Follow my blog with Bloglovin Diet guilt and how to overcome it and move on

We have all been there, it's a wednesday night, mid week and you think you will just have a couple of squares of dairy milk, then before you know it you have demolished an entire family sized bar. You sit there feeling like a terrible human and instead of seeing this as a minor setback and moving on it's now a huge disaster and your diet is officially over, and you will have to start again on Monday...because it's an unwritten rule new diets have to start on Mondays.
I definitely find myself in these situations, probably more often than I like to admit. It's disheartening because eating clean makes me look and feel so much better than a giant bar or chocolate or a tub of ice cream ever will. But sometimes it happens and here's how I get over, what I refer to as 'binge guilt.'

1. Don't beat yourself up. It's happened and you can't turn back the clock. Have a large glass of water to flush out and detox your body then re-start the healthy eating from now and leave it in the past.

2. Make sure your diet isn't leaving you too hungry. This is especially important if you are exercising and following a healthy eating plan. Ensure you are getting enough calories from healthy foods so that your body isn't left craving the junk.

3. Treat yourself occasionally. If you don't allow any treats then your body will just crave the junk even more. A few squares of chocolate are fine just don't have it every day, and if you can pick the healthiest option of junk (if that makes any sense!) So if you want to have chocolate pick good quality dark chocolate with at least 60% cocoa solids. At least then you are getting some antioxidants.

4. Have plenty of healthy treats in the house. Fruits, fresh and dried, mixed nuts (although not too many) natural greek yoghurt, I love the 'Pulsin protein' bars which are full of healthy ingredients, no refined sugar and have 12g protein per serving. By having lots of healthy snack options you are less likely to reach for the unhealthy treats.

5. Don't starve yourself after a binge. This is the worst thing you can do. If the way you combat a binge is to then starve yourself to get rid of any weight you have gained you will only end up bingeing again. Trust me it's a viscious circle and one that I used to get caught up in all too frequently. Just go back to eating healthy and normal quantities.

7. Think about the time when you would usually eat crappy foods...is it in the evening in front of the telly? You need to remove the assosiation between these times of the day and 'treating' yourself. Run a bath and have a pamper instead, read a book, just replace it with a positive activity.

8. Think about your end goal. A chocolate bar provides immediate gratification, but think how much better you will feel a couple of months down the line when you are on the beach looking amazing in your bikini. It's not all about size either healthy eating and drinking plenty of water will make your skin, hair and nails all better, not to mention how you feel inside.

9. Try and get the people around you to help. Richard is always bringing home chocolate and crisps and I am often quite happy to help him eat them but if you get your partner involved then you can encourage each other, especially at times of weakness! 

10. Don't buy any 'junk' foods. If you don't have any of the unhealthy stuff in the house then there is no test of willpower, plus you will probably save some money too.

Jx


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