4 Effective strategies for getting back on track with your weight loss

Joanna Kriehn, MS, RDN, CDCES - Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES)

One of the most important strategies for maintaining a healthy weight is the ability to bounce back after a slip. Here are four important points to remember for getting back on track with weight loss!

For maintaining a healthy weight, the ability to bounce back, otherwise known as getting back on track or resiliency is extremely important. Studies show that individuals who are able to get back on track with diet and exercise faster, gain less weight than their counterparts.

4 effective strategies for getting back on track with your weight loss

1. Don't be hard on yourself

First and foremost don't sweat the small stuff. Beating yourself up over minor diversions in your eating plan or skipping a workout or two is not helpful. If you overindulge, try being kind and supportive to yourself. What would you tell a good friend if she had fallen off her diet and exercise plan? Chances are you'd supportively offer suggestions and encourage letting go of the past. Try being a friend to yourself.

2. Reflect

After you have taken a few deep breaths and refrained from feeling guilty about falling off track, look into the why. Replaying the events and circumstances that led up to falling off track can be helpful for preventing the same scenario from happening again. Some people find it useful to record and map out the details and events that led up to the overindulgence. You'd be surprised by the subtle patterns you recognize when reviewing your notes (from a neutral, non-judgmental perspective, of course). Knowledge is power, and the more you are aware of your patterns and your pitfalls, the better you can plan and prepare for success with future weight loss.

3. Reunite with Tracking

Many people find they are embarrassed and uncomfortable tracking their food intake on days when they have fallen off track. They imagine their calorie budgets have been completely blown, with no chance of recovering. This type of overgeneralizing blocks your ability to think of new possibilities and will likely result in staying off track longer.

Try putting your ego aside and approach calorie tracking from a neutral standpoint. What can you learn from the situation for how to get back on track with diet and exercise? You may even find the damage is not as bad as you had imagined. Even if you go overboard, remember that it's what you eat day after day that really matters for long-term weight management.

4. Support is key

When it comes to weight management, many people feel a sense of pride in going at it alone. Yet research shows that social and emotional support from others can make it easier to lose weight and keep it off. Certain family members and friends can offer up timely reminders of your personal progress, putting a minor slip or overindulgence into perspective.

Not feeling supported by friends and family? Another convenient way to gather support is to join an online weight loss group. You can find teams and groups on the mynetdiary.com website. And remember, at the end of the day it is all about progress, not perfection!