How to get BACK ON after FALLING OFF the fitness wagon

Most of us have, at one time or another, signed up for the gym, joined a fitness class, or even put on our running shoes and started running.

We had good intentions of making this fitness thing stick… this time.

And then what happened?

Every one of us FAILED.  At some point,  something happened and we just didn’t see it through and gave up.  Me and you included.

Now FAILED is a very big, and ugly word in today’s success-driven world. Whispering it may even be tough for you.

But FAILURE is a good sign.  It tells you that you’re off course and that’s valuable information.

Basically FAILURE helps pave the road to your SUCCESS.

When you jump on the fitness wagon, you do it with the best intentions.  You say you’ll hold on for dear life, come hell or high water.  Right?

But deep down you have a knowing that there are things that can, and will, derail you.  Because they have before.

So, here I want to first address the top 3 things that most commonly derail us and cause us to fail:

1. Not having enough TIME

2. Not getting enough SUPPORT

3. Craving COMFORT

So how do we address and prevent being derailed by these 3 things BEFORE we even get ON the wagon?

With good PLANNING.

Not enough TIME

If you know that you’re already juggling a full-time job, 3 kids, and volunteering 3 times a week, then you’ve got to be aware that just declaring you want to get fit won’t be enough to keep you on track.

To make sure that time isn’t an issue, you need to get very concrete and specific about your fitness plan.

So, get out your calendar.

I want you to reserve 3 blocks of time this week that you can commit to for your fitness.  I mean you’ve got know the date, time, and duration of your workouts.

Now, in these blocks of time, write down precisely what you’ll do.  Is it a 20-minute walk, a 30-minute arms-only resistance workout, or a 60-minute yoga class? Get specific.

The key is to put as much detail as you can into your calendar, so that the “I don’t have time” excuse never grows legs.

Not enough SUPPORT

It’s common for us to get derailed by a spouse, family, or friends who don’t support our journey to getting fit or losing weight.

Not having the support of those you care most about can be heart-breaking and demotivating.

That’s why it’s important to know where your support is going to come from BEFORE you even begin.

If you already know that those around you aren’t going to help lift you up when times are tough, then you need to find people that will.

Your support team can be made up of like-minded co-workers, or participants in your local fitness class or running/walking club, or online members of a fitness community, or a coach or fitness trainer, …

The goal is to build your team BEFORE you play the game.  Plan ahead and you set yourself up for a win.

Craving COMFORT

Comfort is the sneakiest of the 3 derailers, because it comes from inside you.

The voice of comfort typically tries (and many times succeeds) to out-shout the voice of reason.

It will tell you “It’s cold, you should stay home and get cozy in those fluffy pjs you love”, “Just have one more cookie, you deserve it”, “You’re too busy these days, why not kick your feet up and relax until things calm down?”.

The trick is to discern what’s true from what’s just comfort-talk.

So, how can you tell the difference?

By reflecting on how the decision feels inside, in your muscles and in the pit of your stomach.

When you’re being deceived by comfort, you’ll get a physical tensing and unease… But you have to tune into it to notice it.

To do this, you’ll need to get quiet and take a few moments to check in, become aware of how your body feels, and honestly assess what you believe is happening.

Check out the Get On and Stay On the Fitness Wagon Worksheet FREEBIE to help you outsmart that comfort craving voice.

Awesome!

Now, although you may have painstakingly planned for these 3 derailers (or not), you may still fall off the fitness wagon.

So what, you may be asking, are the steps to getting yourself back on?

Simple.  There are only two:

STEP 1:  Play No Blame Games or Shame Games

When you’ve noticed you’ve gone off track, the first thing to do is acknowledge what’s happened WITHOUT JUDGMENT.  Just be aware of it.

And then ACCEPT it (that doesn’t mean you agree with it, it just means that you confirm that it happened).

Falling off the fitness wagon is a normal human thing, and doesn’t make you a failure as a person.

What you SHOULD NOT DO is play the blame or shame games here.

The blame game is about accusing something or someone for your own failure to get something done.  It can sound like “Oh, it’s raining!  I was supposed to go for a walk,” or it can sound like “I can’t believe he came home late, now I can’t work out!”.

The shame game, on the other hand, is all about putting yourself down.  Shaming can sound like “You suck, you never get this fitness thing right!”.

Blaming and shaming are a waste of your time and effort.  You end up digging yourself into a hole that never needed to be dug in the first place.

Now being stuck in that hole just makes it harder for you to climb back onto the wagon.

So, no blaming or shaming, got it?  Now onto…

STEP 2:  Get Back Into Action ASAP

As soon as you’ve noticed and accepted that you’ve fallen off the fitness wagon, you must TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY.

You’ve got to DO SOMETHING, even something teeny-tiny, to get yourself back onto that wagon.

So you missed a fitness class?  Go for a walk or jog outside your front door.

So you ate a cookie or two?  Stop before you get to the next one, and throw away the rest of the bag if you feel they’re tempting you.

So you overdid it at the party last night?  Make yourself a healthy breakfast – don’t punish yourself by skipping it – and MOVE FORWARD.

Have you ever seen an Olympic skater fall, or a runner collapse, and then somehow they get back up and finish?

If you’re like me, I bet you were cheering for them.  Why?

Because we all love a come-back story!

There’s nothing more inspiring and motivating than witnessing someone overcome a significant obstacle and get back in the game.

Now, what about you?

If you fall off the fitness wagon because you missed a couple of classes, or ate a few cookies, or partied too hard, are you going to let that slip-up define you?

Or are you going to dig deep and get back up, despite the obstacles, and push ONWARD?

My suggestion:  Be your own come-back story.

Finally, here’s the take-away message I want you to absorb:

You always have the POWER to turn FAILURE into instant SUCCESS just by taking ACTION.

So, are you ready for success?

Keep moving forward my friends,

Debbie

P.S.  If you didn’t already, click here to get your “Get On and Stay On the Fitness Wagon” Worksheet Freebie.  It will be a handy reference to help you push through when the going gets tough!

P.P.S.  Questions, comments or stories you want to share about falling off the fitness wagon?  Post them in the comments section and help others at the same time 🙂

P.P.S.  SOMETHING NEW!  I’ll be doing a FACEBOOK LIVE video on Monday, April 24 at noon on my Facebook Page.  I’ll get a little deeper into the topic of staying on the wagon… and even talk about my experience with falling off, and exactly what keeps me motivated to stay on.  Check it out!