How to Handle a Weight Loss Screw Up (Part 2)
September 17, 2016 2:34 pm
Being super positive is hard.
In fact, you probably hate people who seem to be positive all the time.
Often, that’s because you haven’t found what you need to achieve your goals.
Last week we covered one of the most important aspects of hitting your weight loss goals: re-framing a screw up.
Today, we’ll keep chatting about why we screw up and how to recover from a screw up without too much damage.
A Dose of What You Need
That discussion of re-framing last week got me all riled up. I love the idea of spinning “negative” things into an opportunity for growth.
But here’s the thing.
Most of us don’t think that way. It seems like something a smiling aerobics instructor on 90s day-time TV does. It’s not relatable.
Get your track suit on and let’s go! (photo courtesy of bodybreak.com)
Even I don’t usually think that way. It’s something I have to work at actively.
And usually, when you screw up, you’re already in a bad mood. In that exact moment, you probably don’t want to hear me tell you “this is actually positive!” In fact, if I said that, you’d probably punch me in the face.
That’s cool. My face could use a little rearranging. 😛
This is pretty normal. In fact part of the reason we struggle to recover from screw ups is that we stay in that bad mood and let it affect everything in our lives. Even stuff that’s unrelated. A screw up can lead to self-sabotage, lashing out at loved ones, or worse. It’s not always pretty and you can’t always snap your fingers and re-frame just like that.
But there is something you can do.
You can figure out what you need. We talk a lot about recovery when it comes to sleep, nutrition, and muscle soreness but we often neglect the things we need for emotional and psychological recovery.
Maybe you just need a long nap like this guy. Or maybe you need something else… (photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org)
When you’re feeling down, what do you need to recover? And I mean really recover, not just distract.
- Do you have a favourite song that improves your mood when you listen to it?
- Do you just need to be alone for a bit?
- Do you need to be surrounded by friends?
- Do you just need a good long sleep?
- Will a jog or a long walk clear your head?
- Can you get a few minutes of meditation in?
Before you can coax your mind into that positive mindset, you’ve got to work through, and get out of your negative mindset. It might take some time.
That’s normal.
It takes patience.
The better you get at identifying what you need to recover, the quicker and easier it’ll get. As soon as you feel you’re back on level ground, you can start re-framing and also…
Ask Yourself Why
Last week I told you to be like an experimenting scientist with your habit change. And what does a scientist do after she gets her experiment results?
She asks “why did that happen?”
And that’s exactly what you need to do when you screw up your nutrition or exercise habits. Ask yourself “What was it that caused this screw up?”
Was it a lack of planning?
Was it peer pressure?
Was it just ignorance (That dessert had HOW MANY calories??!)?
But I thought I ordered the “lite” desert!! (photo courtesy of pixaby.com)
Answering this makes the next screw up easier to handle and helps you to understand what you need to do in order to avoid making the same mistake again.
Re-framing screw ups is the fastest way to get over them but when you’re in an awful mood it’s hard to put a positive spin on things. Be patient and compassionate with yourself. By learning and respecting what you need in order to recover from a screw up, you’ll be able to turn things around quickly and get back on track to achieving your goals.
Got something that gets your mood right every time? Share it with us in the comments below! 🙂
