How to Get Back on Track When You Fall Off

This week I might have been a little overdramatic about falling off track and getting back on it again. I have been consistent with the gym for about five to six months straight. I’m not sure what happened, but I began over snacking and feeling too lazy to workout for a couple of days.








It was only two to three days and I wasn’t even completely off track, nor did I exceed myself, but it scared me. My over snacking wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it used to be and I still managed to workout at the beach one of those days. But every time I opened the fridge for “just one more ice cream” I would feel a subtle sensation of defeat after eating two to three ice cream bars instead of one. My snacks were usually healthy snacks, such as bananas and oranges, but it didn’t matter how healthy they were—I was still eating when I wasn’t hungry. I was still associating negative feelings with eating. It was subtle, but it was there. I didn’t like it.



I saw myself going one of two ways: stopping it right there and then or continue thinking that two to three bars of ice cream were okay and that the craving would start to fade away on its own. You know, the typical “I’ll only have these until I’m over them” or “What’s one week of over-snacking? I’ll start Monday again!” or “Well, it’s already Tuesday night, my whole week is off so I might as well continue enjoying it until I can start a whole week the right way!”



I hated the second option. I've done the second option for most of my life. This option was coming to me with subtle feelings of defeat and frustration and the idea it could snowball into how I was eating six months ago.



So, on a Tuesday night, I said, “No honey, here’s what we are not gonna do!” and snapped my fingers in Z-shape formation.



I went with option one. I stopped that type of mentality and behavior cold turkey because I want a healthy life bad enough to be disciplined. Discipline can be a habit. Habits don’t happen overnight; they take work, dedication, and commitment.



So... how?



Well, I forced myself to do exactly what I hadn’t been wanting to do those last three days: going to the gym. Drinking my water. Not over-eating. I woke up with a plan. The night before, I planned out my meals for the next day, left my water bottle ready in the fridge, and scheduled the exact time I wanted to go to the gym. Having a plan really helped. I even added my meals on MyFitnessPal beforehand.



How I knew what to do: Did whatever I felt too lazy to do.



The truth is, I just wasn’t motivated enough on those days. I wasn’t finding that inner motivation to pow-pow my own hand before opening the fridge. I knew I needed motivation, so I downloaded music I knew I would want to listen to at the gym and did a before-and-after collage, which is always so encouraging for me to see.



Finally, I decided to keep myself accountable by recording my whole day. I got my phone and talked to it. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to upload it to IG, YouTube, or anywhere at all; I just knew I needed the accountability. Having a camera in my hand made getting back on track fun. It did what I wanted it to do: it held me accountable. I don’t need to be good at editing or acting animated for a camera to use it as an accountability tool and to make my journey fun. So, I recorded my boring self on a boring day, eating my cauliflower chicken for lunch and pizza for supper. I don’t post about my YouTube channel on my IG because YouTube still really scares me, and I prefer not to expose it; but if you have read up to this point, that means you found something of value in my blog and my video might help you too. So, here it is, just a regular day getting back on track.



Motivation can come from within you, or you can get that motivation from different places. It just depends on what works for you and what you want to do. If you cannot find it within you, find something else to motivate you. Challenge yourself. Make your journey enjoyable and fun. Some people create anonymous social media accounts, others create friend groups to support each other, others just simply write in their diaries. There are tons of support groups for fitness and weight loss, some live and some online. Weight loss is a symptom of getting healthy and choosing healthy habits. Find motivation to create those habits.



Today is day #4 back on track, and I’m proud of myself for pow-powing my own hand before opening that fridge and reaching for that second ice cream bar when I’m not hungry.



Enjoy your life.



Live healthy, live happy.



Be kind to people!



-Cabi