Successful Weight Loss Habit No. 4: Being Consistent

By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide

It's common for many of us to eat healthy during the week only to go a little nuts on the weekend. But, NWCR members were able to maintain their weight loss by eating healthy all the time. Fifty-nine percent of members reported eating the same on weekends and holidays while 39% reported followed stricter diets during the week as compared to the weekend. In other words, the more consistent the diet, the more likely members were to maintain their weight loss year after year.
Does that mean you can't ever enjoy your favorite foods? Of course not. Building your indulgences into your diet and planning for them allows you to enjoy the things you love without completely blowing your diet.
Being More Consistent
Being consistent doesn't mean you have to robotically follow the same diet day after day. Below are a few ideas for ways you can stay healthy and still have some fun:

• Plan a cheat meal rather than a cheat day. Giving yourself an entire day to eat what you want can lead to overindulgence that might show on your waistline. Instead, plan on having something you enjoy once a week -- have a pizza night or go out for burgers. Enjoy yourself and stay on track for the rest of the day.
• Work treats into your diet. Some people find that having a small indulgence each day, like a piece of chocolate or a handful of chips, keeps them satisfied and allows them to choose healthy options the rest of the time.
• Have a plan of attack. The single most important thing you do when eating healthy is being prepared. That means having healthy foods around so you're not tempted to run out for fast food, planning for how you'll deal with the buffet table at a party and realizing that, sometimes, you're going to overindulge.
• Keep things balanced. Watching your calories and eating healthy is important, but so is enjoying life and not obsessing about everything we eat. We all have to find the right balance. Sometimes, being too restrictive can lead to binging on the very things we're trying to avoid.
• Don't give up. There will come a day when you eat too much cake or have the one extra piece of pizza you shouldn't have. We all overindulge at times but many of us use that as an excuse to quit and go back to old, unhealthy behaviors. One mistake isn't the end of the world and, even if you've really fallen off the wagon, you can always get right back on track by simply making the decision to not give up.

The following resources offer more tips and insights into staying consistent with both your diet and your exercise program.

• The Right Way to Fail at Exercise
• Getting Back on Track with Exercise
• Easy Ways to Lose Weight
• 10 Tips for Eating Out While on a Diet

What's clear from the NWCR is that weight loss is a slow, steady process that requires a certain amount of vigilance, commitment and discipline every day. It also requires that we take chances, getting away from those comforting, but often bad habits, and replacing them with better ones. Perhaps the most important lesson these successful losers can teach us is to keep on trying.