If you’re flying along on your diet and doing great, it can come as a shock when someone tries to derail your success. It’s even worse when that person is YOU! Today we want to give you some top tips on staying the course and reaching your weight loss goals no matter the obstacles!

1.Choosing a dodgy diet

If you’ve picked a diet that’s too extreme, chances are you’re going to find it challenging to stick to it. Diets that deprive your bod of essential nutrients and fats are going to make your body and mind fiercely try to undermine you. Make sure your goal is slow but steady weight loss that prioritises nutrient rich foods that benefit your health as well as your waistline.

2. Guilt

Oooh yuck!!! Guilt is one big bad diet killing emotion. Feeling bad about a little lapse is one of the main reasons why people give up on their diets and let all their hard work fall by the wayside. So, what if you’ve had a lavish lunch you feel bad about? The antidote to guilt is simply pressing ‘reset’ on your dieting button. Pick a time in the near future (like an hour or so after your indulgence) and mentally press ‘reset’ to get back on track. Let the bad feelings go and re-establish your resolve by making your next food choice a healthy one.

3. Friends and family trying to take you down

Sometimes the people closest to you don’t really want you to change. They can also resent your success if it reflects badly on their own health choices. These weight loss saboteurs are very tricky to beat - given they know you inside and out. Calling them out on their sabotage is one way to combat their behaviour, but if that’s too confrontational, try to avoid meeting for meals so they can’t stuff a slice of cake in your mouth!

4. All-or-nothing approach

Like choosing a dodgy diet, having an all-or-nothing approach to dieting is a recipe for failure. If you keep yourself to an overly strict eating regime or think that you can’t bend the rules a little, you will struggle to meet your own expectations and give up - often going in the complete opposite direction. If this is how you tend to approach dieting choose a diet that encourages eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods whenever you want them.

5. Bad planning

If you don’t do a little planning for your diet chances are you won’t be able to make it through the day without making an unhealthy choice. Make sure you stock up on all those nutrient rich foods and chuck the bad stuff in the bin so you get started the right way. But remember to replace those treat foods with a few healthy options (dark chocolate, frozen banana ice-cream, dried fruit, yoghourt etc) so that you don’t feel deprived and run to the 7-Eleven for a chocolate bar when cravings hit.