How to Quickly Get Back on Track Without Guilt

One of the biggest pitfalls of any diet is the all-or-nothing mindset. If you think about it, going on a diet sets you up for failure from day one. 

A diet implies that you have to be “on” at all times. You’re either “on your diet” or you’ve fallen “off your diet”. You must follow certain rules. No matter what diet you choose, and there are lots to choose from (although most are just repackaged and named differently), you are restricted from something whether that’s calories, sugar, points, carbs, fat, etc.

But what happens when you eat a piece of cake at your daughter’s birthday party? Or when you have a stressful day and mindlessly eat the goodies a coworker left in the breakroom? Or when you just want a handful of chips because well, chips are good and you love chips?

A diet leaves no room for error. A diet has rules and you must follow them or else you fail. Have that piece of cake? Sure, but you just failed your diet and have to start over on Monday. Maybe you had a stressful day and ate mindlessly but now the whole day is ruined, so you might as well stop at the drive-thru on the way home and binge while you figure out why you don’t have enough self-control. 

And ugh, those dang chips got you again… instead of just one handful, you might as well eat the whole bag because you ruined everything… 

Sound familiar? 

It’s the all-or-nothing mindset. You’re either “on” or “off”. And there is absolutely zero room for failure or error. No slip-ups allowed. You must be perfect. Doesn’t this sound ridiculous when you actually read it? Yet, that’s what the diet mentality has ingrained in us. 

No one is perfect… so, what do you do?

News flash: NO ONE IS PERFECT. I know, you “know” that but we often forget it. We forget that no one is able to follow a diet 100% and that’s okay. 

Now, to be heard. I don’t like diets. For many reasons, like the one I just described, but also because it’s not a long term thing. 

There’s always an end in mind. Whether that’s to lose 5 lbs or eat restricted for 30 days or until your next vacation. There’s an end… and then what? You stop? Only to start over again when you gain the weight back or have another vacation? (P.S. Research shows those who go on a diet not only gain the weight back when they stop but gain even more!). 

Then what’s the answer? I’m glad you asked! 

Instead of diets, do this!

First off, you have to ditch the diet mentality. Throw it away. Stomp on it. Get it out of your mind. It has no place here. It is not doing anyone a favor and it’s actually hindering so many women from living healthier lives and making lasting changes.

Secondly, instead of dieting and having an end goal, create a lifestyle change. Focus on creating healthy sustainable habits so they truly last. Say goodbye to dieting, restricting, and feeling deprived. Instead, embrace a life that is full of balance and a truly lasting change. 

This is something I work with my Stuck to Thriving clients on. We work on one habit at a time to create a lifestyle that truly lasts. Can you imagine not being on a diet and creating a healthy lifestyle that’s easy and becomes second nature? It’s so freeing! 

How do you ditch the diet mentality? 

It takes effort and work to ditch the diet mentality. It doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s been so deeply ingrained and we’ve been told over and over again that we have to work at changing our mindset. 

So what do you do when you have the birthday cake at your daughter’s birthday party? Or when you have a stressful day and eat mindlessly the goodies a coworker left in the breakroom? Or when you just want a handful of chips because well, chips are good and you love chips?

Read on for the answer. 

Here’s the big secret and #1 strategy to quickly get back on track without guilt or having to “start over on Monday”.

The secret the diet industry won’t tell you

Look at your day in 4 quarters. Break it up into four quarters so if one quarter doesn’t go as planned you still have 3 quarters to continue eating healthy. 

Here’s how to break your day up: 

1st Quarter = Morning

2nd Quarter = Afternoon 

3rd Quarter = Mid-afternoon

4th Quarter = Evening 

When you break your day into four quarters you’re really setting yourself up for success. You’re not thinking in the all or nothing mindset or that you have to be 100% all the time. You have a simple tool to help you if things don’t go as planned in one quarter. You simply pick right back up and make a healthier choice for the next snack/meal. 

Let’s go back to our real-world examples and let me show you what this looks like in your day-to-day life.

You have a piece of birthday cake at your daughter’s birthday party in the 3rd Quarter. There is no room for guilt here! It’s your daughter’s birthday after all. Enjoy that piece of cake with her. And don’t let there be any room for guilt either. 

Instead, of guilt and then feeling bad about yourself so you eat even more cake (I so get the vicious cycle) acknowledge that you had a piece of cake and that’s okay! Then start the 4th quarter fresh, guilt-free, and make dinner healthy and with lots of veggies.

You have a stressful day and eat mindlessly the goodies a coworker left in the breakroom in the 1st Quarter. It’s so tempting to throw the whole day away, isn’t it? To think it’s completely ruined because you “slipped up”. Instead, put the 1st Quarter behind you and start fresh again. You still have 3 Quarters left! It would be a shame to throw those away just because one didn’t go as smoothly as you’d like. 

You just want a handful of chips because well, chips are good and you love chips. Ahhh this one gets so many people. Diets usually mean restriction (a.k.a. you can’t have your favorite foods...ever again). This, of course, causes you to want them even more. Those cravings can be fierce too. 

So you inevitably have a handful or a few bites of your favorite food and immediate guilt happens because you “slipped up”. Now what? You might as well eat the whole bag or finish the rest off because you messed up so what’s the use? This is so common and a huge part of why diets aren’t doing any of us any good.  

A handful of chips didn’t ruin anything. Eat them mindfully, slowly, and enjoy them. And then move on. No guilt. No shame. This only causes you to eat more. And if you did go a little overboard, pick right back up in the next quarter. 

Instead of getting sucked into diet culture and thinking all is lost if you didn’t eat as healthy or something didn’t go as planned because well, life happened, take a step back. I want to encourage you to rethink and change this mindset. 

Nutrition is never all-or-nothing. And this mindset it so detrimental to our health and not getting anyone any closer to their goals. In fact, it’s causing so many to stay exactly the same year after year. 

It’s a new year. A new decade. Let’s make a big, lasting change this year and stop thinking of our nutrition as “all-or-nothing” or being “on” or “off”.Instead, shift your mindset, make each quarter the best it can be and move on when it doesn’t go perfectly and start fresh the next quarter.

Conclusion

When you begin to shift your mindset and look at your day in 4 quarters you’ll begin to make lasting changes and ditch the all or nothing mindset. You’ll begin to find balance. You’ll begin to find freedom. And ultimately, you’ll create a healthy lifestyle that truly lasts and that’s the goal. To be healthy and live a life well lived every day not just when you’re trying to lose weight or when you’re feeling “on”. 

I’d love to hear from you! Comment below if this a new concept for you and if you’re going to implement it starting today! I hope you found it helpful and it resonates with you as you navigate creating a healthy lifestyle that lasts.