The Blown Diet Myth
share on: facebook | twitter | google+ | redditMost of us on the "weight loss journey" have had that experience of feeling like we "blew the diet".
Blew it!
Went overboard on some pizza and beer, cheese doodles, Burger King, what have you.
We've been doing good up until this point but somehow our old self came back and bit us in the ass.
I used to do this all the time.
The problem with this behavior is that, as you probably have experienced, it tends to start a chain reaction. We feel guilt about "being bad".
We're FAILURES!
Because of this negative reaction we are MORE LIKELY to overeat again (to help numb the pain, really). You can see how this can spiral downward and cause us to start going back up the rollercoaster.
(Watch the video or keep reading below...)
I've since figured out a better attitude to hold when these situations arise. I still have binge eating episodes from time to time but they no longer throw off my progress.
Here's how:
First, reframe the situation as A NECESSARY INDULGENCE.
It had to happen.
Perhaps too much stress, too much rigidness in your life. A bad day.
You had to do it. You needed the release.
It was necessary.
That is the attitude you should have. No "I'm a failure", no "I'll have to start over tomorrow!", none of that.
Second, realize that it is VERY unlikely a real setback will happen. In order to gain one pound, you have to eat roughly 3500 calories - which is A LOT.
Some people (like me) can still cram that much down in one meal, but it's no easy feet. But even in that scenario, many of the calories will be burned simply by the process of digesting such a heavy load of grub all at once.
Even STILL - one pound, big whoop.
What will actually happen is you'll gain a whole bunch of water weight. Get on the scale the next morning and you could see upwards of 5-10 pounds gained.
It's just water. No big deal. It will be gone in a week or two while you continue your diet and maybe drink some extra water to flush it out.
So there you go.
Reframe it as a necessary indulgence, realize the worst case scenario isn't even that bad, and
STAY THE COURSE!
You're fine.