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Don’t Relapse, Just Regroup

Getting fit and healthy is not a destination. It’s a journey filled with trials that test our abilities to live healthfully. Both turbulent and joyous, it’s one that everyone has to come to embrace by learning the fine art of regrouping. Let’s look at this posting from Blueeyes23 on my weight management board:

“I am trying to get back to my diet of eating healthy foods. I used to weigh 250 lbs. I started exercising and running. My diet consisted of counting calories and eating lots of veggies, pasta and some chicken or tuna (I don’t normally eat meat). I stayed with this diet as well as counting the calories and staying within that limit. I started running from a couple miles to 5 miles now I’m up to 7 miles a day, 3 to 4 days a week. I went from 250lbs to 197 (currently). My goal is to be 175 which is where I need to be. Well, I went on vacation for a week and treated myself to “splurging” as I was soo good dieting and losing weight. That was in July. I am now eating more unhealthy food (donuts, candy bars, Pizza Hut pizza) and my body will sometimes just super crave sweets. I try my best to watch what I eat but it’s hard. I still run 7 miles a day up to 4 days a week. Any suggestions, tricks that I could use or what I need to do to get back on track with my diet?”

Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? You bet it does. Here are some tips and tools to help manage this problem.

  1. Don’t use the word relapse. I don’t like it because it’s too negative. It leads to guilt and shame and ultimately to self destruction. Instead, look at these kinds of events as opportunities to learn how to take better care of yourself. That’s the essence of learning how to regroup. Take a breath, examine what happened, see the patterns, adapt and adjust, and then move on.

  2. Avoid “vacation mind”- where you let it all go and revert back to your old habits, thinking you can just pop right back into healthy eating after “splurging” for a week. Nope, that doesn’t work. This is a lifelong journey and you’re now mentally and physically different than the 250 person who started this. Chowing down on heavy calories for seven days is what got Blueeyes to 250 pounds. She can still go on vacation and have a great time, but with a brand new mindset- the mind of someone who shed over 50 pounds and needs to sustain that. Having some treats in appropriate servings is what someone who is healthier and more fit now does.

  3. Beware awakening the refined sugar addiction demons. Apparently she’s got the sweet tooth and carb craving demons on board. The solution is to immediately clean up her work and home environment, get rid of all of these foods, and to go into a 72 hour cold turkey on all of this. It really works. The key is not to over think this, but to just do it. Get right back to fresh, whole foods and don’t look back. Keep physically active, avoid places that may tempt you (pizza parlors, the candy aisle at the grocers) and get to bed early. Trust me, this works.

  4. Realize that exercising can NOT cancel out all of your over eating. Thank heavens she is still active or she would have gained a lot of weight back. Both reining in the calories and keeping physically active is the way to go.

  5. Become a master at regrouping. Expect many challenges to your healthy lifestyle. Come up with Plan A and B all the way to Z if that’s what it takes to learn how to adapt, adjust and regroup when life changes up on you. Get macho about it. “Go ahead and kick another challenge my way. Watch me regroup!” Now, that’s a winning attitude!

So, if you’re like Bueeyes, don’t waste another moment stressing. Instead, celebrate the fact that you turned this speed bump into a valuable lesson that you’re going to run with, starting right now.

Related Topics:

  • Weight Loss & Fitness with Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP
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Labels: healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, weight loss

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 and is filed under Diet Club Consultations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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