Lapse vs Relapse

When I was expecting my oldest child, I gained a lot of weight. If I wasn’t stuffing my face, I felt nauseous, and I don’t like to feel nauseous. After my daughter was born, I joined a national weight watching group (bet you can guess the name) and attended weekly meetings where I could track my weight-loss progress and receive encouragement to continue. I also followed their weight-loss plan which included watching what I ate and how much.

I did pretty well, and eventually all my pregnancy pounds came off. But sticking to the program wasn’t always easy. There were always yummy little temptations around (people at work would bring in CHOCOLATE with NUTS, for heaven’s sake!) and on occasion, I would give in and eat some. I might shake my head at myself for doing so but then I would go right back to my eating plan and not let my slip throw me off my path entirely. I only experienced a lapse in my plan. 

Had I utterly abandoned my mission of healthy eating and continued to binge on oversized portions of sugar-filled, fatty foods and put on all the weight I’d lost and then some, I would have had a relapse.

In Kingsford’s book “Brain-Powered Weight Loss” she says, “A slip only becomes a problem when you allow the behavior to continue.” She says the real issue is what happens next. Do you adopt a “what the heck” attitude and say, “Oh well, I over spent. Guess I’ll start over on my financial plan next month."

So, you bought an expensive pair of shoes that weren’t in your budget and you didn’t use your mad money because you already spent that. You got them home and are hiding them from your significant other because you feel guilty. Don’t let that totally side rail your plan to become financially independent. Come clean and get right back on track! In fact, you can do something with those shoes that I could not do with the chocolate…you can return them to the store!