Getting Back on Track

Hi. This morning's email from the "YOU on a Diet" doctors had the following good advice for me and for those of you who may have eaten stuff you shouldn't have recently.

The Keys to Sticking With It -- For Good

"A person who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it is committing another mistake." --Confucius

Week #3: Slipped? Stuck? Snap Back On Track
Took a detour off your program? No worries. Life happens, and one of the keys to long-term victory is learning how to recover from missteps. Here are the secrets:

1. Pretend it never happened (sort of).Get right back on the program. The YOU Docs -- RealAge experts Michael Roizen, MD, and Mehmet Oz, MD -- point out that when you make a wrong turn on a highway trip, your GPS doesn't let you get 50 miles off course; it alerts you right away. Make a YOU-turn as quickly as possible.

2. Don't beat yourself up.Missteps are not signs of failure. They're speed bumps that help regulate your journey. Don't judge what happened; instead, use the lapse for useful info on what gets you into danger and how to keep moving forward.

3. Look at the big picture. Check your tracker(s) to see how far you've come. Focus on more than the numbers; think about whether you've had more energy, self-esteem, and passion for life. Pay more attention to your overall progress than to the individual days.

4. Have a backup plan. People who have a backup tend to meet their goals more quickly than people who see themselves either on or off the program. Figure out what you'll do when, say, your walking buddy is on vacation or flight delays leave you stuck eating airport pizza.

5. Revisit your program. [refers to the "My Goals, New Year New You" weight loss helps available for free online]