How many times have you worried that an upcoming event will ruin all the effort you’ve put in at the gym and with your diet?

It’s surprising how common it is for people to think an all or nothing approach is required to look a certain way or to reach a desired level of fitness.

This kind of thinking could put you off beginning a fitness and healthy eating plan or give you a reason to quit because you may think you are wasting your time.

If you exercise frequently doing the right kind of workouts to support your goal and follow a healthy and balanced diet that suits your body you won’t need to worry about nights out or straying from your eating guidelines. Doing things right 80% of the time will give you enough vitality for the other 20% when you’re not doing things right. Train yourself to cope with nights out and meals that don’t support your goal and you will move forwards instead of backwards.

The most important question is how quick do you bounce back into your routine afterwards?

In my 14 plus years experience working one-on-one with people the most common mistake I see people make after a drinking session or a cheat day with their diet is not getting back into their dietary routine immediately.

Your next meal should be one that is part of your plan. If it’s not, your night out could cost you 2-3 days. The shorter the excess the easier it is to bounce back and the better you will feel. If you want to look your best it’s no good waking up on a Sunday morning after a night out and eating a McDonald’s and spending the rest of the day eating chocolate and ice cream to help you feel better. It would take you another day after that to pull yourself together and start eating right again and that’s before you would feel like doing any kind of exercise. You would quickly develop a hate of exercise and find it easier to eat junk food, sound familiar?

Being healthy is all about doing the things you want to do without it making you feel worse. Learn to take control and you will reap the rewards with less effort than you realise.