You always start off so good. You determine that this time will be different. You will exercise every day. You will eat a super strict diet. She plans her meals and goes to the supermarket. Maybe you will do it in a week, two weeks or more.

Then life happens. You have a stressful day at work. The children don’t stop screaming. You are exhausted. You order a pizza. He justifies it for the moment and then becomes guilty.

I failed again.

You left him full of regret. Filled with more self-hatred than he started and wonders why. Why are others successful but you can’t keep going?

There are a couple of problems with this scenario. While we start with good intentions, we have an image of perfection. With years, maybe even a lifetime, of bad habits, we believe that we can change everything immediately.

Perfection does not exist.

You will fall off the wagon. You will have moments of weakness and that is fine. Now that you realize that, you need to do something else.

Forgive yourself

Realize that you stopped your diet or missed a workout, forgive yourself and move on. Say “okay, I screwed up. I’m going to do better tomorrow.” This could be the most important key to your weight loss success.

A few days one of my friends posted this:

Does anyone else have “cheat weekends”? We have to keep our heads up and not humble ourselves … like the Papa John frenzy I had last night and this morning. I may have lost a lot of weight, but I can still eat like the fat that I was! Stay positive!

Here’s a guy who has lost over 100 pounds! He has conquered an amazing goal. However, he had a moment (or weekend) of weakness. This did not make him think that he was now a failure. That he no longer had what he needed.

The person who can forgive himself is the person who stands up. They know that when they fall, that does not define them or make them a failure. It just makes them human.

You are going to have ups and downs on your trip. You will have days, weeks in which you will be proud of yourself and on top of the world.

There will also be times when you will be ashamed of the amount of pizza you just crammed in your face (or the inability to pass up the cake)! Recognizing this makes you stronger. You will get better. You can do it!