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. . . Take a step back. Take a few deep breaths.
FOCUS.
Focus on the one or two things you can or have to do right now. And simply do them. One step at a time.
Side note -- Baby Warden's on the way!!
One of the hardest things I encounter as a fitness professional is a client coming into a session lamenting a poor choice they've made, or distraught over the difficulty of adhering to a new lifestyle, even when they've been making great progress. It's not hard because I feel like I can't help them. It's hard because I wish they'd more easily see that the occasional blunder is not akin to turning months of hard work into a pile of trash. In fact, the occasional hiccup in their (your) training can turn out to be rather inconsequential. It's the mental recovery from that "hiccup" that ends up being significant.
If, during your fitness journey, you find yourself at the tail end of a poor choice or a bad day - and you're feeling that all your blood, sweat and tears have been shed for nothing - here's what I suggest to get you immediately back on track:
1. Remember where you came from. It wasn't so long ago when you actually were starting out from scratch. . . when you were completely naive to the challenges ahead. And you faced those challenges head on -- successfully no less -- to get to this point. Okay, so this particular challenge was big enough to knock you off course. So what? You got through hard times in the past, right? Allow the past to remind you that you can do it again.
2. Step back onto the track at the exact same point you got knocked off. As I alluded to above, sometimes the hardest thing to remember when you're facing adversity is that you don't have to go back to square one just because you made an error. It's not like you've literally forgotten everything you've learned or that your body has immediately regressed to your pre-training days. Pick yourself up and get right back on track. By virtue of your experience, let alone your physical journey, you're advanced beyond where you once were. Recognize that. Half your battle is having the awareness to objectively recognize your place at this moment.
3. Expect to fall again -- not that I'm advising you to go out of your way looking for trouble. Accept the fact that life is going to throw you the occasional hurdle that you just can't leap over, slide under or dive through as easily as you'd like. Your awareness, and acceptance, of the inevitable conditions you - desensitizes you, if you will - to comfortably handle any obstacle when the time comes to face it.
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You're going to make mistakes. You'll miss a meal. You'll have an uninspired workout or two. You'll make poor food choices. But making a less-than-ideal choice on rare occasion will not kill your progress -- letting your mind spiral uncontrollably into a cesspool of self-loathing every time you make a mistake will. The body goes where the mind takes it. Keep proper perspective as you encounter your challenges so you can jump back on course -- right where you fell off.
In a week filled with studying and prepping for the arrival of my firstborn child (the nursery is finished!), I did manage to get some "other" reading done. Enjoy the following from two of my intelligent fitness colleagues:
My friend Eugene Thong had a prolific week of writing and some great insights to share. Read his article on the perils of accumulating calorie debt; then click here to read his perspective on the importance of good decision making. His reminders will ensure that you get the most out of your training efforts.
As has been discussed before (and will be again), the importance of rest and recovery can't be overlooked in terms of a successful training program. Maki Riddington, guest writing on the blog of fitness professional Eric Cressey, highlights some of the all-important benefits of quality sleep here.
Take responsibility for your decisions. Take ownership of your actions. 
Nothing more. Nothing less.
It seems to me that it's all too common for people to place the blame for their failures on somebody else. And, ironically, many others fail to give themselves credit for a job well done.
If you habitually show up late for training sessions; if you refuse to follow the nutritional guidelines that have been suggested; if you only give a half-hearted effort when you walk into the gym, you're going to fall short of your expectations. Don't place the blame on your training partner, friends, or family. The problem is your failure to fully commit. The problem is your inaction. It's not the fault of those around you.
In the same regard, if you're achieving great results -- recognize the work you've done and acknowledge it. Absorb it into your soul. Don't blow it off as "I did it because of my friends, . . . " or "My trainer is the one that got me here." Sure, you had support, but that support wasn't sweating and picking up the heavy iron for you. That support wasn't making the final choices about what to put into your mouth. You did it. By choice. You didn't give up. You were the proverbial star.
This isn't to say that the people and environment around you don't have an effect on your overall performance. Poor advice and bad influence can knock you down as easily as supportive family, friends and co-workers will help carry you to your greatest achievements. But in the end, despite the influences around you, failure or success is the result of the decisions and actions of the person you see when you look in the mirror.
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Walk into almost any gym across the country, and, at one time or another you'll hear the phrase "It's all you (man)!" bouncing off the walls. These words are often served as a source of encouragement to somebody grinding out the last reps of a tough set.
As it turns out, "It's all you" might just be the perfect reminder that ultimate success (or failure) for any of us oftentimes rests in our own lap.
The results of a soon-to-be-released study on High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) were recently summarized in Science Daily:
Not Enough Evidence to Indict High Fructose Corn Syrup in Obesity
Drs. Richard Forshee and Mauren Storey, along with their assembled team of experts, analyzed past research to find evidence of HFCS being linked to obesity . . . and didn't find a strong link between the two. They took the time to provide suggestions for future studies, so that a link between HFCS and obesity could be more clearly defined (or refuted). On the surface, the methodology used seem appropriate and the conclusions drawn, logical. But I still have some reservations about this study, including. . .
1. The source of funding. Tate & Lyle, one of the world's largest producers of starches and cereal sweeteners (including high fructose corn syrup), funded this project. I'm not challenging the integrity of Drs. Richard Forshee and Maureen Storey, or anybody else involved in this project for that matter. But I think it'd be easier to believe that this research was truly objective had the funding come from a company without billions of dollars at stake.
2. The emphasis of the research. When I came across the title, Not Enough Evidence to Indict High Fructose Corn Syrup in Obesity, my initial perception was that this study (and any study like it) was aimed strictly at refuting HFCS' link to obesity. Then I read Dr. Forshee's interpretation of the results: "the expert panel concluded that high fructose corn syrup does not appear to contribute (to obesity) differently than any other energy sources."
Differently than the other energy resources? Okay, so HFCS might not own the unique capability of generating obesity. But is it just as bad as other energy sources (i.e. other sugars), at wreaking havoc on our metabolism and prompting obesity? If so, isn't that bad enough?
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Ironically, Dr. Forshee's words are similar to those spoken by Dr. Walter Willett, nutrition department chairman at Harvard's School of Public Health, who was quoted in a New York Times article last year:
"There's no substantial evidence to support the idea that HFCS is somehow resonsible for obesity. If there was no HFCS, I don't think we would see a change in anything important. I think there's this overreaction."
Dr. Willett then continued on by saying (as paraphrased by the NY Times author) . . . that he was not defending HFCS as a healthy ingredient, but that he simply thinks that it is no worse than the refined white sugar it replaces, since both offer easily consumed calories with no nutrients in them. __________________________________________________
Shouldn't the issue here be not that HFCS contributes differently, but that society as a whole is simply eating too many sugars -- including high fructose corn syrup -- and chronic ingestion of simple sugars contributes to obesity?
Wouldn't we be better served if this research was directed more at finding ways to reduce excessive simple sugar consumption (regardless of the source), as opposed to trying to figure out which sugar is a tad worse than the other?
It seems to me, that this research may be merely nitpicking at the minute details so much that it's missing the overall point.
