The honeymoon is over. Everyone is different, but often the easiest part of weight loss is the beginning; when the drive to succeed is strong and the pounds seem to come off with relative ease. This may be because you are motivated to exercise, to bring your lunch to work and to plan your weekends to avoid tempting pizza and nacho dates with friends. But as time wears on the thrill is diminished. Maybe the scale isn’t cooperating like it used to, or perhaps you thought your blood pressure or blood cholesterol levels would be lower, after all you’ve worked so hard. It’s during these times when the results are not what they used to be that it’s easy to throw in the towel. But it’s times like these that it is most important to try harder and to stay true to your goals.

Research has shown that the one of the best things you can do for your health is to take weight off slowly and keep it off. One way to do this is to ensure that a day or two of unhealthful behavior does not turn into a week or two which turns somehow into a year or two. Stepping outside your “perfect” health behavior is normal and part of establishing healthful habits. So you had an extra piece of chocolate after supper, don’t let this signal the beginning of the end. Every time you eat, be it snack or meal, you have the choice to make it healthy, you have the choice to make it part of your plan to become a healthier person.