I’ve wanted to blog about this article by Tim Boyer entitled Why You Should Forgive Yourself After One Bad Dieting Day since I read it a couple of weeks ago – and not just because it spoke to me on a personal level (you should read it, it’s good). I thought I’d save this entertaining and well written piece in case any of our Minute Movers were feeling guilty after a four day weekend of culinary debauchery.
Mr Boyer explores the pitfalls of starting your diet on a particular day and engaging in extreme deprivation until you’ve hit your goal (which is often a recipe for failure and guilt). He also recommends that we avoid the all or nothing mindset that leads you to feel that you’ve ‘blown your diet’. You’ve probably already noticed that these recommendations are right up our alley, in fact we haven’t yet expanded into diet recommendations but our preference is to pick one small change and do that consistently until you’re ready to add to your successes.
Try to remember that your weight – especially when it’s scrutinized every day or even multiple times per day (please don’t do that!) can fluctuate up to five pounds over the course of a week and may not necessarily reflect a change in body fat or muscle mass. The reality is that it’s ‘difficult to gain real weight after only one day of overeating’ and there are so many factors that can cause weight fluctuations. Your weight can be affected by things like water consumption, eating a big meal, waste products that have yet to be eliminated, salt intake, water retention, and hormonal changes. In fact, menstruation can cause temporary weight gain of up to five pounds (often from water retention) but you should be back to normal a few days after your cycle ends.
Be sure to consider that the time of day that you weigh yourself and the amount of clothing you wear can impact the number on the scale so try to only weigh yourself once a week (first thing in the morning and with no clothing is best) watching the overall trend of weight loss or gain – better yet skip the scale and judge your progress by how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror.
So. If you’re feeling a little disappointed in yourself this morning extend a little mercy to yourself, skip the scale for a couple of days and get back on track with your healthy eating plan – and your Movements.
Make Your Minutes Matter!