Picture this: you’re invited to a friend’s party. You’re on a strict diet plan, so you resist cruising by the buffet table. But a last-minute moment of weakness has you chomping down on lechon strips and two slices of your favorite dessert. The morning after, you just can’t help think of all those hours spent at the treadmill–and how you feel like you have to put in extra effort because you’ve given into a spur-of-the-moment craving.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Don’t get lost in self-pity and lose sight of your goal. But how do you stay on top of your fitness regimen when you just had binge session? Here are four ways how:
1. Decide to start over.
Usually, the guilt is felt the morning after, when everything’s been said and done. But you don’t have to wallow in bad vibes the whole day just because you gave into your craving. Pick up where you left off and continue your fitness regimen. Deciding to start over might be hard, but it’s the first step to getting back on track.
2. Keep a food diary.
It pays to know how much you’ve already eaten for the day, and writing down what you eat will help you do just that. That means you get to record exactly when you had an extra slice of pizza and plot how you can make up for it.
3. Give yourself leeway for future slipups.
In an ideal world, you can set a perfect record and never mess up again. That might not be the case in real life, where craving slipups are bound to happen. Set a realistic expectation for yourself–that way you can strike the perfect balance between disciplining yourself and squeezing in some cheat days every now and then.
4. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Don’t beat yourself up for giving in to that slice of chocolate cake (because there are days that really call for chocolate cake). Recovering from a binge session doesn’t actually require you to start at square one, and it certainly does not mean the end of the world, either. Stay positive and committed to your fitness regimen, and you’ll always be on the right track.
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