5 Ways To Get Back On Track

As a Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach, I give advice on health and fitness on a daily basis. My passion lies in helping others succeed in reaching their goals, whether fitness, nutrition or weight related. But, I have to be honest, I let myself slip; I have gotten so focused on helping others, that I forgot about my goals and keeping myself accountable. Too many evenings of a couple glasses of wine and one too many dark chocolate covered almonds has definitely not helped me. It has let the scale slide a little and my pants a tad tighter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still eating healthy, working out daily (even two double days), but I’ve been a little too relaxed on my portions and “special treats” lately. So….it’s time to get back on track and hold myself accountable, too. I pride myself in practicing what I preach, so I certainly need to get back at it.

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Here are my 5 tips for getting back on track…

1. Size DOES matter! Even though I cook and eat healthy (a ton of veggies, lean protein, a little bit of healthy fat and quality carbs, i.e. sweet potatoes, quinoa, ancient grans, brown rice), the amount of what I consume does infact matter. Instead of going back for a second helping on meat or carbs, I’m going back for a second helping of veggies instead (if I’m still hungry). It still comes down to calories in vs. calories out.

2. Be smart about treats. At the end of the day, or week, “treating myself” to a few pieces of chocolate, or my weakness, dark chocolate covered almonds sounds okay in theory, but a handful can wreck havoc on my goals. Instead of eating out of the bag, I am now portioning out 2-4 almonds, since I really only want a taste to satisfy my sweet tooth.

3. Be Mindful. Instead of eating a snack because it’s snack time for my kids, I’m making sure to drink a few sips from my water bottle and ask myself if I’m truly hungry. If I am hungry, I have a snack, which is usually our typical afternoon shake, but if not, I wait until I’m hungry. The same applies to meals; once I finish my dinner, I take a drink of water, relax a minute before deciding if I’m still hungry to go back for seconds. Most of the time, I’m completely satisfied and don’t need anymore food.

4. Get adequate sleep. With so many things going on in our life the past couple of weeks (birthdays to prepare for, my training and Juice Plus business, working on my son’s preschool annual fundraiser, etc), I haven’t gotten adequate rest (7-8 hours of sleep). I have probably been getting 6 hours on average, which is not good. The more tired I am, the less mindful I am about my eating. In addition, I’m more tired in my workouts, so I’m not pushing myself as hard. Needless to say, sleep plays an important role in every aspect of our lives.

5. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I’m not going crazy about the scale. I’m using my pants as a gauge. I’m planning to weight myself once a week just to see, but I’m really going off how I feel and how my clothes fit (if they are looser) to see if I’m making progress. It’s not just about the number on the scale, so I’m trying hard to not stress over it and just practice these tips to get back on track.