How to Recover From a Fitness/Nutrition Set Back

Has this ever happened to you? You worked hard on your diet all week, it's Friday and you're ready to step on the scale and celebrate a weight loss victory.  You look down hoping for a certain number but what you see is not what you expect. Sh*t!  You've gained 2 lbs! How could this be?  The thoughts begin to rattle through your head "This isn't fair", "What's the point of even trying", "Ugh, I'm so gross" and suddenly a perfectly nice Friday is ruined!  I could spend the next 1000 words telling you why the scale doesn't matter that much or explaining how it would take an excess of 7000 calories for you to gain 2 lbs of body fat, but these arguments aren't going to save your Friday.  Let's focus on what you can do to recover as quickly as possible from this set back because if you're in this fat loss/health game for the long run, you're going to need to build some patience and resilience.  

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Take Six Deep Breaths
This may seem stupid to you, what could a few deep breaths really accomplish? You're body doesn't know that you aren't actually in danger and it will unleash a cascade of hormonal responses to help you survive the immanent threat. The only problem is, this isn't really a dangerous situation and you don't need those hormones to outrun a predator. What you really need is to calm the f*ck down.  Take those breaths deep into you stomach and try not to let the shoulders shrug. Exhale slowly and fully. Repeat 6-10 times. 

Take a Judgement Free Inventory of Your Actions
Look back at the previous week to month and honestly review your habits.  Did you eat well at least 80% of the time? Did you get in at least 30 mins of light activity each day? How was your sleep? How were your stress levels? As you do this, try to avoid judging your actions. If you weren't active say: "I had 3 days where I sat at my desk all day and didn't walk or exercise" rather than "I was a lazy POS and I didn't go to the gym after work".  If you were indeed very consistent for the past week, how about the few weeks before that? How did they look? Chances are you haven't YET strung together several weeks/months of positive habits.  This isn't about spiraling down into a rabbit hole of shame and self doubt. It's just an assessment of your performance.

Choose a Simple, Easy to Implement Action
Now that you've assessed your behaviors and taken responsibility for them you can take action.  If the scale has really upset you, you're probably considering implementing several strict food rules.  It's Friday, so maybe you'll just enjoy the weekend and start them on Monday.  This can lead to a cycle of overeating, deprivation, and more overeating.  I can confirm that this pattern does not lead to long lasting fat loss but it does lead to a lot of hunger, shame and misery.  Instead, focus on one simple thing that you can do today to improve your nutrition.  Return to those big rock habits that create the biggest bang for your dietary buck: protein with every meal, vegetables with most meals, drink plenty of water, eat fibrous carbohydrates etc.... Choose one and use it with your next meal. Continue to focus on that one thing for the next several days or even week until you've strung together several successful days.   

Take Care
I get it, you're like Veruca Salt and you want your oompa loompa now, as in you want results and you want them fast! The problem is, you can control your actions, you cannot control your results.  After a set back, remember to BREATH, ASSESS, and ACT.  Limit the amount of emotional energy you put in to your weight and your perceived appearance because I'm guessing that you have other sh*t going in your life that needs your attention.  After all, this isn't really about the scale is it? It's about feeling better about yourself.  The best way to feel better about yourself is to take care of that body and mind of yours. Chances are the scale will reflect your efforts.