FROM YOUR DESTINATION: If you feel your fitness or physique have fallen far from where you want them to be, the prospect of the long road ahead can be enough to leave your will power curled up in a chocolate covered ball. But each day you exercise and eat healthily is a massive step forward. Celebrate the fact that you took the stairs not the lift, made it to the gym (or even made it to bed without a single cookie) – and then wake up and repeat.
- TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME… BUT START TODAY, NOT TOMORROW: They don’t say tomorrow never comes for nothing so pull on your trainers and run/walk/skip or jump your way back to feeling good – then reward yourself with something delicious but nutritious!
