Often, whenever I give a talk, I hear from people who started eating sugar again and who wanted some guidance. Here's an article I wrote to help them — and you
— if you fell off the no-sweets wagon.
Slipped? Destroyed Your Diet? 7 Tips to Get Back on Track
By Connie Bennett, CHHC
Did you blow your diet again fall off the wagon, so to speak? Did you eat foods you promised to
forego? Are you upset with yourself for "stupidly" eating sugary or
fast-acting carbs?
Time and time again, my clients and readers of my book SUGAR SHOCK!
complain to me about how they stumbled and fell down yet again. They
desperately want to know how to get out of their muck and kick sugar, refined carbs and other horrible habits — and for good this time.
Here are 7 tips to pick yourself up and get back on track and finally succeed.
1. Be gentle with yourself.
If you slip and forgo
your good intentions, this is not the time to berate and belittle
yourself. Instead use this "mistake" to lavish yourself with
compassion, understanding and sympathy. Yes, you messed up, but you're human so give
yourself a break!
2. Accept that you're imperfect.
People with food
issues and unhealthy habits often tend to expect themselves to get everything exactly
right–or perfect. That sets you up for a huge letdown. Now that you've
slipped, use this as a chance to claim your humanity, which means
you'll make mistakes from time to time. Owning up to your limitations
can be quite freeing.
3. Consider this a golden opportunity to start again.
Instead of viewing your falling off the wagon as the most horrible dieting
disaster or other fatal error that never should have happened,
regard your slip as a chance to begin anew. You see, whenever you make
a so-called "mistake" such as this, this could be exactly what you need!
Think about it: Aren't you always more psyched when you begin a
project? Also, remind yourself that if you have hypoglycemia, type 2 diabetes,
cancer, heart disease or another illness, it's imperative that you
really lick your sugar habit, exercise more and do other more healthy
things for yourself.
4.View your slip as a learning experience.
Falling
off the no-sugar, no-coffee or no-more-late-nights wagon could be just the instructive incident that you need to to break out of your habit. So be thankful (yes, you heard me right — thankful!) that you "sinned" and ate those junk foods, swigged caffeine like it was going out of style or burned the midnight oil. Now study yourself dispassionately like a lab rat to see just how much damage you caused
yourself by slipping. Doing so will enable you to develop deeper
resolve to boldly move forward with conviction and finally succeed.
5. Witness the horrors of your binge or "fatal error."
Instead of
wallowing in self-pity
and self-hatred, jot some notes about how bad you feel in the wake of
your sugar or carb spree or other unhealthy habit. Keep a four-day journal in which you
chronicle all the emotional, physical and even spiritual results of
your "sinning." Write about your
anger, brain fog, headaches, fatigue, depression, irritability,
nervousness, angry outbursts at your kids, fight with your significant other, unexpected restlessness and
nervousness, etc. If you monitor your reactions carefully like this,
you'll easily
remember these repercussions the next time you're tempted to veer off
the track, and, ultimately that will make you less inclined to slip and more likely to be able to
win the sugar fight.
6. Reaffirm your commitment.
Almost immediately
after your binge or minor slip, look inwards and jot down why you want
to quit sugar or refined carbs or why you want to change another behavior. What benefits will you get from
stopping? Keep reviewing this list again and again. Chances are good
that your list will finally give you the impetus to break your habit
for good.
7. See yourself free.
The minute you stray
from your intended diet or goal, immediately create some positive phrases or
mantras, which convey that you've already succeeded. You could say,
"I only eat healthy foods. I am free." Better yet, create your own
affirmation. Then, say them over and over again. Preferably while looking in the mirror. See yourself
back on track, too. Incidentally, seeing and affirming your sugar
success — something I've been doing for 11 years now —
also is encouraged as a powerful Law of Attraction tool that's
discussed in the bestselling film and book, The Secret.)
I do hope that these 7 simple steps will help you to get back on track and begin to better again.
Remember that you're making these changes, because you want to live a long, healthy,
symptom-free life full of joy, freedom and self-confidence.
As you struggle to get back on your feet, kick your soda habit or get more sleep, remind yourself that life is much sweeter without all those refined sweets and other unhealthy habits.
Connie
Bennett, MSJ, CHHC is author of SUGAR SHOCK! (Berkley
Books) and The White-Out Diet (upcoming). She is a a motivating speaker, host of the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show, the Smart Habits Coach™, a
frequent
TV and radio show guest ("CBS News Sunday Morning," "Oprah & Friends Radio,"
etc.), a certified holistic health counselor, life coach, journalist and columnist. Back in 1998, Connie quit
sugar and refined carbs on doctor’s orders, and her many baffling ailments
completely vanished, including horrible headaches, crippling fatigue and brain
fog. Now, Connie mocks her unsavory sugar past by jokingly dubbing herself an
“Ex-Sugar Shrew!.” She has helped thousands of people break free from the
depressing, debilitating aftershocks of overloading on “culprit carbs” and other unhealthy habits. She runs
the White-Out Diet Blog, the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog and the Gab With the Gurus Blog. She offers Break Free teleseminars and webinars. Connie has been widely published (The Los
Angeles Times, TV Guide, eDiets.com, etc.)
©
Copyright 2009. Connie Bennett, www.SugarShockBlog.com. You may reprint this article if you notify Connie in advance and provide the above-mentioned description and credits.