I’ll cut right to the chase. Chips are a big weakness of mine, I go overboard on cheese, and if I have one bite of a donut, I down the whole thing (or two).

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I’m not perfect (btw, tips on how to bounce back below).

Does that surprise you?

On the outside we often think of nutrition and fitness enthusiasts as being perfect with their diets or workouts. The truth is I am “bad” about my diet all the time. I have my moments of weakness where I haven’t planned ahead and I am starving. My brain capacity is gone and I just reach for the nearest thing that provides calories that I can find.

This often looks like chips and salsa or some other type of flavorful dip, bread if it’s in the house (which is why I typically don’t keep it in the house) or sometimes I’ll spoon feed myself straight from the pint of ice cream.

It happens… And when it does, I am a little frustrated at myself to be honest. Sometimes I’m harder on myself than others but the lesson there isn’t that I am hard on myself. It’s more about how I respond and how I get back on the nutrition plan I know will make me feel good and provide me with energy.

Because that’s just it, food can only do one thing – provide us with nutrients to survive. Food is literally our fuel.

I wrote this because I know we all have our moments of weakness or lack of planning or we’re just really tired (reaches for chocolate). I’m not proud of the moments that I pop open a bag of chips or crackers or whatever I might be able to get my hands on. But I also know that sometimes life just gets in the way of being perfect with nutrition, even when you have a plan.

Working full-time has its challenges with that. Sometimes I’m stuck in meetings all morning and I have no time to eat. Or my lunch hour might get completely booked over. Then I end up eating more food either earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon. My timing is all off, so then I end up overeating because I’m starving.

It’s messy. It’s inconsistent. But that’s life.

A lot can happen in a day and the way I plan around it is by having a plan and knowing what I will eat before the day starts. But also being flexible enough to know that sometimes it doesn’t work out and not beating myself up for it.

When a moment of weakness or when an interruption to your regular eating schedule happens it’s important just to remember to pick back up where you left off and try to get back on schedule.

Here’s how I respond after getting off track with my diet…

++ Focus on eating real foods instead of processed foods and you’re already winning half the battle.

++ Plan out what you will eat the following day I use the app – MyNetDiary

++ Use a version of that plan for the whole week and keep tracking your meals, consistency is key! You don’t need to have different meals every day, keep it simple.

++ Incorporate more fiber and lean protein like ground turkey, chicken breast, or tuna (in a can is fine when you’re in a pinch) for protein and for fiber I like GG crispbreads or beans/legumes for fiber.

++ Stay hydrated – I shoot for 3 nalgenes of water a day minimum. Stay tuned for next week’s blog post all about common eating pitfalls inhibiting your weight loss…