The sad truth is that nearly everyone who started off 2020 with strong fitness goals has by now given up. I sincerely hope that this is not you.

This is the cycle that happens when you fall off the exercise wagon, and here’s how to pick yourself back up:

1) First You Fall

Your fall off the wagon could take place in a single moment, or it could be the result of a drawn-out process. You may fall out of exercise slowly as a result of health problems or other various life issues that spring up and monopolize your time. Illness, vacation, holidays, changes at work or any other change in your schedule are all things that’ll get you off the wagon. Once you’re off the real damage begins.

2) Second You Surrender

There comes a point after you fall off the wagon that you simply throw your hands up in the air and give in. It may be a dramatic moment when you decide to eat anything you want, or when you begin to use food for comfort and to ease stress. Surrender is the most destructive part of the cycle. You remove all expectations from yourself and as a result you plummet into an unhealthy realm. The progress that you’ve made toward your goals is lost and even more weight is gained.

3) Then You Hit Bottom

Inevitably there comes the moment when you hit bottom. Your body shows the new weight gain and you feel awful about it. This is a sobering moment when you see what you’ve allowed yourself to become, and you don’t like it one bit. Negative, defeated thoughts run through your mind. While hitting bottom is never a fun experience, it is a necessary one. The pain must become great enough for you to turn it around and take the control back.

4) Finally, You Take Control

Now comes the good part. When you hit bottom, you were out of control, now you’re ready to once again grab the reigns. You’re ready to put yourself back onto your priority list. Set healthy guidelines for your diet and get back into a regular schedule of working out. Set specific goals for yourself that are realistic and within a set time frame. Now get to work, reclaiming your body, your freedom and your life.

Have you fallen off your priority list, and in turn fallen off the exercise wagon? The time has come to put yourself back on that priority list. The time has come to decide that you are worth it.

Remember, life will always give you an excuse to stop working towards your goals – it’s up

to you to fight back for what you truly want.