Getting Back on Track
So you fell off your goals, now what?
Life gets in the way
We start out with the best intentions, and we even make progress! Then something happens. You find out you aren’t going to be WFH anymore and you have to go back into the office. Your kids started school again and now you have to get them ready in the mornings and help with homework in the afternoons. You skipped a whole week of workouts and now it feels impossible to start back up again.
Get back at it
There no nice way to say this, and if you’ve followed me long enough, you know that I say everything with love. But you need to stop making excuses. Life will always get in the way. Unexpected things will happen, but your priorities should still be the things you take care of first. And friend, your health? That’s a priority. Work is important because you have bills to pay, but you won’t be able to do your job effectively if you’re sick…or dead. So whatever got in your way, you need to move on from it.
SO many people start their new health journey out STRONG. I get text messages with sweaty selfies, pictures of healthy meals, and regular updates about soreness and energy levels. It's beautiful. But life happens. Always. Even for the most committed person, there are days when waking up early or passing on that donut (or that mango beer) is just too hard. I get it. But that doesn't mean you give up.
Friends, it's called a journey for a reason. This new thing that you're doing? It's not a diet or a workout program, it's a whole new lifestyle. Being active regularly and making healthier food choices is going to be your new normal, and then you won't have to feel guilty when you want to indulge. After all, life is meant to be lived, and I absolutely do not want to live a life without cookies and wine and ice cream (I have a major sweet tooth, and I'm not doing a damn thing about it).
In the beginning, you do have to be a strict with yourself. Hold yourself accountable and pass on the treats more often than you indulge, BUT that doesn't mean that if you do indulge, you have to completely give up!
I have to tell you something that will be highly annoying and maybe even make you want to punch me in the face, but I'm going to tell you anyway (because you've read this far, and also because you need to hear it).
You will never, ever reach your goal if you quit.
It won't always be easy. In fact, it will be challenging more often than not, but you have to shake the mentality that this change you're making is temporary. It's meant to be permanent.
I have personally fallen off the wagon several times (usually around the holidays...and again around my birthday) but I always get back on track. If you knew me 5 years ago, you would know that this version of me is pretty fresh. I HATED exercise, and I thought counting calories was for people with eating disorders, but now? Now I'm actually the person that people think of when they want to make their own life change. That is insane to me.
My point with all of this, and the reason why I've gotten on this soap box, is that getting off track doesn't mean giving up. If it's your first time slacking off, you're probably feeling very disappointed. You likely even feel that you've proven yourself and everyone else right and that you can't ever actually stick to a new way of living. Can I tell you something from a place of love and respect?
Get. It. Together.
That negative self-talk needs to GO, but we can talk about that another time (or you can read more about my feelings on this HERE). Making a change doesn't come with the criteria of perfection. You will get off track again, but the key to making this change a permanent one is to pick yourself up, however many times is necessary.
I'll leave you with a side-by-side of my very first "before" pic (when I was too embarrassed to upload the photo without heavy filtering) and my most recent "after." I'll remind you, also, that there are 4 full years between these pictures.
