#MotivationMonday is here again!

Feels like 10 minutes since the weekend arrived and now it’s over again.

Often when we reach Monday we find that our weekend has been littered with cocktails, cakes and guilt.

The only solution is to go to Instagram, post the picture of your low calorie breakfast and kale smoothie and tag it #BackOnIt

Here’s the important question…does this work for you?

#BackOnIt

In the the confusing world of cheat meals, treat meals, weekends off and the cycle of binge/restrict we can easily lose what’s important.

One thing to remember above all else

One bad bad meal will not make you fat…

just like one good meal will not make you thin.

I’m not a big fan of using the labels of ‘fat’ and ‘thin’. But it’s the bluntest way to put that statement.

I say this all the time and I will continue to say it

Consistency is key

The kicker is that we won’t be consistent with something that we find to be too difficult.

Spending all week eating salad and carefully counting every calorie when you find it tedious and frustrating is just asking for a weekend binge.

“I’ve worked hard all week I deserve this cocktail”

Fair enough. But that one cocktail can easily turn into…

“I’ve worked hard all week and I deserve to go to happy hour for half price cocktails and end up walking home with my shoes in my hand, crying from too much gin”

Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Especially when that guilt follows you to Monday and you need to get back to the clean eating to feel better about yourself.

That’s not to say that will happen but we’ve all been there, right?

Replace cocktails with any indulgence and you might recognise yourself in that statement.

How to change the pattern?

Become mindful with your indulgences. 

Let’s stay with the cocktail example;

If you reward yourself with a cocktail every Friday that’s fine, make it work for you. Maybe your cocktail replaces your desert after dinner.

I advise you to enjoy every sip of that cocktail. Don’t ignore it while you browse the menu for your next one.

Half price doesn’t mean you need to drink two.

Make this an indulgent 5 minutes, relax, smile, enjoy it.

And remember that while one is good, more can lead to overindulgence, it can ruin the progress you’ve made all week. And it can leave you feeling bloated, tired and foggy headed.

There is nothing more empowering than knowing when you’ve had enough.

Leaving the bar, the cake shop or the supermarket knowing that you’ve been able to treat yourself without starting that binge cycle all over again reminds you that you’re in control.

Similarly, if you choose to occasionally have a night of indulgence where you work your way through the cocktail menu there’s no judgement here. But make it mindful. Enjoy it. Choose that behaviour and own it.

The next day, you wake up and continue on your healthy path knowing that the occasional (read: no more than monthly is advisable for continue weight loss results) indulgence won’t ruin your progress. Just as much as 5 salads a week will not erase a weekend of over indulgence.

Ainzlie “French Martini please” McMaster

P.s- for a personalised plan that works with your lifestyle, get in touch still a couple of spots left for the rest of the summer.