Fall Off The Wagon, To Get Back On

They say you don’t know what you have until its gone. It’s the same as a routine – you don’t really know the depths of the routine you’re in until you’re out of it. You could look at this holistically as your lifestyle or more atomistic as your diet, your gym routine, mental space, social life.

It takes you to fall off the wagon, to be able to get back on.

No diet is ever perfect, no gym routine ever goes exactly to plan. However, the speed at which you get back on the wagon is down to you. Just because you had a bad meal during the day, doesn’t mean that you must fall off the wagon for the rest of the day, the following day or the following week. Just get back on track and begin again… If you don’t have time to go to the gym at the time you planned, or the day you planned, don’t decide to skip the gym completely. Could you fit in some other exercise elsewhere in the day? Is it a necessity that you train? Could you just have a rest? Can you reset your mind and body and jump back on the wagon the next day?

There are so many ways to get back into the game… Start by having a mentally stimulating routine, add some variety with food, gym sessions and downtime. Keep things different and exciting. Another way would be tracking or logging food and exercise, just until you feel like you’re back in routine. It doesn’t have to be every day but enough to gauge where you are at and get you back on track. Set goals; make sure they’re achievable, make sure they’re effective and make sure you remember there WILL be times where the route to achieving the goals will change its course, you just have to reel it back in. Create a social circle; if you feel discouraged, demotivated or just lazy, have a group around you that will give you a little nudge to go to the gym, go for that run, do the cycle or even just go for a walk. Doing exercise isn’t just for physical benefits, its for mental and social benefits too.

Ultimately, be kind to yourself. Don’t plan to fail – basically, don’t plan to do cardio every day, don’t plan on exercising every day, don’t plan on eating strict every day, plan for balance and the feeling of being content. Trust me, your ‘plan’ will last longer, and you’ll see the results you’ve been after. We’ve said it time and time again but it’s a process, a slow process. A process that can be enjoyable, a process that will definitely have times that will throw you off the wagon BUT a process that you can get back on track with.