It happens to everyone. A weekend of overindulgence and not enough sleep, and suddenly, you realize it’s been three days since you’ve made it to FitClub or eaten a healthy meal. All isn’t lost, though, if you recognize unhealthy patterns and commit to jumping back into your healthy lifestyle as soon as possible.

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Step 1: Know When You’ve Slipped

Unhealthy food can be addicting, which leads to more unhealthy foods. Whether it’s been one meal, one day, or an entire weekend, recognize your unhealthy patterns by listening to your body. Do you feel energized, well rested, and healthy or does your body feel exhausted, sluggish, and heavy? The more you listen to your body, the easier it can be to catch unhealthy behavior when it begins.

Step 2: Don’t overreact.

If you had a weekend of guilty pleasures and haven’t made it to FitClub in days, don’t immediately run to the juice cleanses and over-the-counter detoxes at the drug store. You’re a member of FitClub and you know where to go to start undoing the unhealthy patterns. Get in a workout, eat a healthy protein and veggie packed meal, and get a good night’s sleep. If you’ve been living a healthy lifestyle, you know what your body needs to feel its best.

Instead of overreacting, think in simple terms to get back on track.

Drink up! Your unhealthy day or weekend may have involved too much salt, too much alcohol, or too much sugar. Too much of anything will need to be flushed out of your body, so grab your water bottle and keep it handy throughout the day to flush the junk out of your system in the most natural way possible.

Eat healthy, nutrient rich foods. Starving yourself to make up for excess calories and unhealthy foods is not going leave you feeling healthier and stronger. Instead, opt for regularly scheduled meals and snacks that are high on nutrients you may have skipped during your slip.

Sweat it out. Getting back into your workout routine right away will eliminate the guilt you might be feeling and ensure that you resume your regular schedule as quickly as possible. It’s easy to let one or two unhealthy days quickly slide into an unhealthy lifestyle. Getting back to FitClub quickly, though, will prevent an unhealthy day from becoming an unhealthy lifestyle.

Sleep! Your body needs seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night to operate at its best, manage hunger, and balance hormones. As soon as possible, resume your regular bedtime and wake up call.

Step 3: Recommit.

Don’t let a bad day or a bad weekend of unhealthy patterns derail all of the hard work you’ve been doing. Noticing your slips and immediately resuming your healthy lifestyle is a sign of success, not failure! Forgive yourself for the slip and recommit to yourself and your healthy lifestyle each and every day.

We all have slips from time to time. What’s your trick for getting back on track?