So here are ways to pick yourself up when you fall off your diet!
1. Prepare.
An easy way to slip and fall off the diet is to use the excuse that you don’t have any of your diet food on hand. Forget to go to the store and have nothing to eat? Oh well, I’ll just eat this box of macaroni and cheese that I have on hand! It’s so easy to fall into this trap, and I’ve done it too! It is important to make sure you have foods on hand that you can quickly grab and eat or make with little effort/time. One of my favorites to have on-hand is Van’s Gluten Free French Toast Sticks. I just pop them in the toaster, drizzle some real maple syrup, and boom. Dinner is done in about 5 minutes. Or a lot of times, I’ll make scrambled eggs with some shredded turkey lunchmeat. Quick and easy!
2. Find Your Motivation
A lot times, the reason people fall off their diet is because for one reason or another, they lost motivation. In my case, I was feeling so much better that I felt sort of invincible. It was the first time in my life I felt like that, but I quickly learned my lesson. Finding motivation again can help you get back on track. If the stomach aches aren’t motivation enough, a good way for me to get motivated again is to look at social media and blogs. Go to other’s pages that follow your diet (in this case, the Low FODMAP diet) and look at their pictures, their food, their comments, their journey. Some of these people can be so inspiring!
3. Give Yourself A Break
Like I said earlier. You’re normal; you’re human. You will make mistakes and fall off of your diet. This does not mean you are a terrible person and will never be able to follow any diet, ever! Everyone falls off at some point and loses motivation. It is important to be nice to yourself (as you would to someone else) and give yourself a break. You’ve accomplished so much, and you can continue to do so despite this lapse!
4. Don’t Say, “I’ll Get Back on Track Tomorrow!”
These words. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve said them! Tomorrow comes, and I push it back further. The only thing you are doing is delaying your success! The time to get back on track is now. The sooner you do that, the better you will feel!
5. Learn to Say NO
I know you have friends and family that are very supportive of your diet and that can motivate you to succeed! Then there are those friends that don’t understand or want you to break your diet “just this once” for them! Innocent as they may be (I have friends like this, and I don’t think they’re doing it maliciously), it is important that you are strong and you say no to certain things you know are not best for you and your goals. I have a hard time with this one, sometimes, and it is one of the leading causes of me falling off my diet! Be strong. Be patient. You know what is best for you.
So if #4 has occurred, how are we supposed to deal with it?
Hello Sarah,
Look to stay within the Elimination period for around 2 months. If there is an issue in the elimination period, the move to on to the maintenance period.