[tkglenn]

Ok, I've been doing good yesterday and today until I made dinner. I decided I would try to make jambalaya, not thinking about my diet and how good i've done. As I was cooking, I ate some sausage and some shrimp. Then when I was done cooking the whole thing, I ate about a cup of it. Now I feel so guilty. Any suggestions to help me get over it and move on?

[BabyNicole]

I know how you feel b/c after I "cheat" I feel sorta guilty too. But, look at it this way...you've been eating well all this time and you treated yourself, you didn't cheat yourself. Any change in a diet (smaller portions/less calories/etc.) is less than what we've been eating anyway and a little extra once in a while isn't going to send us over the edge. Let's face it...it's not like we're NEVER going to eat a crappy meal ever again. It'll take us a little longer, but that's okay b/c when the weight comes of gradually it's better for your health anyway!

[iowa girl]

I may not be the best person to give advice because I do the same kind of things. I often over eat and then end up feeling guilty about it. One thing that I think is really important is that you get right back on track. I used to say oh well I messed up today, so I will just start dieting again on MONDAY. the best way to go about it is to not get in that mind set. Get back on the diet next meal.
FYI- sasauge and shrimp isn't the worst you could have done. Hang in there.

[mandalinn82]

If you need motivation to stop feeling guilty...look at any one of the long-term maintainers here. Most will tell you that everyone goes off track, and the key is to let it go and get RIGHT BACK ON.

Feeling guilty can, often, lead to destructive thinking....ie, "I've already messed up today, better have the piece of pie and ice cream too" or to guilt-induced emotional binges, ie "Of course I'm a failure, I'm horrible, I knew I could never do this, I may as well nosedive into the cream puffs".

When I went off plan, I did the following immediately after:

1. Stop. Get right back on plan (or as I liked to say, "Return to Go, do not collect 200 chocolates")
2. Learn. Figure out what, if anything, contributed to the little sidestep off the planned route. Were you too hungry, so you ate whatever was in front of you? Did you come in contact with one of your trigger foods? Were you having a bad day, or hormonal? Figuring out what triggered the off-plan eating can help prevent it in the future...better planning, avoiding certain foods, recognizing that "tired", for example, makes you want to eat.
3. Let Go. Whatever happened, it's done now. No matter what happened, you've taken it and tried to learn from it, which is the sum total of what you can do about the situation.

I can't tell you how many times this has saved me from diving into a pity party (the guest list including me, chocolate, and usually alcohol).