It’s a familiar situation to just about anyone and everyone who has ever tried dieting -- you had a “bad” day.
Maybe you overslept, maybe you got caught up in meetings, and/or maybe you’re stressed to the gills and went off your healthy eating plan (as well as potentially skipped your workout).
Regardless of the cause, you messed up and there’s that little nagging voice inside you that says “you failed.”
Once that insidious voice starts, it’s hard to shut off, and you may start to think all hope is lost and that all of your efforts up until this point are a waste.
We’re here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.
Sure, you may have messed up on your diet, but that doesn’t mean you are a failure. It doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be one of the millions of individuals who constantly hops on and off the fad diet bandwagon, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve ruined your transformation challenge.
When you have a bad day, here are some important things to keep in mind:
- One cookie (piece of chocolate, doughnut, etc.) doesn’t undo a whole day of healthy eating
- One missed workout doesn’t automatically lead to muscle loss
- One “bad” day doesn’t undo weeks of hard work
It’s easy to fall into these mental traps when you have individuals on social media constantly emphasizing the “no days off” mentality or constantly displaying photos of themselves looking lean, strong, and slim.
But, the reality is that social media (more often than not) is a collection of the “best of the best” photos of these individuals’ lives. They’re not posting what’s actually going on in real life. The photos are staged and heavily filtered and modified to make them seem perfect and larger than life.
Can you use social media as a means to help boost motivation in the short term? Sure.
Should it be something you judge your self-worth, success, or happiness by? Absolutely not.
Life is messy, and there will be challenges that present themselves each and every day. How you embrace them and move past them ultimately determines your success in life, whether that’s in the gym, in the boardroom, or in your personal relationships.
Are you going to let one cookie completely derail your entire day of eating? Are you going to let one bad day sabotage your weeks of hard work?
NO WAY!
When you have a minor slip-up, move on with things as best as you can.
If you start to notice that this is a pattern of behavior (e.g. constantly having “bad” days), then you may need to look inward and think about what is transpiring and leading you to have these bad days.
Is it work or life stress? Is it poor planning on your part? Etc.
Understanding the triggers that contribute to you messing up on your diet can go a long way to helping you avoid those pitfalls in future instances.
Additionally, don’t get hung up on being perfect.
If you have a cookie, doughnut, or piece of pizza that doesn’t mean the whole day is ruined. You can get right back on with your plan at the next meal.
Yet, for some reason or other, we tend to treat diet and exercise as an “all or nothing” proposition. You either do everything right all the time or you better not do it at all. But, this isn’t practical, and we never really apply this to other aspects of life.
For instance, let’s say that you miss a project deadline on Monday at work, you don’t give up on the rest of your deadlines for the rest of the week and/or quit your job. You talk to your boss, bust your hump, and get the task done.
The same mentality needs to be applied to messing up your diet.
Own it, accept it, and get right back on track with what you need to do to be successful.
There doesn’t need to be any “woe is me” moment or feelings of hopelessness. Realize that you’re human and you’ll make a mistake here or there. But, it’s also important to realize that these dietary mishaps don’t mean you’re a bad person, a failure, or someone who will achieve their ideal body transformation.
Once you understand that it isn’t the end of the world if you go off-plan every now and then, you’ll have the peace of mind and confidence to tackle your goals no matter what comes your way!
And, if you need added support and motivation staying on track during your transformation challenge, make sure to participate in our private group, which can be accessed through the 1UP Fitness App. There, you’ll interact with coaches and other like-minded individuals who can provide encouragement as well as offer insight on meal prep, training, and supplements to support your weight loss and performance goals!
