Overview

It can be easy to get off track with healthy eating plans. If this is true for you, just think of healthy eating as a work in progress. When you learn from experience, you get better at it each time you refocus your plan.

Here are two important ways you can get yourself back on track and stay there.

• Update your goals.

  When you first started your healthy eating plan, you probably had one or more big goals in mind. Are your goals the same today? Or do you need to change them?

  • Are you having trouble meeting those long-term goals? You may need to come up with new short-term goals to help you get there. Short-term goals are things that you want to do tomorrow and the day after.
  • Did you try to take on too much too fast? That's a reason why some people have trouble making a lifestyle change. Remember to make your short-term goals small steps that you know you can manage.
  • Did you meet your long-term goal and then stop? Good for you for meeting your goal! Now you need a new long-term goal to help you stay with your healthy eating plan.
• Get past slip-ups.

  Everyone has slip-ups. But there's a difference between slipping up and giving up. Going back to your old eating habits for a while is a slip-up. It doesn't mean that you're a failure. When you slip up:

  • Don't get mad at yourself or feel guilty. Think of it as a learning experience.
  • Figure out what happened. Why did you stop?
  • Think of ways to get yourself going again. Learn from your slip-ups so that you can keep on toward your healthy eating goal.