It’s scary to be doing well with weight loss then mess up and see the scale change directions. It can really shake you up when you realize 10 pounds have crept back on.
One of my clients went on vacation then had guests stay in her house. With all the changes in her routine, she gained weight. It was terribly disheartening for her because she had worked so hard to lose weight. She felt down and was berating herself for it.
“Lapses are normal. Everybody has a lapse at some point,” I told her. “You can’t go through life and never have a lapse. It’s how you deal with it that matters. People who are successful with weight loss get right back on track after a lapse.”
I encouraged her to take her anger and disappointment and focus it on a plan. All that emotion can be turned toward positive action and motivation.
If you’ve had a weight loss lapse, don’t let it get you down. It’s normal, it’s expected, and it won’t kill you! You can recover and bounce back.
You’ll need to figure out what threw you off track (so you can avoid those pitfalls in the future). You’ll need a weight loss plan (like cleaning out the junk food and keeping a food log). You’ll need support and accountability (weigh-in with a friend, group exercise, etc.). And you’ll definitely need a positive attitude (dump that sorry-for-me baggage and move on).
There is no going back to re-do. But there is right now, today, tomorrow, this week. Learn from your lapse and let that lesson make you stronger, wiser, and more determined than ever.
