It almost seems impossible that you could get off track after months of working hard to lose weight, or years of working hard to keep it off. But sometimes life gets difficult and you start gaining the weight back without even noticing. Here's how to avoid weight gain during super stressful times and how to turn it around if you're completely off track.

1. Focus on Restoring Your Nervous System.
About a year ago one of my clients, who had maintained a 40 lb loss for well over two years, had a terrible rollover accident, a few months later she had surgery (unrelated to the accident), shortly after that her mom had a heart attack and almost passed away. This is more than any person should have to handle in such a short time and for a while she was doing well until her husband was diagnosed with cancer and had to have surgery right away. This is the straw that literally broke her back. She was still coming in to workout but our priorities changed completely. Instead of muscle building, fat burning workout we focused on exercises to calm the nervous system, de-stress, and relax.

This strategy alone can make the difference between gaining just 5 pounds or 25 pounds. Try restorative yoga.

2. Realign Your Body to Boost Oxygen Intake and Metabolism.
According to Linda Christy Weiler author of Mind Body Fitness "any time there's serious physical stress your body becomes less mobile". This is a protective mechanism that unfortunately causes you to take in less oxygen which in turn slows down your metabolism in a big way. Take a few minutes to check your posture right now. Are shoulders completely rolled forward, is your ribcage collapsed into your abs, is your head forward and hanging down. Does your spine look more like a C than like an S? If you answered yes to most of these questions then chances are your body is in need of some serious re-alignment that will instantly boost oxygen intake and metabolism. Try The Egoscue Method to get your body back into alignment, boost oxygen, and metabolism.

This strategy alone can help reduce the fatigue that causes you to eat all the wrong foods.