People often forget this – especially those who are trying to follow some diet or exercise regimen. Everything needs to be PERFECT. If it is not perfect, what is the point? I find it funny as people will cut themselves a break when they make a mistake at work or break something at home, but when it comes to diet and exercise, it is ALL-OR-NOTHING. We have been led to believe that you can’t lose weight, get in shape, or get the body you want unless you follow a diet or X perfectly.
What is the common course of events?
Started a diet on Monday. Everything is going great Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Suddenly it’s Friday. You are feeling proud of yourself that you have made it all week without a slip-up. However, you are feeling a little tired of the same lunch every day, you’re tired from a busy week, and you notice you feel a bit hungrier than usual – you think this is great cause it means my workouts are working and you are burning the fat away right now. You have almost made it through the day when you suddenly start to smell the restaurant down the street. As they get set for the dinner rush, you wonder… “I’m not sure what it is they are making, but it smells AMAZING.” Suddenly, you realize you are starving, and all you have left for food is some carrot sticks from lunch that you are completely sick of eating. So you head to the office kitchen to try and find something ‘healthy.’ 
Once you are in there, all you see are the baked pastries someone brought in for someone’s birthday. You think, “I will just have a small piece of one. It can’t hurt. Plus, I am so hungry as it is.” Suddenly, without even realizing it, you have downed an entire pastry. You feel the flood of guilt and shame. “Sh*t, I screwed up. Why can’t I do this?! This always happens to me! I will never be able to get the body I want.” Then as you are wallowing and calling yourself every horrible name in the book, you say, “Screw it. My whole week is ruined. I may as well have the other two pastries and get that pizza I have been craving on the way home from work. Because I am fat, and I’ll always be fat.”
Sound familiar?
Looking from the outside in, how does that make you feel? How would it make you feel if that was your partner or child experiencing those feelings and having that kind of conversation with themselves? Would you say what happened was their fault? That they don’t have enough willpower or want it badly enough?
Or would you say, ‘It is okay. We all make mistakes. All we can do is learn from them and move on!’
I am guessing it would be the latter. So my question for you is:
Do you think you could say that to yourself the next time you make a mistake?
If you struggle with negative self-talk or have re-lived the above scenario over and over… get in touch with us. Take your free session with me, and let’s discuss some tips for your path forward.
Until next time.
Dr. Dan
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