Fatty Flubs

What’s a girl to do when she misses a workout (or 2, or 3. . . or a month) or screws up her diet and eats 10 deep fried twinkies covered in frosting while watching Game of Thrones (geek heaven)? How do you recover after falling down? Or falling down, breaking your leg, getting a concussion, and then dislocating your shoulder (aka- the REALLY BIG screw ups)? How do you dust yourself off and get back on the horse? My methods for getting back off my butt are this:

1. Pack a bag and get ready for the day. I take my gym bag to work. I bring it in, and it sits on my office floor until I’m ready to leave. I put everything in it the night before, and then I’m ready to go for the next day. If I take it with me, and have it at work, it makes me go. It also gains me a little pat on the back from coworkers, so then I can lie and pretend like I’m super fit when I actually get changed and then go watch TV at home in gym clothes. No, that’s not a thing. What it does is make me go and earn those compliments.

2. Work it off. Ate too much? Was too lazy? Work it off. Put in some extra time at the gym, try something new, push harder. Sometimes taking that bad day (bad diet) and using it as inspiration is what will push you. Think of those twinkies as delicious, cream filled punching bags, and picture them in front of you at Body Combat. Run as if all those hot dogs you ate were chasing you down to eat you (think Weenie Races at Miller Park with zombie hot dogs).

3. Shake it off. Feeling bad about yourself happens. Beating yourself up about mistakes happens. But get over it, and get back to work. Turn that anger into fight. Slip ups happen, and recovery can happen.

4. Be optimistic. Every bad day ends. And then you get back on the horse. I’m hard on myself. VERY hard. But sometimes looking at the bright side is the way to go. Saying “tomorrow WILL be better” is the way to MAKE it better.

5. Set weekly goals- and then threaten yourself. I WILL go to the gym four days this week. And if I don’t, I can’t have ice cream on Sunday (Sunday is my “day off”- the day where I can have a treat and rest). And if I do make it? I get ice cream, and MAYBE a pet that my husband has yet to find out about or allow me to have (because what better reward can there be than buying myself an awesome animal my husband never wanted?). Setting small goals, and then rewarding yourself a little when you reach them gives you incentive to go back out and earn the next reward.

It’s easy to get discouraged when you screw up. It’s easy to give up. And its SUPER easy to do nothing and eat junk (most of the time simultaneously). But you can be a success. Get out there, get some drive, and do it with embellishment- talk yourself up, tell everyone (and yourself!) that you’re awesome- then go out there and BE awesome!