Whether you ate a donut at a breakfast meeting or nachos at happy hour, remember that slip ups are part of the process.
Step 1: Please calm the inner voice in your head. So often, I talk to people who beat themselves up for for taking a food detour. Food is food. Sometimes it’s thrilling. Sometimes it nourishes us. We all eat more than planned sometimes--myself included!--so the key is not to let your inner negative thoughts make any more of it.
Step 2: Do a u-turn. Every time we eat, it’s a chance to eat well. You don’t need to wait until Monday, or January 1st, or another arbitrary time or date to have a fresh start. Take the next chance. Think of it like this: If you’ve made a left turn when you should have gone right, you don’t continue. Your GPS makes a gentle suggestion to recalculate and steers you back in the right direction. Take this same approach to eating well. Remind yourself (gently) to get back on track and take the next chance to do so.
Step 3: Boost your intake of foods that make you feel good. In the moment, a donut or cupcake (my food thrills) taste delicious, but truth be told, if I overdo it, I feel gross. I feel best--more energy, less bloat--when I eat well, and my clients tell me the same thing. Focus on that feeling and fall back on your foundational foods to get back on track.