When You’re About to Slip

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Think about the last time you slipped and went off your eating plan.

And I am not talking about slipping off whichever of the many unsustainable fad “diets” you’ve tried or the one you’re on right now. I am talking about making an eating or a menu plan for yourself and then keeping your promise to yourself.

Your goal is to honor your plan.

And when you don’t keep your promise to yourself, that is considered a slip.

And what happens when you slip? Well, essentially you are enjoying the moment, and conveniently putting your goals in the way back part of your mind.

And you are very conveniently forgetting how bad you felt on the last overeating episode.

What do you do when you slip? When you promise yourself that you will do something or not do something, and it doesn’t work? Are you accountable to yourself?

If you’re like most clients I’ve met over 20+ years, you alternate between hating yourself when you slip and letting it go without examining what happened.

I, for one, am NOT an advocate of saying: “Oh well. No big deal.” And just moving on.

It is a big deal when you do something repeatedly that brings you pain and discomfort and, yes, even tears sometimes . . . that takes you further away from achieving what you really want.

It’s not a big deal ONLY IF you use an episode as a learning experience to look at what happened; what you thought at the time; what you felt; what you did or didn’t do; and what the result was.

THAT is accountability.

Do I think you should beat yourself up every time you don’t honor your promise to yourself?

No, of course not; but I am telling you that you should LEARN from what you did. You should never “just move on” from a slip and fall without learning from it.

It’s important to keep the memory of the pain you felt the last time you slipped . . . in the front of your mind.

I don’t say this because I want you to feel bad. Of course, I don’t. But sometimes we need to remember our pain, so we learn from it. So, we know what we don’t want again. And we use it to help ourselves keep our promises to ourselves.

So, before you let the pain of your latest overeating or last unplanned indulgence slip into the back of your memory, Step #1 is to acknowledge it. Write it down. Remember it while it’s fresh. Be clear on the pain you’re creating when you allow your brain to talk you into a slip. Let your post-slip thoughts and words serve as ammunition the next time you start to think: “Oh, what’s the big deal? I can always start again tomorrow.”

So, the next me you’re about to slip, recall the pain you felt the last time it happened. Pain is a teacher because pain is information. Listen to it, and then use that information to guide your next choice.