"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."   1 Timothy 4:8

Who hasn't had a "wrench" thrown into their diet and exercise plans? A sudden family need? An emergency at work? A vacation? A get-together with a friend? All of these are worth circumventing your regular eating plan or exercise schedule, but the fact still stands that your regular plan is thwarted!

Even with the most well-devised fitness program, life doesn't always follow our plans. However, by giving thought to the things that would potentially derail our plans, we can stay on track and be fit "no matter what". We can develop not only a diet and exercise plan that will enable us to accomplish our fitness goals, but also a plan to overcome any obstacles to that success.

Here are some tips for how to prepare for and offset those things that come along:

• Move more: When you are not able to get your scheduled workout done, find ways to be more active than normal during the rest of your day. Every bit of movement and exercise can bring benefits to your life.
• Eat better: EWhen you know that you'll be less active than planned, offset this by eating fewer calories and/or making better food choices.
• Keep track: A clear understanding of what you're actually doing and eating can lead you to make better choices. Keeping a food diary and logging your exercises and activities are two tools that lead to greater success. The knowledge of what you've actually done or not done enables you to make the choices that will keep you moving forward toward your diet and exercise goals.

Now for a practical application:

Let's say you plan to go to the gym during your lunch hour, but a work emergency arises at that time. You could "throw in the towel" and just skip your workout, or you could make a better choice. One option would be to work through lunch and then go to the gym for your planned workout once the emergency is handled. A second option would be to squeeze in a shorter but more intense workout than the original lunchtime workout that was planned. Remember that every bit of activity is beneficial, so this second workout option would be every bit as good, and maybe even better, than the first one.

Nutrition is another consideration when planning for disruptions that result in missed workouts. Eating right is critical to maintaining good health, proper body composition and your ideal weight. Therefore it is also important to have an eating plan that can handle those obstacles that would otherwise derail your diet. For example, on a day where you must miss a workout, it would be good to have a lighter, healthier lunch and dinner in order to eat in line with the lessened activity demands of the day. In this way, a setback won't be allowed to undermine your entire diet because the forethought you've given to the unexpected things in life will enable you to maintain a healthy eating plan.