We all fall off the bandwagon from time to time. After I returned home from Ibiza I had copious amounts of work events filled with free food and drink, I enjoyed too many cocktails with the girls and spent time with my family in Cork eating outside of my meal plan and relaxing on my training. If you’re in a similar situation, here are my top tips to get you back on track. Don’t wait until Monday to get feel fit again or begin a new healthy lifestyle. Finish your last slip up cheat meal and grab a pen and paper. Write down how you feel after eating that take away, how you look in your clothes, and any negative thoughts surrounding you’re off track behaviour. Then, make a list of clear and concise goals, from body fat to your ideal clothing size, appearance or events you want to attend in the near future, looking and feeling great. Write down how good you’ll feel having reached those goals and pin it somewhere you can see daily, I keep mine on my phone.
Try to minimise unhealthy socialising. By this I mean regular meals out, nights out drinking with the girls or excessive binging or takeaway treats at home. Yes you have to enjoy your life but getting back on track is near impossible with constant occasions used as excuses to go off track again. Plan a treat once a week and allocate a certain amount of calories to enjoy it. Whether it’s sweets at the cinema, a pizza, a three course meal for date night or a few G&T’s with the gals, you’ll be able to work towards your goal whilst maintaining a happy balance, ensuring you lead a lifestyle you can stick to.
Plan your meals. Whether you decide to count macros with an app or keep a food journey, preparation of some kind is key. Write out the produce you need, do a healthy food shop and meal prep for the week ahead to ensure there’s no excuses, regardless of how busy you are. The saying fail to prepare, prepare to fail really applies here. The days where my fridge is empty and I’m back to back with meetings are the days I make poor convenient food choices.
Remove temptation. Keeping chocolate biscuits, crisps, fizzy drinks, or other unhealthy options in the house is a recipe for disaster. Whether it’s that time of the month, you’re stressed with work or having an emotional day, having those treats near by can make poor choices far too easy. The cycle of eating the odd bad food, feeling guilty, wanting to give up because you’ve fallen off track again and that the whole process is a waste of time is a detrimental mind frame, one that’s hard to get out of.
Drink as much water as possible. The moment I wake up I drink a 500ml bottle of water, I have the same amount with each meal, to sip on throughout the day and at night. This will ensure you aren’t mistaking hunger with thirst. When I’m experiencing strong cravings I drink a full bottle of water before eating to see if I’m genuinely hungry. The only inconvenience with this is you’ll need to go to the toilet more frequently, but the benefits outweigh the negatives as it’s flushing also out the system.
Drink some form of detoxifying tea with oodles of health benefits. I’ve been drinking 3-4 cups of Miss Fit Skinny Tea everyday and the difference is so apparent. This particular brand contains no laxatives or hidden ingredients with a laxative effect such as senna leaves, deeming it wholly safe for contraceptive pill users. Miss Fit Skinny tea is made from entirely natural and organic ingredients which support weight loss through combating fatigue and bloating and non-offensively encouraging your metabolism to improve. Ingredients such as Lotus Leaf, Garcinia Cambogia, Pu’Erh Leaf, Sencha Green Tea, Jasmine, Rhubarb Root, Lemongrass, Fennel and Chamomile naturally detox the body helping to also improve your skin as well as the internal benefit.
Eat small macro friendly meals well timed throughout the day. I start my day with protein and fats, ensure there’s protein and greens with each meal thereafter and that I feed my body protein and carbs post weight training to aid repair muscle repair and provide energy. Fuel you body with good carbs like rice, sweet potato and blueberries as opposed to pasta and bread which can make you feel sluggish and bloated and really pause your progress.
Plan your workouts. The same way you plan your food it makes sense to do the same with exercise. Access your working week, make time for training and decide what days you want to weight train, do some cardio or even a class. Going to the gym with a plan is also vital. When you’re unfamiliar with machines and aimlessly walking around you’re only wasting your own time. Invest in a PT to show you the ropes and devise a plan that you can follow on your own thereafter. Whether you have 30 minutes or 2 hours make use of your time there.
Buy some new workout gear. When you’ve fallen off the band wagon you really need every extra aid to get back on track and maintain motivation. Choosing some affordable bright well fitted fitness fashion will ensure you feel great. When you’re happy about how you’ll appear in the gym you’ll be more likely to attend with confidence. River Island have launched a new active line and the range is not only super stylish but really well made and passes the HIIT test.
Lastly, don’t beat yourself up. We’re all human and falling off track is human nature. Whether your initial goal was to lose weight for a holiday, you simply wanted to shed a few pounds for an event or you’re a body builder who’s no longer competing, it’s natural to become lax and let loose. Sometimes the times we slip up make it clear what we really want and what our body needs. When you’ve led a healthy lifestyle for more than three months falling off track becomes less appealing because you know the hard work it’s taken to get to where you are and how bad you feel when you consume excessive amounts of sugar, gluten or dairy.
