Tips for Getting Back on the Diet and Exercise Wagon

Have you fallen off the diet and exercise wagon? Follow these easy tips to get you back on track.

Have you ever fallen off the diet and exercise wagon? Whether you slipped up during a meal, missed an entire week of workouts or simply can’t seem to stop after just one cookie, we have all been there.

Usually, it goes a little something like this: Monday starts off with a protein smoothie, you pack a healthy salad for lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday is filled with cardio and Thursday even includes a healthy dinner that the whole family loved. You’re on Cloud 9 right? 

Friday rolls around, you hop on the scale, the hard work has paid off and you’ve lost a pound! Maybe even two. Time to celebrate, right?! A glass of wine with dinner, brunch with friends, a couple French fries off your son’s lunch plate, you know the drill.

Next thing you know, a glass of wine turns into 4, you sleep through Boot Camp the next morning and decide (subconsciously) to make the entire day a wash. What started as one day suddenly turns into a week and the next thing you know, you’re scarfing down your daughter’s leftover cold waffles during nap time.

How to get back on track after falling off the diet wagon:

1. Come Clean and Tell a Friend: Eating right and exercising regularly is hard work. The more help you can get to hold yourself accountable, the better. Trust me, you’ll feel better and it will force you to be honest with yourself. Chances are, your friend has also “accidentally” eaten a sleeve of Oreos before.
2. Clean the Fridge and Restock the Pantry: What happens when you have Girl Scout cookies in the house? You eat them. It’s time to toss out the eggnog and the wilted kale in the back of the produce drawer and start fresh. Make a shopping list and head to the store. Focus on the outside aisles (produce, dairy, meat, etc.) and you’ll be in good shape. Check out this visual slide show of Top 20 Ingredients for Quick Cooking from Cooking Light.
3. Buy Tighter Workout Clothes: Not only are tighter clothes more flattering on ALL shapes and sizes, but it will help you notice the progress you’ve made. When you look at yourself in the mirror 20 times a day, it’s hard to see results. Case in point: this week in Step class I caught a glimpse of my spandex covered body in the mirror and thought it was someone else. I didn’t recognize my new body. That will never happen if you’re wearing your husband’s XXL t-shirts to exercise.
4. Read Success Stories: When I first joined MyFoodDiary, I loved reading about others who had been in my shoes and found success. There are countless success stories online that you can find with a simple search but of course, I am a bit partial to my own
5. Treat Your Next Meal Like Monday Morning: You fell of the wagon, so what? It happens. Now get back on there as soon as possible. I mean it. Now. Not tomorrow. Not Monday. Right now.
6. Download New Music: Is it just me or do you find yourself working out 100 times faster when a good song comes on your playlist? Just when I think I’m too tired to keep working out, a good song will come on and suddenly I feel like I can run a 5K. (Which, in fact, has never happened but Rihanna certainly makes me think it’s possible.)   Songs I’m Loving Right Now: “I Cry” by Flo Rida, “Don’t Stop the Party” by Pitbull, “Too Close (Distance Remix)” by Alex Clare and “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars.

Keep up the good work, I’m proud of you.