We have all at some time been side tracked during our diet
and been tempted into eating something we know we ought to avoid. Having been focused and determined to succeed, we find it difficult to understand why we have cheated after we have been doing so well. This is often a common problem to many dieters, but if we can regain our focus, we can avoid disaster and reduce any damage by acting quickly and sensibly.

We have to relate to the fact that we are all human, and there is no point in beating ourselves up about a slight lapse in our new diet plan. We must remember that we are fighting against eating habits that we may have been employing for years. It takes time, persistence and patience to overcome these bad habits, it is inevitable that we will fall victim to temptation now and again.

We should ask ourselves just how serious our cheating has been.

Have we eaten a couple of cookies, or a whole pack, or did we drink a bottle of wine and attack the cheese board? Was our cheat a one time experience or have we been regularly eating unsuitable food and drink for a few days?

If we take a rational look at the form our cheat has taken, we will realise that it probably is not any where near as bad as it could have been. Even if we have really cheated excessively, we can still salvage the situation and be quickly returned to the right track.

We need not punish ourselves:

The last thing we have to do is let negativity creep into our mental attitude towards ourselves. We should not assume that we have jeopardized our weight loss programme, or that we are a fat failure. Just because we have made a mistake, there is no need to convince ourselves that we are weak, have no willpower and will never succeed. We should tell ourselves that we just need to refocus, that is all.

The worst temptation is to try starving ourselves to force our body to shed those extra pounds we have gained due to our cheating. All we will achieve by following this route is the slowing down of our metabolic rate, resulting in our body storing fat, making things far worse.

We should not consider ourselves as failures if our diet has just had a slight hiccup, we should focus on trying to do better from now on. More importantly we should not consider giving up on our diet.

What steps can we take to get back on track?

This really is dependant on how severe the cheat has been. If we can follow a few simple steps over the next few days, we can return our body back into fat burning mode.

1) Increase our water consumption.

If fat, sugar and sodium were elements within our cheat, drinking more water will help eliminate toxins from our body. It will also help rid our body of water which may have been retained due to the content of the food we have been eating. We should drink sufficient water to ensure that we make many trips to the bathroom, and diluting our urine to make it almost clear in colour.

2) We will benefit from high fibre vegetables.

We should be trying to include plenty of high fibre vegetables for a few days to kickstart our metabolism. They are rich in nutrients and will help us feel full and assist our digestive system. They help boost our metabolism as the body requires quite an abundance of energy to digest them. Ideally we should opt for leafy green vegetables such as cabbage, spinach, sprouts, broccoli, kale and watercress.

3) Will our cravings subside?

Patience is a necessity when we are trying to overcome cravings. If we have cheated with foods that have the result of us craving for more of the same, we have to be patient until the cravings subside. Some foods, sugar is a perfect example, create a chemical reaction which drives us to want more. If we feel that the craving is hard to resist, we should try to think positive thoughts, breathe deeply and wait until we have overcome the craving.

We should not resort to negativity if we have cheated on our diet. It is not the end of the world, and if we have the right mindset we can turn things around and soon be back on the road to our goal.

By Dave Townley