When it comes to diet and training we need to remove the pressure to always be good and do the right thing. Be ok with a little imperfection – no one is perfect. No one has the best training session every single day. No one eats perfectly all the time. Forgive yourself for your less than perfect days. Let go of the need to be perfect; it will only hold you back from progressing.

If you accidentally overate at lunch or ate too much chocolate – LET IT GO. If you had a shit training session and felt horrible – LET IT GO. It’s ok. Your body can handle a slip up – but it can’t handle all the mental and emotional stress you keep giving it. It also can’t handle the downward negative spiral that tends to happen after one little slip up.  Best thing you can do for yourself? Forgive the slip up, move on & try again tomorrow.

You shouldn’t put pressure on yourself to be “perfect” all the time. Sometimes you will fall and eat something imperfect or have a bad training day etc. If you can learn something from it that’s great. But stressing about it or hating yourself for it will only lead you to continue on down that destructive path for two reasons. And these aren't bullshit self-love inspo blah blah reasons. They are practical reasons why it's a stupid idea to beat yourself up with guilt every time you f*&k up.

First of all, the problem with guilty thoughts around food/body/weight is that the stress can actually manifest into physical problems like high cortisol levels and hormonal issues, which actually makes weight much harder to control in the long wrong. High cortisol is linked to lower mood, lower energy, poor sleep, blood sugar imbalances & cravings.

Secondly, the other reason why this attitude can be so harmful is because people who tend to be extremely hard on themselves when they slip up often are usually the same people who think “what the hell does it matter, I already binged today so I may as well carry on binging all week”. They have an “all or nothing” attitude about health and fitness, which is extremely destructive as well. Think of it this way. What is worse for your body: one slip up one day? Or weeks of out of control eating? The answer is obvious, yet it continues to surprise me how many people have this attitude about their less than perfect eating days. It’s so easy to get back on track the next day & your body won’t even notice a one-off bad eating day. But if you continue down this path for weeks on end your body will most certainly start noticing and you will end up becoming even more negative about yourself. It’s a vicious cycle that never ends well.

How do I recommend stopping this behaviour & getting yourself out of this negative head space? The answer is simple. DO SOMETHING POSITIVE and healthy. The answer always lies in doing. It will propel you to get back into your healthy routine. Stop being a baby & feeling sorry for yourself, & instead go do some healthy meal prep, go make a green juice and sit in the sun with a book, go to the gym and do a good workout etc etc. That is the best way to get yourself out of the vicious cycle.

And remember healthy living does not mean perfect eating. Healthy living means commit to eating well 80-90% of the time – because it makes you FEEL GOOD. And then allowing there to be indulgence with moderation -- because they also FEEL GOOD. The body thrives off balance. But we have to work on letting go of guilty thoughts/feelings when we do indulge and instead have a more balanced approach.

Those who restrict and deprive themselves with food – are the ones who end up overeating/bingeing & having extreme diet habits. The key to long term success with diet and health is giving yourself permission to enjoy indulgent foods with zero guilt. It just needs to be done moderately and mindfully.

Learn from your mistakes, take the lessons on board to better yourself, and then… let them go immediately.