Honestly, everyone has a lot of balls in the air trying to juggle them all. Here are the top five things that can derail your diet and fitness program and how to get back on track.
1. GETTING SICK
When you fall ill it is the biggest derailment of all. Putting your health first and staying away from others is essential. Unfortunately, staying out of the gym is important when you are under the weather.
The most devastating part of getting sick is how much it messes with your food. When you’re sick, things don’t taste right or smell right, and sometimes if you are vomiting or having other gastro issues, being extra aware of what you are eating and drinking will make a big difference.
Most people love hot tea and chicken noodle soup when they’re sick. Your immune system is firing at all cylinders when you are sick, it’s important to keep it in tip-top shape.
Prevention by Gut Health Support
“What you do today can improve all of your tomorrows” -Ralph Marston
Elderberry, vitamin D, Zinc, Prebiotic, Probiotic, Quercetin, are only some of the supplements people are taking to help strengthen immune systems and fuel the body’s ability to fight against viruses. So much of the immune system is in the gut, so always make sure to keep yourself on track with your fiber intake, and prebiotic and probiotic supplements, you can even drink some ginger and turmeric tea, they are anti-inflammatory and will help ease the body’s burden of fighting off sickness.
Get back Quicker with Rest
When your immune system is working overtime to fight off a virus the last thing you want to do is go to the gym and put your body under more stress. You are being forced to slow down, and it’s okay to slow down when you are sick because your body needs to rest! Listen to your body, it will tell you when it’s okay to push and when you need to recover.
Drink a lot of fluids. The worst lie that was ever perpetrated was that you can work out a cold, you cant! Realize that you will feel better soon. When you can start working out again, ease back into it day by day. The weekly workout routine will come back, and your time off will be a distant memory. Our bodies and minds are resilient. When you’re sick, take care of yourself, and focus on your foods and fluids.
2. INJURY
“The future depends on what you do today” -Mahatma Ghandi
Injury can derail people in a major way from their fitness routine. Injury can make you feel like you are going to lose all your progress or muscle mass in the two weeks that you are down. There’s hope! Muscle memory is an incredible thing if you get injured and need to take time off, once you get back to your fitness routine, things will get back to normal fast.
The biggest setback is surgery, sometimes surgery will keep you down for extended periods of time. Keeping diet on track is the most important during times like these. If you cannot lift, walk, or strain yourself, you want to make sure you transfer your workout to your mind. Training your mind to stay focused on nutritious foods, the amounts you’re eating, and taking in enough water will allow your body to do its work in recovering from surgery. Get into a podcast or read a book, exercise your mind.
Prevention by Stretching
Injury prevention is an incredible aspect of fitness. Doing mobility work like dynamic stretching and active stretching can be great in preventing injury. If you practice yoga, it is a wonderful way to keep tendons, joints, muscles, and bones stronger and help prevent injury.
Prevention by Massage
Massage therapy is also a wonderful way to prevent injury if you are a person who trains hard or trains regularly. Consider a sports massage to target specific muscles or groups of muscles that may be more bothersome than others. Another wonderful massage option is a lymphatic drainage massage, which encourages the movement of lymph fluids around the body. The fluid in the lymphatic system helps remove waste and toxins from the bodily tissues.
Take Rest Days
Please take rest days between workouts. Rest and recovery days are so important to your overall health, mental health, and immune strength. Ya know that muscle soreness that you feel after some workouts? That is muscle growth! Your body diverts energy into your muscle healing time, so you will want to allow your body the time it needs.
3. SICK KIDS
Kid, in general, can derail your fitness plan, progress, or program. If your kids are young and they get sick, you have to stay with them, taking you away from the gym. Your kids are your first priority. Being there for the kids and slowing down for them is the only thing you can do for them. This time and this sickness will pass. When your kids fall ill your thoughts go straight to how can we get some food in them and get some calories for them to be able to fight and be strong after illness passes. Ride it out with them, but stay on track with your food.
A consistent and controllable factor is your food. What you eat, what you feed the kids, and how you adjust to unplanned days off from the gym or your routine are determined by your mindset. It’s important to stay mentally strong enough to roll with the punches and stay on track with your eating. After all, its the least you can do for yourself after a long day and night of taking care of sick children.
4. MOVING
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity” – Sun Tzu
Moving is one of the biggest stressors in life, it’s at the top of the list with divorce and the death of a loved one. Moving is a big transition and it causes your life to get turned upside down. The chaos of organizing, packing, cleaning can derail you.
Track Your Food Anyway
Tracking your food may be the furthest thing from your mind as you stress about the one hundred little things you have to do while moving. Do not let this get in your head and derail your progress. Eating out more often will impact your progress and stress will weaken your immune system. Something like this could keep you derailed for longer than you want to be. Be cognizant of how you are feeling in your day to day and continue to eat well and be active.
Prevention by Deep Breathing
When you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, or you feel anxiety rearing its ugly head. Stop and breathe in through your nose and out through your move for at least thirty seconds. Close your eyes, calm your body, and calm your mind. When you open your eyes again your perspective will adjust and allow you to reclaim your day.
Prevention by Making Lists
Being derailed in diet and exercise routines is annoying. After all, you didn’t want moving to be the reason why you have all but given up on your hard work. Almost everyone has a smartphone with a notepad or section to make lists, use this note section to list out the things that you need to accomplish that day.
As you accomplish the things, check them off or delete them from your list. During a move, routines get shaken up, it’s natural. Making lists for yourself will help take the burden off your memory and allow you to have incredibly productive days. Plan your meals so that you have an idea in your head about what you want to do, if things change with a curveball, you will be able to handle it better.
5. EXCESSIVE TRAVELLING
If you are traveling a lot, eating like you are on vacation, not sleeping well, this can majorly derail you. Something you might want to consider when you are traveling a lot for business or leisure is tracking your food. Making good choices will make you feel better, and a little bit of tracking will help keep you mentally in the game.
Getting back on track when you get home will be easier to accomplish if you are consciously aware of your food goals and choices. You have control over what you eat and drink.
Enjoying your time away from home by making good food choices will make you feel good while you’re away. It is not normal to feel sluggish or have a stomachache all the time. If you go too far off your diet while traveling you may notice that you start to feel bad again.
You are training yourself to feel your best right now, let’s not lose that, you have been given a chance to feel this good on your keto journey. Hold onto that!