How to deal with a setback—without blaming yourself

“Ugh, I have no self-control!” Ever think this after accidentally finding yourself out of Points®or at the bottom of a chip bag? Well, hear this: It’s not all on you. Let’s review the tape to see what really happened so you can flip the script.

Let’s dive a little deeper…

No weight-loss journey is perfect—slip ups and setbacks happen. Unfortunately, so does self-blame and its collateral damage. The common (and untrue) thought that you have no willpower can ding your confidence and make it harder to course-correct.

The truth: So many factors influence what you do or don’t do—thoughts, feelings, environment, other actions. Or, sometimes you’re just on autopilot and don’t even recognize what you’re doing. Setbacks aren’t a failure of your self-control; self-control fails you—it’s unreliable.

Rather than thinking about what or who’s to blame, treat it as a learning opportunity: Replaying what happened, reflecting on everything that may have influenced you, and finding ways to handle it differently next time sets you up to follow through on your goals.