Consider this analogy:
This morning you slept through your alarm, hit traffic on the way to work, and end up 30 minutes late to work. What do you do?
Do you beat yourself up for being so weak and decide that since you already missed 30 minutes of work you might as well just go home?
NO WAY!
Most of us would respond like a grown-up; we would look at what contributed to being late and commit to being on time for work the next day.
Why are we able to be adult about being late but are childish about making a mistake with our food choices?
Why when we eat a slice of cake that wasn't planned do we feel extreme guilt, berate ourselves for lacking willpower, and throw in the towel for the rest of the day?
Here's the truth – you are going to mess up. You are going to eat things you wished you hadn't. It's NORMAL.
What really matter is what happens next. People who are successful are ones who can learn from their decision and improve.
The first step is taking ownership of your decisions.
If there is a cookie or a slice of pizza that is tempting I make a choice about whether to eat it or not. So often we try and justify what we ate by saying “I ate it because _________” Whatever comes next is your justification and it allows you to stop taking responsibility for your actions.
Instead I want you to hold onto your power of choice and wield it daily. If you are offered a piece of cake decide if you really want to eat it. Is it worth it to you? If you do choose to eat it, will you own your choice without guilt? If the answer is yes then enjoy that bad boy! Savor the heck out of it! You chose it thoughtfully, taking full responsibility for the decision.
However – maybe you ate the cake when you had previously told yourself that you weren't going to let it pass your lips. You let yourself down. Now you handle the choice like an adult.
1. Own the decision
2. Look at what contributed
3. Create a strategy to avoid messing up again
4. Get right back on track and MOVE ON
You are an adult, you made a choice, and that's it.
The more you can look at the slip-up as a learning experience and one that defines your worth the more successful you are going to be getting to the place where you can hit your fitness goals and find peace with your food.
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