{"id":50678,"date":"2016-07-06T07:15:33","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T11:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=50678"},"modified":"2021-11-18T10:30:19","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T15:30:19","slug":"fallen-off-the-wagon-how-to-reset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/fallen-off-the-wagon-how-to-reset\/","title":{"rendered":"Fallen Off the Wagon? Why Every Day Is a Chance to Reset and Get Back on Track"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeff Stein is a freelance writer and a regular participant on Daily Burn 365<\/a>,\u00a0a live, daily workout show based in NYC. The opinions expressed in this guest post are his own. To read more from Jeff, check out <\/em>7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Daily Burn 365<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Since joining Daily Burn 365<\/a> as an in-studio participant, I’ve reset my commitment to my health and fitness at least twice, every month. Things come up. Birthdays, vacations, Thursday afternoons.<\/p>\n

I’m not a doctor, fitness expert, or nutritionist, but I am<\/em> the one person responsible for taking care of my body. Here are seven moments I’ve gone off the rails, and what I’ve done to reset<\/a> and get back on track.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> When’s It OK to Cheat? The Pros and Cons of Cheat Days<\/a><\/p>\n

Ready, Set, Refresh: The 7 Times I\u2019ve Hit Reset <\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Wine Parties.<\/strong>
\nFor me, the big one is always on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. No, it\u2019s not historically a food-heavy holiday, but my friend Sue and her husband throw a wine<\/a> tasting party that weekend every year. This is what I call a strategic and planned wagon fall and reset.<\/p>\n

I love wine. I love the food Sue pairs with the wine. I’m going to drink the wine and eat the food. Knowing this, I set a few ground rules for myself. Have a glass of water<\/a> between every tasting station. Load up on veggies and salad before the tasting and the dinner. But more importantly, enjoy each and every indiscretion and go back<\/a> to plan the next day like nothing ever happened.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How Bad Is Booze, Really? 6 Crazy Facts About Alcohol<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Look-How-Far-I\u2019ve-Come Days.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>February 2 was the 11th anniversary of my quitting smoking<\/a>. For those counting at home, that’s 4,000 packs of cigarettes I have not smoked. That accomplishment really dwarfs the two pitchers of beer and four free ketchup-soaked hot dogs<\/a> I alone scarfed at Rudy’s Bar & Grill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally, I intended<\/em> to celebrate my smoke-free anniversary by running a 5K that raised money for the American Cancer Society, but ended up in one of the dingiest dive bars just outside of Port Authority bus station. What’s done is done! The next day, I added a cap full of raw apple cider vinegar to my morning-water to ease the beer and sodium bloat<\/a>, then I walked out the door into a bright new day filled with crunchy greens<\/a> and a sweaty workout<\/a>. The past is in the past.<\/p>\n

3. Road Trips.<\/strong>
\nOnly in the car, just off a strange highway, do I crave beef jerky<\/a>, Diet Dr. Pepper and pork rinds. I would never buy or eat these things near my home. You put me in a car for a few hours, though, and I go feral. In March, I took a road trip to western Pennsylvania and everything I promised myself went out the window. When I returned after three days, I destroyed all the evidence littering my floor mats, then made a cleansing green soup<\/a>. We all (my dog and I) pretend this never happened. (Sensing a pattern here?)<\/p>\n

\"Loaded
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. My Birthday.<\/strong>
\nAnother strategic and planned wagon fall and reset. I had more than 20 friends over to celebrate so I wanted to make food that was fun, tasty and easy to serve buffet-style. So I created a baked potato station.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bacon was real bacon, not turkey. The sour cream was full fat. The butter was churned by the drunkest Irish farmers in County Kerry. The chives were the salad.<\/p>\n

The next day, I thanked my body for its first 46 years of service and rewarded it with with a hilly five-mile hike. The potato station wasn’t a failure; it was carb loading for a purpose.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>How to Do a Sugar Detox (Without Going Crazy)<\/a><\/p>\n

“All your past decisions, good or not so good, cannot be changed.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

5. The First Half of May.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Let\u2019s just say I got comfortable. I’d been losing weight and working out for a while. Tracking my calories and sticking to plan didn’t seem necessary any longer. So, instead of continuing with what was working for me (recording my food intake), I started to do exactly what caused me to gain weight, mindlessly eat<\/a>. Even the most incompetent therapist would have told me I was self-sabotaging my success and falling into destructive patterns. Going against my subconscious to regain all the weight I lost, I recommitted myself to my health.<\/p>\n

To make the recommitment tangible, I doubled the amount of days I worked out the remainder of the month. I bought the freshest whole foods<\/a> and prepared delicious and body-fueling meals in advance. Being healthy is all about your next choice. All your past decisions, good or not so good, cannot be changed.<\/p>\n

6. Monday Mornings.<\/strong>
\nRepeat after me: The weekend should not<\/em> be an excuse to go nuts with food and alcohol and skip workouts. But it is.<\/p>\n

Knowing that I’m such a weekend warrior (at the bagel shop, not the gym), I’ve designated Sunday as my grocery shopping day. No matter what, on Sundays, I buy nutritious foods that I love, then I prepare a few easy grab-and-go meals<\/a> and snacks. Come Monday, it’s simple to make great choices because the great choices are already in my refrigerator.<\/p>\n

\"Jeff
Photo: Ryan Kelly \/ Daily Burn 365<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. Right. Now.<\/strong>
\nFor the past few weeks, I’ve been extremely active. My Daily Burn workouts, general running around with the dog and making a little extra money by taking heavy lifting-type jobs. Some days I burn more than 7,000 calories and I eat whatever I can get my hands on. I’ve still lost weight<\/a>. So why bother tracking calories and eating right? Because not every day am I burning 7,000 calories, and most of my jobs require sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time. I’m setting myself up for disaster.<\/p>\n

Truth is, I didn’t even realize I was off track again until I started to write this piece. It forced me to think about what I was doing when I was successful and I realized: I’m not practicing any of those habits anymore.<\/p>\n

So, right now, as I type, I reset. Nothing dramatic, no pictures of me on Instagram showing how big I think my gut has grown with tearful promises to be a better person. I’m just going to get back to what I was doing because it is important and time will march forward regardless of what I choose to do.<\/p>\n

What are your go-to strategies\u00a0to\u00a0get back to healthy after a hiatus? Share them in the comments below. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens when your diet goes off the rails? One writer divulges his most recent moments of weakness and how hitting \u2018reset\u2019 helped him bounce back. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[41,51,104,103,341,380,285],"class_list":["post-50678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-diets","tag-food-choices","tag-goals","tag-motivation","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2diet-advice","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}