Love these tips from Stayfitmom.com for reeling the diet back in. I need to work on number 3!

5 Tips That Will Help You Take Back Control of Your Diet

Remember on the Biggest Loser when Alison Sweeny would take the contestants into these rooms filled with their favorite foods to try and get them to “cheat”? This has been my life for the past 3 weeks. In the last 20 days I have gone on an all inclusive vacation, celebrated my birthday, Father’s Day, and the 4th of July. By the time the 4th of July rolled around, it seemed down right un-American to turn down banana pudding, and I’m a Patriot through and through.

It is OKAY to splurge once in a while. But it’s also important to recognize when things are spiraling a wee bit out of control. When you’ve eaten left over banana pudding for breakfast two days in a row because, “Hey, there’s fruit in it!” Red Flag. It’s time to reel that diet back in.

1. Commit. Make a declaration. Update your Facebook status, tweet it, post it on Insta, or whatever platform you fancy. Tell your family and friends. I know that when I say things out loud and share them with other people I feel about 1,000 times more accountable. I LOVE it when I see people share their weight loss transformation or goals on Facebook. And I love it even more when I see the 30 comments below from their family and friends cheering them on from the sidelines.

2. Set attainable goals and make small changes. You want to set yourself up for success. Small achievements every day are worth celebrating. If you’ve completely fallen off the healthy eating bandwagon, start with something as simple as breakfast. Changing out that one meal per day is a great start and will most likely get you great results that will inspire you to work even harder. A healthy lifestyle shouldn’t feel like the never ending torture chamber. Be realistic with yourself and commit to something that’s achievable.

3. Don’t let the scale be the judge. Women, we are notorious for beating ourselves up over the scale and I’m sick of it. Just throw that thing away. Let the way your clothes fit be an indicator for your results. Your body weight will fluctuate based on the amount of fluid in your body, so if you’re up three pounds after day 1 it probably just means you’re finally drinking enough water. If you refuse to throw the scale away at least give yourself a good 10 days in between weigh-ins. If you haven’t read our A Letter to the Girl That’s Shamed by the Scale post, do it.

4. Meal Prep. Okay, this one requires real physical effort. Don’t spend all your time thinking about what you should be eating instead of what you are eating. Plan your meals for the week. Follow us on Pinterest where we post healthy meal ideas on a daily basis. Put one foot in front of the other, get yourself to the grocery store, and get back to the kitchen. The more you can prep ahead of time, the more successful you will be. Guaranteed. Don’t give yourself an excuse to fall back onto temptation island. Have your meals ready and waiting.

5. Workout. If you are spending time and energy working out, you will most likely reinforce those efforts with healthy eating. My diet gets the most out of control when I don’t have an opportunity to workout. BUT keep in mind that you will indeed be burning lots more calories, which will in turn make you more hungry during the day. Don’t let your hunger get the best of you. Make sure you are making good food choices, as not all calories are created equal.

Taking back control of your diet after a few weeks of complete chaos is NOT the easiest thing to do. In fact, it will most likely require you to dig for more will power than before. So, if you’re in a rut or a downhill slump and you need a little motivation, today’s as good a day as any to start a new. You can do it and we would love to cheer you on.