Health and Fitness For Life

The past 14 days our blog has provided many tips and information about how to set goals, tracking them, achieving them and healthy weight management.  Now that you have done all that, how do you stay on track all year long?

If you started the first of January or even just two weeks ago, it's easy to lose steam or fall off the weight loss or fitness track.  So what can a person do to bridge that gap between now and swim suit season? The first step is to accept the very real possibility of  and prepare for any program set backs.

Recognize the Cause
One way to prepare for a lapse or set back is to recognize it.  See it coming and try to put it in perspective.  Back slides can happen with any goal but it doesn’t mean it is the end of ones program. Create a list of things that may cause a slip, such as an upcoming vacation, change in job, relationship or living space.  Once you write those things down you can evaluate them in terms of how they will affect your existing or desired diet and workout routine.

Prepare Ahead of Time
List three or four things you can do to counteract the situation... For example if you are going on a vacation in a few weeks, you could call and find out in advance whether there is a gym in your hotel or where a local workout option might be. You could also prepare to lessen the guilt of an exercise free vacation by adding in an extra workout or two the weeks before you go.  Or you can make a conscious effort to include more outdoor site- seeing activities like hikes or bike rides.

Perhaps a change in job, a looming deadline or relationship is on the horizon and you recognize your tendency to overeat when dealing with stress. This would be the time to buy a new healthy eating book or load up the fridge and cabinets with healthy snacks.  (Remember to throw out anything that is expired or not healthy)

Plan a Strategy to Get Back
By knowing and preparing for these things before they happen you can control the slip. You position it in your mind as the temporary situation rather than the permanent, so rebounding is simply a matter of going back to the norm.  If the lapse is of significant duration, say several months rather than weeks or days, you will need to go back and progress into your old program gently so that you avoid negative training responses...like pain and soreness or feelings of failure. Your body is pretty amazing in that it can come back from almost any backslide as long as you take it one step at a time. 

Remember to Supplement
Keep in mind that proper supplementation can help reinforce any program or program comeback.  Be sure to take a liquid multivitamin with B complex and essential nutrients and perhaps an added liquid vitamin D supplement as well, especially during the winter months.  If you are experiencing joint pain, try taking liquid glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, keeping in mind it may take a few weeks to start noticing an improvement in your joint flexibility and discomfort.  Staying healthy is key to maintaining an exercise program.  It's harder to exercise when you are not feeling well or have injury or joint pain.  Those who exercise regularly have a tendency to be sick less often as well.

Don't Punish Yourself for Small Slips
Relax!  It's ok to slip up occasionally.  It's almost impossible to be perfect all the time.  What matters is a cumulative lifestyle pattern of enjoying healthy food, exercising, finding ways to relieve stress and staying connected with others that support you.

Have you had any set backs?  What do you do to get back on track?