Falling off the wagon will happen
I pop to the shop for a quick in and out for a box of tea bags……I return with a little more than the tea bags. Here is how it all happened!
I walk into the shop. I grab a basket, try and remember why I’m actually there in the first place and what I’m trying to buy. I keep moving looking at the shelves just so that I don’t look like a complete fruit loop. Of course then I spot the lovely freshly cooked baguette for 1 euro and I balance that into the basket at an angle. I’m then looking at the fruit and vegetables still not quite remembering why I’m there……my hand seems to have a mind of its own and grabs a Lemon Cake, I look at the said lemon cake and seeing it has a nice long use by date – I tell myself I will keep it for “emergencies” incase somebody comes round for tea or coffee (even though I can count on one hand the amount of times that has actually happened!). Continue on still in my state of confusion – what the hell am I actually here for??! My mind is completely blank. I pick up some low calorie soups and extra light cream cheese and feeling slightly angelic with my choices I feel I am still strong enough to stay on the healthy stuff, so there is no harm in just throwing in a couple boxes of mini rolls and some bags of mini eggs. Of course I will only be having these as a “treat”, will add it into my diary and they will last AGES! I may as well get them now – after all I’m saving so much money with them being so cheap on special offer, a 3rd of the price they usually are – things I can just keep and use as and when. OOOOH washing powder on special offer – brilliant, I’ll grab some of that as I forgot I’d almost run out. Still not remembering what I’m here for “Milk” pops into my head – oh yes milk. Whilst I’m in the milk area I grab some of the Muller Crunch Corner yoghurts (you know, the YUMMY ones with the chocolate bits on the side) “for the Kids” and then make a hasty exit to the checkout before it gets out of control. After loading up the shopping bags, I’m hungry – the baguette has pretty much broken in half with all the extra shopping that landed on top of it, absent mindedly I rip off a chunk of the baguette to eat in the car on the way home.
I get home, kids are screaming as I unload the car. They spot the lemon cake so it ends up being opened there and then. I throw together the dinner that I have planned and have a quick tidy up whilst its on the go. Dinner is served, a nice low calorie Spagetti bolognase using Quorn mince instead of beef which has saved me a load of calories and fat! Tidy up the kitchen again, get kids bathed and in bed and collapse in a heap in the chair hoping for a cup of tea…….but then hubby informs me we have no tea bags – cr*p, that’s what I went in for! Work out my calories and am pleasantly surprised to see that I have plenty left for a yoghurt and a mini roll and a few mini eggs as a treat! Delighted with myself for being so good I get the last of the cups into the kitchen to wash up and start getting in relaxed mode………I am stopped in my tracks when I spot the lemon cake on the side….OH SH*T – with the kids screaming in my ear I forgotten I’d “tried” a tiny bit of that and didn’t weigh it, and then of course I remember the baguette. Oh dear doesn’t look so good now………the baguette has cost me around 150 calories, and the lemon cake is almost 200 calories even for just that small slice! Why didn’t I think to check that before?! Great! Completely miserable now and after feeling so strong earlier I’m not feeling quite so great now.
Tomorrow is another day I say to myself so I have another slice of cake and take myself off to bed. 🙂
Falling off the wagon happens. It can happen at any time; when you are feeling happy, sad, depressed, angry – IT HAPPENS. By not watching what you “snack” on can for some people lead to a full blown out BINGE and you don’t want that to happen. Don’t be the one that gets stuck in the vicious cycle……
Top tips to avoid falling off the wagon
-
Don’t go to the shop unless you have a list! Shops these days are full of “special offers” and usually these lovely stickers seem to be placed all over the foods that tempt us! Stick to the list – if its not on the list, don’t buy it! (plus you will likely buy everything EXCEPT what you went in there for in the first place – which means another trip to the shop to get what you originally went in for!)
-
Don’t go to the shop on an empty stomach. This sounds like a strange one – but if you go food shopping when you are hungry you are more likely to impulse buy, and also tend to grab convenience and junk foods. Go on a full stomach and usually the last thing you want is more food, so you will tend to just pick up what you need rather than over spending on stuff not on the list!
-
Try not to eat unless you are thinking about it. E.g – don’t eat in the car, or if you are chatting to someone or otherwise occupied. If you are eating absentmindedly you A.)half the time won’t even remember you are eating and B.) your body may not even register that you have eaten either and you will likely still feel hungry!
-
Don’t stock up on “treat” foods just because they are on special offer(even if they are for the “kids”). You might be feeling strong today, but what happens if tomorrow you have a really bad day at work and return home to a house full of treats. Motivation can very easily go from very high to absolutely zero almost over night sometimes. Give yourself a chance to be strong and don’t have the food there on tap. Granted – you may still go to the shop and by treats if you feel low .…BUT it is much less likely than if the food is already there ready and waiting.
-
Finally, don’t let your other half do the shopping – they always come back with the wrong things! If you can, try and shop without the kids or best of all do an online shop from Tesco and only buy what you need.
Why Weight Ireland offers everyone 2 Days FREE access to Ireland’s best and only online food & exercise diary 🙂 Click the link below to be brought to the diary home page where you can click on Take a 2 Day Free Trial – once your trial is complete you can visit our Prices & Signup page on our website and select one of our memberships to continue and receive the benefits of being a full member.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Why Weight Ireland Newsletter for monthly news, tips & advice.
I have added a “Have Your Say” section to the left sidebar of the website so I would really appreciate it if members (and non-members) could leave a little note on how they found their experience with us – and don’t forget to select those 5 Starts ***** 🙂
You can also join our Facebook Community Page where members & non-members can chat and support each other in a private closed group and encourage each other to succeed.
And finally, thank you for reading and if you enjoyed it, don’t forget to like, share and leave your lovely comments below 🙂
Hannah x
