"IN CASE OF EMERGENCY... (CONTINUED)"

OK, so you have just consumed a whole bunch of calories you didn’t need. This was not a carefully planned “cheat” like we walked through in the last chapter. You slipped, you splurged, and you hate yourself for it. What now? Give up? Stay unhappy? Eat some more? I think you deserve better than that. Let’s take a deep breath and take it slow. Here’s what I want you to do...:

STEP ONE: Forgive yourself. It happened. It’s already inside you. No one is perfect. Stop kicking yourself, stop telling yourself that you are a failure. Everyone who has succeeded has had moments like this. I’ve had many of them. And I still succeeded. And you can still succeed too, but you must first stop yelling at yourself and simply say, “I forgive myself for the mess-up.” Put the emotional self-hatred behind you, because it is not helpful.

STEP TWO: Put it in perspective. What did you eat? A whole bag of potato chips? And yes, I know, you ate the BIG bag, from Costco, not the bag that goes in a lunchbox. Let’s count the calories. 1500? If you did this every day you’d gain over 150 pounds in a year! But, you are not going to do this every day! You did this once. 1500 calories, once, is not even one half a pound of body fat. Yes, if you ate a bag of chips and you get on the scale hours later it might read two or three pounds heavier. Did you really gain three pounds of fat because of this slip up? No, you are in actuality less than a half a pound of fat, up (1500 divided by 3500). Remember, when you are eating healthy, and then have a moment like this, often the salt content in the food will make you retain water. And guess what, tomorrow, when you are back on plan, that water will go away. The point is, even if you did eat 1500 calories in a single sitting, it is just not a deal-ending amount. You have not permanently ruined your life. You have an extra half a pound to get rid of. Big deal. At the pound and a half a week you are losing on your healthy plan, you have just extended the time to reaching your goal weight by two days. Not by a lifetime, by two days. Does that make it not worth doing? Of course not! And anyway, you are not crossing a finish line, and then will be done. You are living your life in a way that will result in a healthier, slimmer you. So the finish line is a fantasy anyway. If it takes you two days longer to be in that dress, so what? You still get to enjoy it the rest of your life!

STEP THREE: Reaffirm your bigger goal. Is there any reason why eating a bag of potato chips or a quart of ice cream would suddenly make you not interested in being healthy, hot and happy? I don’t think so. If the goal was important to you before you ate, and you are reading this, the goal is still important to you. Spend a few minutes reminding yourself why. Look at the dress you ripped out of the magazine, that you will buy when you are at your goal weight. Or imagine yourself bounding up a flight of stairs in a svelte black track suit. Whatever vision works for you, but the point is, remind yourself about the importance of the goal you have set out to achieve and recommit yourself to working to achieve it.

STEP FOUR: Eliminate the temptation. No, I don’t want to waste food, but sometimes, the rest of the bag or carton just needs to go down the garbage disposal.. This is probably one of those times. Now. If you can get rid of it, or remove yourself from where it is, that is a good thing to do.

STEP FIVE: What can you learn from this? Take a step back and see if there is something you can learn that will help you overcome future moments like this. Was the bag just too easy to reach? Did you deprive yourself so much today that you were overwhelmed with hunger. Did you get mad and eat out of emotion? Think about (and refer back to places in the book for a refresher on tips and techniques) what you can do to avoid this trigger or situation next time.

STEP SIX: No punishment! Don’t starve yourself for a day. Don’t go on a cabbage soup fast. Don’t even skip your next meal. Punishment doesn’t work, it just perpetuates a bad cycle. The antidote to an over-indulgence is NOT to starve yourself. It is simply to get back on the plan. No mental punishment, and no starvation punishment.

STEP SEVEN: Make that commitment to yourself. Say out loud, “I’m over it, and I’m back on my plan.” Really, say it! Imagine yourself standing up, dusting yourself off, and getting back on a horse. Now, you are back on the horse and on the trail. Hold that visualization for a moment, and feel great about that decision. Feel proud that you can recover so quickly. See, you’re not a failure! There was no permanent, unrecoverable damage. It is behind you and you are back on plan. Now, forget about it, and move on! You are back on track.

*END OF EXCERPT*

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