Weekend-Proof Your Diet

Your 3-Day Game Plan

Welcome to the weekend, when you kick off your shoes, pull on your jeans -- and fling your diet out the window! "After watching what you eat all week, it's natural to want to indulge a little," says Judith S. Beck, PhD, director of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research and author of The Beck Diet Solution. The problem is that once you loosen the reins, it's easy to lose control. "I've seen people erase in two days every ounce of progress they made all week," says Rachel Beller, RD, founder of the Beller Nutrition Institute in Beverly Hills.

Taking a step back for every step forward isn't just frustrating. It can lead to your giving up on slimming down. "Eventually the yo-yoing can screw up your metabolism and make it even harder to drop pounds," says Joanne Lichten, PhD, RD, author of Dr. Jo's No Big Deal Diet. To keep that from happening, try these stay-strong strategies for every situation, guaranteed to get you to Monday with your diet intact.