At the beginning of a holiday or weekend, we go into it with good intentions. We tell ourselves we will stick to our healthy eating plan, have one cheat or treat and go back to our normal routine. We are human, so this doesn't always go as planned. We start with one piece of chocolate, it leads to 10 and now we feel like we overindulged. If this sounds familiar, whether it be with carbs, sugar, fast food or alcohol, this post is for you!
Step 1, stop feeling guilty or shameful. Stop rolling around in the guilt and let's look at the facts. You ate more than you probably should have or more than what makes you feel good. Now let's lean into WHY? If you were celebrating with friends or family, this is something that won't happen very often so you enjoyed yourself! If you were feeling down or lonely and used food as comfort, ask yourself "What do I NEED today?". Whatever the reason for the behaviour was, you need to come to terms with it, reflect and journal or take note of what you would do next time instead of overindulging or you accept that once in awhile for a holiday or celebration that it is OKAY because 80% of the time you are practicing healthy habits.
Moving on! Now we have reflected on the past and planned for the future, let's deal with the present moment. What can we do today? I do not want you to feel like you have to Eat Less or Exercise More. If cardio will make you feel better and sweating it out feels good and detoxifying for you, then do it. But do not go into a workout with a punishment mindset. Here's a few things I like to do:
Feel Calm - Practice deep breathing, meditation or mindfulness to calm the body & mind
Get Outdoors - Go for a walk with your dog or family or a friend and just be with nature. It will help you unplug and recharge so you can feel more grounded and aware.
Drink Water - Water is obviously good for your body for hydration, but it is also a self care practice of giving ourselves a cleansing feeling. For digestion, drink warm water with lemon, this can also help your liver to detox toxins.
Listen to your Hunger - Today is a new day so it is an opportunity to listen to your body. After you have established a sense of calm, you are in the mind mind & body space to tune into what your body needs. Eat when you are hungry (who care what you ate yesterday) and eat whole foods, avoiding processed and refined foods.
Plan Ahead - Look forward to the week ahead. You have a brand new week ahead of you to make better choices. Go on Pinterest and find healthy eating pages and get inspired! If your fridge is empty, go to the grocery store and choose your favourite healthy snacks and food.
All of these tips will help you feel like you are giving yourself something good and taking action. Feeling like you have to deprive yourself or punish yourself is not self care or self love and in order to build a healthy body, we have to create a healthy mind as well. I hope you like these tips and I hope you feel better already!