Let’s admit it: every now-and-then we run a little off course when it comes to dieting.  If you have taken steps toward bettering yourself, be sure to stay strong, and don’t give up on your goals.  Here are a few tips to help you stay true to your diet.

- Avoid labeling your diet “a diet”. A major key to your health’s success is making healthy lifestyle choices that you can live with for a long time. It’s easy, just take it one good choice at a time.

- Make sure you are reading labels. One of the biggest problems occurs when dieters don’t realize how much is in a single serving size.  Don’t be one of them!

- Slow down!  Don’t eat so fast. If you eat quickly, there is a better chance that your brain won’t get the message from your stomach that you are full. To help avoid this, practice putting the fork down between each bite.

- You don’t have to deny yourself your favorite foods, just be smart about it.  Use calorie-counting to build in a small indulgence now and again.  It will be ok.

- Don’t beat yourself up. When guilt strikes, some of us eat out of stress. If you got peer pressured into a dessert at lunch, just put it in perspective.  It was one mistake. Stay positive and compare that to all your good diet choices you have made so far and factor in the ones you’ll make tomorrow, and you will be fine.  Just don’t do it all the time.

- Only weigh yourself once a week.  Avoid the stress of checking everyday, multiple times a day.  Do something more constructive with your time like setting and meeting short-term health goals.  This includes things such as eating more veggies, walking daily, and drinking water instead of drinks with sugar in them.  These little steps will help give you that sense of accomplishment you’ve been looking for.  Walk the steps, and the scale will take care of itself.

- Be very careful not to overeat while you are away from home. Calorie counting can become a real chore while out and about, not to mention most portion sizes that most restaurants serve.  Just remember, “the to-go box is my friend.”  Just save some for later.

- Eating in response to sadness, boredom, or stress makes all the time you’ve spent calorie counting worthless.  Most of us associate food with feeling better, so when we want to feel better, what do you turn to?  The first step is to pay attention to when you eat in response to emotions–rather than hunger pains.  Next, find something else to do with your time.  Ten to fifteen minutes should do it.  Try taking a nice walk, or gardening, even browsing the internet.  Whatever it is, just make sure you like doing it and that it doesn’t involve food.

- Refuse to let one mistake start you on a downward spiral. If you make a mistake, admit it, forgive yourself, and get back on track right away. You won’t help anyone by giving up.

- Exercise, exercise, exercise. A healthy body doesn’t just come from being good at calorie counting.  Stay physically active–even if it is just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a few days of the week.  Three 10-minute segments per day?  That doesn’t sound bad at all.