What to do if you 'fall off the wagon' ?

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I've found a series of articles that look as if they'd be useful to many of us.

I'll be re-posting them here periodically for those interested.

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I've found Lots of good ideas there.

Sandy r

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Author: Jodie Flynn

What to do if you 'fall off the wagon' on your Lap Band Journey!

No matter what the weight loss plan you follow, there will always be a time in

which you 'fall off the wagon'. What does 'falling off the wagon' mean to you?

Everyone's journey is unique so everyone's answer will be completely different!

Is it one meal? Is it a week of bad eating? A missed session of exercise? No

matter what it is, we can all handle it by going about it the same way. For me,

I think it's all about getting back on the horse straight away!

I have times like I'm sure everyone else does where I haven't eaten as well as I

would like or exercised like I had planned, but that doesn't have to mean the

sky is falling and I can't recover. What we all need to do at these times is to

pick yourself up, dust yourself off and make the very next decision the best it

can be for you to continue on your journey in a positive and nurturing way.

Also, try to think back on what happened before you started to veer off track.

You'll probably find there will be a reason that caused you to make the decision

to miss that session or eat that block of chocolate!

As I mentioned before, everyone's journey is unique so we can't all measure

ourselves in the same way. This is particularly true in the case of what the

numbers are on the scale and what our 'ideal' BMI is. I didn't used to weigh

myself as much as I do now and sometimes what the numbers on the scale tell me,

make me want to head straight for the fridge, so I've stopped weighing myself as

much! I have been doing more exercise lately and my clothes are still continuing

to get looser so I like to use other methods than just the scales to help keep

the madness at bay! However, some people are very motivated by numbers on the

scale! Another thing I used to do was 'wait until Monday'...there are so many of

us that are overweight that do just that! I'll start exercising next Monday,

I'll start eating better next Monday?! Life's too short waiting for all those

Monday's to come, so now I tell myself that it doesn't matter what time or day

it is, just do it!!! If you have a meal that is not on your plan, make sure that

the very next one is. If you have missed a gym session, make sure that you go

tomorrow.

Here are some tips on how to get back on board and make some positive changes:

* The first key to changing any behaviour is to become aware of the negative

behaviour that is occurring. You might think your behaviours are uncontrollable,

but there are always triggers that sets them off. Be on the lookout for what you

see/hear/feel and tell yourself.

* Once you are aware of the negative behaviour, then you can go about starting

to change it. You need to think about replacing a negative behaviour with a

positive one, otherwise you may go back to your old ways. What positive and

nurturing changes will you make?

* Now that you are aware and you have started to change your behaviour, you need

to practice, practice, practice! It's quite possible that you've been doing the

old behaviour for years so it's important to keep practising so you develop new,

positive, nurturing behaviours to replace the old ones.

* One of the key ingredients to be successful in anything you do in life, no

matter what, is to have persistence. Do you give up when the going gets a bit

tough or do you keep turning up and change what needs to be changed in order to

be successful? It doesn't matter whatever the lapse is that you may have had,

it's the very next step you take that is important. There is always room for

improvement and there is always a way to persist!

* A big part of your Lap Band journey is taking responsibility. Do you believe

that things are happening TO you or that YOU are making them happen? As we all

know, the Gastric Band is only a tool to assist us, ultimately every decision we

make is our own. Be careful not to confuse taking responsibility and blaming

yourself. You don't want to end up being nasty to yourself!

The important thing with anything in life is to keep turning up, keep persisting

and keep try to continually improve. If we keep doing that, we'll get there

eventually!

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Jen Kaminski and Jodie Flynn are Directors of Lap Band for the Mind. If you have

had weight loss surgery, they can help you maximise your chance of success. If

you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about how to maximise your

weight loss surgery success, claim Lap Band for the Mind's popular free

newsletter, " Mind the Band " , and go into the draw to win a $US150 Amazon.com

voucher, available at: => http://www.lapbandforthemind.com