Are You Guilty of These Diet Crimes?

The Procrastinator

THE CRIME: You're totally going to start exercising and eating healthfully -- just as soon you can save up for some personal-training sessions, buy cuter gym clothes, have time to go to the grocery store, and find a cookbook with recipes you actually want to eat. You know you need to lose weight and you even know what you need to do to get there, but somehow you never seem to make it happen.

Your Rehab Plan
Stop waiting for that magic moment. "Think back over the last few months and ask yourself when work wasn't crazy, you weren't tied up with family obligations, and you had all the time in the world to tackle your diet," Binks says. Drawing a blank? There will never be a perfect point to start your diet, so today is as good as any to get going.

Cut yourself some slack. Losing weight can be daunting. Rather than stress about the big picture, take it one day at a time. "Tell yourself that if your diet isn't working, you can stop tomorrow," says Heather Jones, RD, author of What's Your Diet Type? "It's easier to make smart choices if you know you can let yourself off the hook later. Chances are, once you start you'll be motivated to continue."

Make it easy. Print out your grocery list so all you have to do is circle the healthy items as you run out. Put sticky notes on your bathroom mirror with messages to hit the gym or the salad bar at lunch. "It may feel silly, but studies suggest that little cues and prompts are hugely successful at getting procrastinators to change their habits," Blatner says.