You did! You have hit your goal weight, you feel amazing, and it feels weird not to have healthy habits. But then something changes, it may be a relationship, job, illness, whatever… but something comes along that shakes up your life. Your routine is completely upturned and you find yourself slowly slipping back into old not-so-healthy habits. Starting to backslide. Before you know it you are headed in the wrong direction and jumping back into your healthy lifestyle almost seems… painful. It feels like you are starting out all over again.

Don’t beat yourself up, it is more common than you know. For me it was a series of events that began with becoming chronically ill with a nervous system disorder, having to start working from home, and then getting remarried. I’ve worked with others who have had a baby, a career change, a divorce, you name it, if it drastically changes your life in a short amount of time, it’s almost instinct to revert back to old habits. But it doesn’t mean that you’ve failed.

Over the next three weeks, I will be showing you how to get back on track as painlessly as possible in terms of eating, fitness, and overall lifestyle as painlessly as possible.

Maintaining weight loss is an area that doesn’t get nearly as much press as the more sexy topic of losing weight. It should. Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry. Since most studies show that over 75% of people who lose 10% or more of their body weight gain it back… it’s an industry where customers keep coming back for more.

First though, it’s important to actually acknowledge that you have (or are in the process) of falling off the “wagon”.

You Still Claim to Adhere to Healthy Habits that You Do Less Than You Don’t

You can still talk the talk because you have walked the walk… but you aren’t doing it anymore. You claim that you workout 4 times a week when in reality you haven’t broken a sweat in the past 3 weeks. When talking with friends you talk about your healthy eating habits but fail to mention that those habits are what you were doing at one time, but not anymore. I mean you are still trying, shouldn’t that count for something?

Your Clothes Are Not Fitting Anymore

Those jean you were so excited about not only fitting, but looking ah-mazing in, they aren’t looking so amazing anymore and you find yourself struggling to get them buttoned. You try to tell yourself it was the dryer that shrunk them, but deep down you know that isn’t true. You are pretty much living in your yoga pants but haven’t actually practiced yoga this year. And the dressing room is starting to bring you anxiety.

Most of Your Meals Are “Cheat Meals”

You have no idea when or how it happened but “fit” you would never eat the way you’ve been eating. You find yourself eating for comfort, out of boredom, and paying no attention to how much your body needs or if it’s actually good for you. Every now and then you’ll resolve to get back on track and buy produce, but you find that your vegetable crisper is just a place food goes to rot.

You’ve Stopped Putting Effort In

You find yourself making excuses for why you can no longer track your food, plan your meals, plan your grocery shopping, etc. You make on and off again vein attempts to start putting more effort in, but it’s not as easy and natural as you remember it used to be. After a day or two (if that), you throw your hands in the air and justify not putting as much effort in.

You Find Yourself Vowing to Really Recommit Later

Deep down you know you need to get your butt back in gear, but not… right… now. You feel like you need to prepare to get back on track. You want to enjoy right now and you’ll worry about that self-discipline stuff tomorrow… next week… next month… etc. The problem is action, consistent action, is always put off.

You Make Excuses

There is a difference between objective observations of why you got off track and excuses. Observations are necessary, observations are actionable and solution oriented. If you observe that you broke your leg and can no longer run, you can adapt. You can adjust what you eat since you aren’t expending as much energy and you can find ways to increase upper body and core activity.
On the flip side, and excuse will tell you that since you broke your leg you can’t be active. It doesn’t look any further for the solution. You may be busy, you may have just had a baby, you may have kids who are picky eaters… Truth be told, you can always find a way, even if it isn’t always easy.

If you are realizing that you are off track, be gentle. It happens to many of us without even knowing. The important thing is to take action and be realistic. Long-term healthy habits aren’t developed overnight. It probably took years to develop the unhealthy ones so expect that it may take years for the healthy ones to be your “default” mode.

You may feel like you’re starting from square one, and in a way you are, but you will gain traction a lot faster than before and be so relieved that you started back at it now rather than “tomorrow”. It took determination and effort to initially make the lifestyle changes you had made the first time and it will again. Luckily though, you know that you can do it. Don’t let that be an excuse to put it off until later, let it be fuel to motivate you to get back to your best you sooner rather than later.

And if you do feel like you are starting at square one again, make sure to keep your eye out for the post next week that will about getting back on track with your eating habits and grab my 180° Lifestyle Transformation Guide below.

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What is your first indication when you start to get off track? Share in the comments below.