Lesson 1: Don’t get too far off track in the first place.

Lesson 2: When you just can’t help yourself, just remember: the very next minute, you can resume your original course.

As you might guess, my heart is close to this matter (of getting “off track”). I once downed an entire plate of chocolate chip cookies in less than an hour. They were tasty. Weekends ruin diets. Or, I should say, the tendency to loosen up a bit on the weekends, because after all, it isn’t the weekend’s fault – it is ours.

Whether it is habit, or the lack of structure, or a more relaxed attitude during the weekend, I don’t know, but I do know that come Monday morning, the number one complaint I hear is, “well, I did pretty good (eating healthy, working out, etc.), until Saturday, then…(insert railroad junction here.)” Hey, I’m not immune to my train jumping tracks either. Life happens. But here’s the deal – rather than saying, “On Monday, I’ll…(get back on track, do an extra hour of cardio, eat a huge salad, etc.), try to minimize the spiral right then and there. The very next minute, in fact. After all, the day isn’t over until its over.

Damage control tips for saving your weekend from yourself

1. If Uncle Sid’s birthday cake was too chocolaty to resist, (and maybe you had two BIG pieces instead of a taste or two), rather than throw the whole day out the window and making bad choice after bad choice, try to balance your diet from that point on. For the rest of the day, focus on health. Eat lots of healthy vegetables. Snack on fruit (the crunchy kind, not the stuff you can eat out of a can), and lean meats, like broiled chicken or fish. Drink lots of water. Do whatever you need to do to feel good about yourself again. And do it fast.

2. Go for a walk, or find time for a workout THAT DAY. Don’t wait until Monday, because inevitably, that is when little Tommy will be home sick from school, or your car will need a repair, or there could be a blizzard. My point is, you can’t (and shouldn’t) count on the next day to make up for past regressions. Just pay the piper on the spot, in case you can’t on Monday.

3. Just because you are halfway through your second helping of cake, or 5th slice of pizza, or whatever, doesn’t mean you have to finish it. My favorite hair stylist of all time was quite thin, but claimed to have once been very over weight. When I asked him how he lost the weight, he replied, “I learned to push the fu&*%$ plate away.” Enough said.

4. Don’t punish yourself. Not on Saturday. Not on Sunday. Certainly not on Monday, and I’ll tell you why. Monday will come, and as you remember your out-of-control weekend, you’ll recall your promise to double up your workout, run an extra two miles, or whatever, and think, “I want a do over!” Don’t beat yourself up for your lack of control then try to exert more control by lumping more to do unto your already full “to do” list. Just let it go. Do the work and have a terrific workout, but don’t call yourself names.

5. Don’t forget to ponder why you had a tough weekend. If you journal, spend some time thinking about what was going on that may have started you off course. Were you upset about something? Were you stressed out? Did your mother visit? (Did I really write that?) There could be an underlying, emotional reason why you reacted to food the way you did. Get to work figuring that out, and once you do, draw up some strategies for managing your food intake if and when another such weekend presents itself.