6 Healthy Ways To Get Back On Track

by Carmen MarshallBody + Health, Pleasure + Lifestyle0 comments

Help! I’ve fallen off the wagon!

We all do. Me too ;-)

An unexpected concept that I teach in my online nutrition program is that at some point, we WILL all fall off the wagon. When we finally have success in changing our health habits and feel AMAZING – it’s easy to think that we will never, ever put ourselves through eating unhealthily again – when in reality, we will.

…And it’s ok.

Falling off the wagon is not the problem, it’s how quickly we pick ourselves back up that matters. Having a game plan for WHEN it happens, is what’s most important.

Note: Prioritizing our health (nutrition, fitness + self-care) is crucial as an entrepreneur, because the better we feel, the more creative, resourceful and impactful we will be. I have all my clients focus on health as much as business success, because it’s the physical foundation that makes everything else work.

In this blog I’ll share 6 things that make all the difference to healthy living as business and lifestyle strategy – and specifically knowing how to get back on track as quickly as possible.

1. Ask Yourself the most Powerful Question – “What would a healthy person do?”

This one thing is a game changer. Why? It’s normal to wake up the next morning after you’ve had a less than stellar eating day, with a large dose of guilt.

However, guilt and frustration at yourself are never productive, and if anything, can lead you to eating more sugar/carbs, just to get yourself out of depressive state.

I’ve found this one question turns everything around, “What would a healthy person do right now?”

Well, they would get up, drink a big glass of water with lemon, eat a healthy breakfast with blood sugar stabilizing protein, not beat themselves up, move…

This one powerful question puts me into a proactive, “what can I do” state of mind, rather than a depressed, “what DID I do” state of mind.

When we ask ourselves good questions (rather than beating ourselves up), our brain will find the answers and do the very thing that we need to do. For me, it gets me out of self-blame into healthy action.

2. Don’t Diet or Cut Calories 

It’s sooo tempting after you’ve over-eaten the day before, to cut calories to compensate. But this is the WORST thing you can do because it can cause you to over-eat, again. In fact, you should never diet, for the same reason.

Because your blood sugar will be all over the place, the day after is the most crucial time to get it balanced – and we need to do this through food.

Through healthy, blood-sugar-stabilizing food.

If you cut calories/diet, your blood sugar will crash and your brain will think it’s starving – and you literally won’t be able to resist that donut or cookie jar because your brain will use sugary foods to stabilize the body’s blood sugar as soon as possible.

This is not a lack of will-power, but rather your brain trying to make sure it doesn’t starve from lack of blood sugar.

This is also why it’s really important to eat 5 small meals/snacks though out the day, every day (but especially the day after not eating well) to keep your blood sugar stable and your brain calm.

Which leads me to point #3…

3. Eat ONLY healthy protein, good fat and veggies and NO high-glycemic carbs or sugar

Protein and fat help stabilize the blood sugar quickly. High glycemic carbs and sugar will spike it. So absolutely no high glycemic carbs or sugar the “day after”, and of course, preferably any day.

Healthy protein, good fats, veggies, low-glycemic fruits (1-2 pieces max) and even low glycemic carbs such as quinoa in moderation are fine, but absolutely no high glycemic carbs (basically anything white) or sugar – as they will spike your blood sugar again and cause you to over-eat, again.

4. Make Water Your Best Friend

After non-healthy eating, you’ll be dehydrated, which can also lead to over-eating the next day. Dehydration, fatigue and stress all feel the same in the body as being hungry.

Water is your ally because it will flush out toxins quickly, give you energy, hydrate and make you feel full – so increase your water intake in every way you can during the day after.

Easy ways to increase water intake:

Drink a big glass of water with lemon as soon as you wake up
Sip water throughout the day (with lemon or lime is even better)
Snack on water-rich raw veggies throughout the day such as carrots, cucumbers and celery
Drink a green juice
Include a big salad for lunch and/or dinner
Have a low-salted soup or stew for one of your meals (this will also fill you up)

5. Move! (Dancing is always a good idea ;-)

Non-healthy eating and guilt makes you feel depressed, so moving or exercising not only quickly moves toxins out of your body, but also releases endorphins so that you feel GOOD.

This makes it much easier to get back in the saddle because remember, one of the reasons we eat high glycemic carbs and sugar, is for the quick fix of feeling good.

Just the other day, after an extremely stressful week, I had a less than perfect day of eating. I did all the above, and then taught Soul Fit™ Dance. After that, I was on such a high, it was easy to keep going, because I felt great.

6. Know your Triggers

My unhealthy eating days used to happen ALOT during my 20’s and early 30’s. But now, because I eat healthily most of the time and know my triggers, they happen much less often, and I can get back on track that much more quickly.

What are my triggers?

Not enough sleep
Not enough downtime/quiet time on my own
Feeling like I don’t have a way out / no end in sight
Not enough pleasure or things to look forward to
Not preparing well enough so I have access to healthy options

Knowing our triggers can prevent unhealthy eating in the first place, which is just as important as knowing how to quickly get back on track.

Notice that all of the points above are also how to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle, every day. But they are even more important to remind ourselves to do when we’re had a not-so-healthy eating day.