So you’re eating better, you’re more active and making a conscious effort to live a healthier lifestyle. Then something happens which sends you right to the refrigerator and right back into those old, unhealthy habits. How can you prevent a lapse from turning into a relapse…then a collapse? Here are a few tips: 1. Stop. Contain the binge to the time period when you originally overate and make a rule that once the lapse is over, it’s over. Forget “may as well” type of thinking which goes like this: “I ate all of that so I may as well keep going and start again tomorrow” or “I can’t believe I did that, may as well forget the whole thing because it’s just too hard.” That’s like saying “I gained a half of a pound so I may as well gain back the 20 pounds I lost.” Does this make any sense? Contain it to the meal, the activity, the room you were in, etc. and just stop. 2. Learn-Learn why the lapse happened. Did you wait too long between meals? Did something or someone set you off? Do you need a more effective coping strategy for your emotions? Do you need to have healthier foods within easy reach? The more you understand why the binge happened, the better you can come up with a plan to prevent it from happening again. 3. Revise-Even the most skillfully created plans need a tweak to two if they’re not effective. Do you have big bags of snacks around that encourage overeating and would you be better off with single serving, pre-set portions? Are you leaving foods you find tempting within easy reach and would you be better off not having them around at all? These are the kinds of questions to ask yourself so you can revise what you’ve been doing to see if something else would work better for you. 4. Create a plan-Once you’ve stopped the lapse from turning into a string of lapses, you’ve learned from it and you’ve revised what you’ve been doing, it’s time for a plan. If stress derails your best intentions, what else may help calm you down? Can you find a healthy substitution for now that’s less damaging (like eating baby carrots instead of chips) until you find a different strategy? Can you call a friend, write in a journal, go out for a walk or play some music? Can you create a different association with the place you typically overeat? For example, if you associate snacking with the couch, can that couch be the place you now brush the dog’s fur or polish your nails? By creating a plan and having it in place, you’re less likely to be thrown off by the unexpected. 5. Do something positive- Ok, so you fell off track and you’re feeling a little disappointed with your choices or how you handled a situation. Instead of wallowing in it, do something positive to regain a sense of confidence and control. How about pushing yourself a little further during your next workout, less snacking and getting in those extra glasses of water today? Making an extra effort to get back on track shows yourself you’re back in control and will help regain your motivation to get back on track. 6. Move on-There isn’t one positive thing that comes from berating yourself so do your best to learn from the lapse and move on. Dwelling on it will only encourage further lapses while chipping away at your confidence and self-esteem so find a way to compartmentalize the lapse, put it behind you and start fresh. We all make mistakes but as long as we learn from them, they can be our greatest teachers. 7. Perspective- Was your lapse really as catastrophic as you think it is? Do you really need to question your ability to become healthy and fit? Do you really need to be that hard on yourself and is it is worth feeling that upset? Remember, chronic stress wreaks havoc on our immune system and increases our risk for symptoms, illness, conditions and disease. Keeping things in perspective helps keep us on track and while preventing the wear and tear unnecessary stress can cause. Mistakes don’t define you; they teach you…if you let them. By finding a positive spin to the lapse and by improving your game plan to ensure a better outcome for next time you can easily overcome any lapse: preventing it from derailing your best efforts and intentions.