A Bad Week

Have you ever got to the scales and confided in the person running your group that you’ve had a bad week?

Perhaps something happened to derail you and from there, it became a bit of a free-for-all.  Or, you’ve eaten something which wasn’t part of your plan and, even though you got straight back on it, you felt as though the whole week was wasted…

One of my friends mentioned an analogy which I use in my groups from time to time:

If you get a flat tyre, do you immediately get out of your car and slash the rest of them?

I doubt you do!

However, when it comes to diet, I often catch myself talking about a week as though I’ve not only had the flat tyre and slashed the others, but I’ve also decided to burn the car and eat in the wreckage.

Maybe after it cools down a bit

Analogy aside, is this how it really happened?

Have you ever had the feeling where, due to one meal, you’ve ruined everything and may as well start again on Monday?

I feel how we deal with it is all about our ability to put things into context.

What I’ve been learning to do through our group, is to see what’s really happened, accept it, then move forward (crazy talk, I know)!

I.e. instead of sitting in my metaphorical car, bemoaning how the flat tyre means the world as I know it has come to an end and as the whole car is ruined now, I might as well just slash the other tyres; I look at what is going right.  The car works.  The tyre can be replaced.  It is not the end of the world.

Apocalypse cancelled!

Bringing this back to what I’m really talking about here: If I have a meal off-plan, it does not mean my previous progress or weight loss has gone, it doesn’t make my journey any less fantastic.  It does not mean I have failed and may as well give up forever/until Monday.  It does not mean I need to punish (or reward) myself with food for an entire week.

It is exactly what it says on the tin. One. Meal.

This week in group, we’re talking about how much time we spend talking about something versus how much time we spend actually doing it.  Say one meal takes you 20 minutes to eat.  How long have you spent deciding if you’re going to have it?  How long have you spent bargaining with yourself about how to get back on track afterwards?  How much time is spent berating yourself/feeling rubbish/being guilty?  And finally, how much time is spent on eating more because of this one meal?

For this 20 minutes, we can use up an entire week of time and energy which could be spent getting us closer to our goal.

If you find yourself facing the nail which might flatten your tyre, remember: you are in control of whether you drive over it or not AND in control of whether you slash the rest of them after.

Take a moment to notice what’s gone right and tell yourself a few positive things about it.  You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.