It’s Okay to Fall Off the Wagon!

When you first start living a healthier lifestyle, it’s hard to stay loyal to new eating habits and exercise routines. Face it, you’ll probably feel a little deprived and have STRONG cravings and urges for unhealthy things (at least at first).

It’s no surprise that most people fall off the wagon at least once when they begin changing unhealthy habits.

Sadly, many people wrongly assume that slipping up means that they lack willpower and should give up on healthy living.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Don’t beat yourself up…
Stop beating yourself up for giving in to your cravings. One slip-up doesn’t mean that you’re weak or weren’t in line the day God gave out willpower. And it certainly doesn’t mean that you’re a failure or have blown it; those guilty little voices are just your confirmation bias speaking.

If you fall off the wagon because you’re stressed or dealing with some other negative emotion, beating yourself up only makes things worse and could lead to a full-blown relapse if you’re not careful.

So treat yourself the way you’d treat someone in a similar situation. Would you criticize a close friend for giving in to his or her cravings? I didn’t think so.

You’d be supportive and would encourage them to get back on track! Right? So embrace your humanity and shower yourself with kindness and compassion!

Learn from the experience…
Your slip-up could be a sign that your new lifestyle is too restrictive or that you don’t have enough support. To succeed, find the perfect balance between challenge and comfort.

An extreme lifestyle change may be appealing but it is less sustainable.

If you suddenly give up ALL your “comfort” foods and go on a very restrictive diet, your body will hate it (you) and revolt!

It’s better to make a few changes and stick with them than to completely modify your lifestyle and keep falling off the wagon. Just start with the basics like less processed foods and sugar, more vegetables, and exercise, and work your way up from there.

Climb back onto the wagon…
If you fall, get up, dust yourself off, and keep going!

Try not to think of it as starting over because that only makes things harder. What if it were treated as a learning experience instead?

For instance, just because you had fast food for lunch doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy dinner. Also, just because you haven’t been to the gym in a week doesn’t mean you can’t slip on your sneakers and go for a run today.

A weekend binge or one week without exercise doesn’t negate all of the work you’ve done so far. It doesn’t define you either.

Falling off the wagon is only a BIG deal if you make it one. You’ve got this. So don’t let a tiny bump in the road become a roadblock to your personal success.