Whenever a discipline is concerned, everybody falls off the wagon once in a while. With a diet and exercise program, I know it can go downhill pretty fast, once you get into a bad pattern.

I believe that the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation for many people.

Here are some of my tips to help you get back in shape and mentally balanced.

——> For the next few days, skip breakfast. (Or do not eat 3-5 hours after waking up). This will give your body the chance to detox, a thing that needs to happen at the moment.

If you do not have the courage to do this, at least try it out for a day. Then consider doing this for a few more days. Drinking water with fresh lemon or lime juice first thing in the morning is also beneficial, as well as hydrating.

——> For the next few days, consume only the following food:

1) Fruit: Any fruit will do.

2) Smoothies: Simple smoothies will give your body a rest for a little while, while providing you all the nutrients and calories you need for an extra boost, as well as extra water that you probably need to balance out the toxins that have accumulated in your body.

3) Raw soups & vegetable juices: Rest from chewing salads for a while, and instead have only raw soups (or blended salads), and vegetable juice. No fruit juice, because the sugar in it enters the blood too quickly.

——> Get some oxygen in your system by doing aerobic exercise.

You may be feeling down, tired, or whatever. You can rest to recover, of course. But you also have to get some oxygen flowing in your system. And you’re going to do this by doing some aerobic exercise.

The standard exercise I recommend in that case is a daily one-hour brisk walk. If you feel like doing more, go run, hike, bike, rebound, etc.

Other things to do:

1. Don’t Be Hard on Yourself

We’re really fast at acknowledging our shortcomings, but much less at acknowledging our successes. It’s very easy to beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon and never take time to celebrate all the successes you’ve had so far.

So don’t be hard on yourself and just look at what you’ve accomplished, no matter how small it may look! Compared to where a lot of people are at right now, you’ve already come a long way.

2. Reset Your System and Fast

In my book “Health For Life”, I talked about the value of occasionally fasting 24 to 36 hours, or even 2-3 days (longer fasts should be supervised).

This is especially useful to get back on track with your diet. Fasting just 24 to 36 hours will literally “reset” your system and make it much easier to start eating right again.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t suggest doing the harmful pattern of binging now and fasting later. I’m just saying that a short fast might be just what you need to give your body a chance to get back to a state of balance.

You can refer to my book “Health For Life” for more information.

3. Write down how you feel.

Take your journal or open a fresh new page on your computer, and write down how you feel at the moment. Pour out your emotions on paper – and also note everything that you ate or did recently. Don’t worry if you have no inspiration – just write anything that comes to mind. Letting out your emotions by writing is a powerful therapy.

4. Go walk in nature

Reconnecting with nature lifts the spirit, and this may be what you need right now. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, snowing or sunny. You should soon find time for a long walk in the forest, in the mountain, etc. Your soul will thank you for it.

5. Write down a list of all the things that you love to do that do not involve food.

This is an interesting exercise. The idea is to make a list of all the things that you love to do that make you feel good. The last part is important, so avoid things that make you feel good upon gratification only to make you feel bad later on. And those activities shouldn’t involve food. So take out a piece of paper and brainstorm. Write as much as you can. Then, select the top 5 or 10, and choose one or two that you can do today or soon – and set plans to do them.

6. Meditate

You may have a special technique for meditation. You may not. It doesn’t matter. Just sitting still for 30 minutes or longer and observing your bodily sensations, observing your thoughts come and go is a powerful way to reconnect with yourself again – which is just what you need at the moment.

As you can see, falling off the wagon can be a great opportunity to reevaluate your priorities and move in the direction of what you really want. Just take the first step, one day at a time.

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