3 ways people backslide after getting to their fitness goal and how to avoid common mistakes.
Some of you that know me, know that I started competing in bikini competitions when I was 19. I did well, went to nationals in 2009, got 3rd place - the whole thing. What you may not know is that because of hard dieting, poor coaching and constant training I was diagnosed hypothyroid, had overtraining syndrome and lost my menstrual cycle. I made it to my fitness goal, but I backslid. By the end of my training season, I was prequalified to go pro, but sadly my health had declined. I gained 30 pounds in 3-months and felt absolutely terrible most days of the week.
How many of us have been in great shape but then lost it all? How many of us have had an emergency that completely derails our fitness regime. Look, it happens to all of us at one point or another. Lucky for me, after 2009 I went on to compete in more bikini competitions and actually did well with maintaining my health and had a great physique. So in this post I am going to share 3 things that could prevent you from backsliding.
These guidelines apply if you’re doing marathons, training for a summer sport trips or just want to lose 10 pounds and stay there.
The exit strategy and a contingency plan
Have a plan of action for when you hit your goal. If your goal is to lose those 10 pounds, but after your goal date you have a cruise vacation with a 24-hour buffet planned, then you’re kind of setting yourself up for failure. A better exit strategy might be lose those 10 pounds and plan a trip where you are active. Think about replacing activities, foods and situations with healthy habits that are supportive rather than habits that you use to have.
If one day you don’t feel like going working out, have a contingency plan. A contingency plan, is a short workout that you do at home or on the go. Ideally, it will involve minimal equipment and get your heart pumping. Something like calisthenics, HIIT or even sprinting will do.
Food introductions
Sometimes people quit a diet and all they want to do is eat all those naughty snacks that they deprived themselves of! Food tends to be central to people’s fitness goals. Most people that I train, do end up cutting out food from their diet. You might too. So if and when you do there will be a time when you want those delicious foods again. My suggestion is to introduce new foods slowly. Do not end a diet cycle and binge on every food you couldn’t have - in fact, this is exactly the opposite of what you should do. Do have special meals where you indulge. Don’t indulge every meal.
Tapering the workouts
Instead of stopping exercise all together, taper it. This is where a personal trainer comes in very helpful. As a personal trainer, I was taught all about periodization, which basically means variance in workout programming. So if you were doing hard and heavy HIIT and get to your goal. Instead of cold turkey-ing exercise, switch it up and do low and slow cardio with resistance training. There are a lot of different ways to introduce new exercise so you maintain your fitness, so when you are at this point in your training cycle, make sure to get a free consult from Omega so you can get the guidance you need to taper your training.
Maintain your health and be good to your body. Examine your goals and start the process of creating an exit strategy, making food introductions and tapering your workouts early on.
Have you had experience with backsliding? What are some things you learned that have been helpful for you? Let me know in the comments.
So much love,
Omega