Getting Back on Track—it’s After Pesach!

Pesach is now behind us, and most of us have been over-eating or were inactive both before and during the Yom Tov.  Although the incentive might be there to start taking better care of our health and to lose weight (your clothes may be tight), it can be difficult to revive healthy habits. But now is the time to get back on track!  The weather is warming up, getting outdoors will be easier, and the extra bit of appetite from the cold winter won’t be a factor. Let’s take a look at how we can accomplish this.

Say “No!” to dieting

The statistics speak for themselves.  DIETS ARE FAILURES! About 95% of people that diet gain it all back or more within a few years.  The entire connotation of a diet is a temporary fix.  Diets are something you go on, and then go off.  It isn’t a way of eating for life.  So if not a diet, what should I do?  The two best eating plans that have proven to be beneficial to health, balanced, and tasty are the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet.

Even if you choose one of these plans, you still need portion control and commitment –and this is the most difficult part.

How can I be successful “this time”?

We are all human.  We all have to make choices and sometimes we make mistakes—ALL OF US!  So how do we handle mistakes?  Are mistakes something which will cause us to lose perspective and go off the deep end or is a mistake something to learn from, put behind us, and get back on track?

Don’t lose perspective! According to Cognitive Behavioral Psychologist Dr. Judith Beck, to lose weight successfully, one must learn how to stop at the first mistake, put it in perspective, and recommit right away. So when the inevitable happens, and you’ve eaten an entire box of cookies or have missed consecutive days of even minimal exercise, just write yourself a note that says “Get Back on Track”. Read it a few times and hang it up in a place where you will see it when you wake up the next morning, and just simply get back on your program.

Be reasonable

There is always a temptation to do something radical after you’ve gone off your food or exercise program.  Not eating the next half day, going on a juice fast, taking off of work or school and running for 5 hours, or going on a “detox” diet…Don’t do this! Eating well and selecting healthy choices, is the best thing for your body. The scale may take a day, or two or three, to reverse, but it will! Good eating and exercise and is always what works the best for slow, sustained, permanent weight loss.

Remember that we have mentioned many times that only 5% of the population really keep off their weight.

As we mentioned earlier, there is no better time of the year to start a good exercise program.  Walking is always a great way to start and at least twice a week, do some muscle building exercises.  You don’t have to join a gym.  Learn how to do a proper muscle building routine and walk briskly to get the best results.

Exercise will help you feel renewed after the long Purim-Pesach haul. No matter how many programs you’ve been on and how many times you’ve made mistakes in the past GET BACK ON TRACK!  Getting back on track will “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

2017-04-19T11:20:35+00:00

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