7 Diet Mistakes and Fast Fixes - 1

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WebMD Feature from "Good Housekeeping" Magazine You were so good all week. But then you snuck a doughnut ... and then another. To get back on track quickly, start here.

There's that dreaded point in every diet — for me, it's after the first 10 pounds — when you start to slack off a little. You skip lunch one Saturday, and later that night at a restaurant with your husband, you're so ravenous that you order the salad, the soup, the entrée, and two glasses of chardonnay. Uh-oh, you think, I've blown it. And then you really blow it — by sampling half the dessert cart. To avoid facing the bad news, you go incommunicado with your scale. Feeling defeated, you begin to slack off even more and, before you know it, those 10 pounds are back. Now you have to muster the motivation to lose that stubborn weight all over again.

Can you say "yo-yo dieting"? It's a cycle, but it's not unbreakable. The first step toward success: Learn how to deal with setbacks. "I always tell people to 'fail fast' — the idea is to recognize your error but avoid wallowing in it," says Holly Wyatt, M.D., who's with the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). "One mistake isn't going to reverse everything you've worked for." Here, Dr. Wyatt and other weight-loss experts offer quick fixes for seven common diet goofs, plus tips on how to avoid future slipups.

"I skipped breakfast"

Maybe you were in a hurry. Maybe you thought you could cut some calories. But now it's 11 a.m., and you haven't eaten anything for 15 hours straight. You're so famished, you can't decide whether to buy a bear claw at the bakery, steal candy from your coworker's stash, or wait until lunch so you can pig out at your favorite Chinese restaurant. "Breakfast is a must," says Dr. Wyatt. "Otherwise, you'll end up wanting to eat everything you see." A survey from NWCR, which tracks more than 5,000 people who have kept off at least 30 pounds for a year or longer, found that 78 percent of participants have a meal every single morning.

Fast Fix

Eat something, but resist the junk food. You'll stay fuller longer if you have fruit, low-fat yogurt, or string cheese. An energy bar will also do the trick. But make sure you find one that has staying power — that means at least 3 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein, and less than 250 calories. Two of our favorites: Clif's Mojo Fruit Nut Crunch Bar and PowerBar Nut Naturals.

Next Time

Make breakfast simple. To guarantee you never skip this meal again, keep a week's worth of easy eats in the house. A few good picks (which you can also stash at the office for midday munchies): single-serve instant oatmeal (McCann's Instant Irish Oatmeal has three sugar-free varieties — apple and cinnamon, maple and brown sugar, and cinnamon roll); low-fat granola, which you can mix with plain yogurt; and single-serving cans of light fruit (like Del Monte's no-sugar-added pear chunks, only 40 calories). But beware of so-called breakfast bars, which are often packed with sugar. Make sure you read the labels carefully before you buy.

Eat every four hours during the day. That's about how much time it takes for hunger to return after a meal, says Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. You'll do far less damage if you have a small snack mid-morning and in the afternoon than if you try to assuage your gnawing hunger at mealtimes, when the plates, portions, and your appetite are all bigger.

"I drank too much last night"
Most of us don't dance on the table after a few Long Island Iced Teas — we eat everything on it. Why? The body doesn't register liquid calories, so even if you drink 500 of them, you'll still crave food. When Pennsylvania State University researchers gave people a caloric drink (such as fruit juice, sweetened soda, or even milk) with a meal, the participants didn't consume any less food when they sat down to eat. And neither did you — so now you have all the alcohol calories to burn off, as well as a huge dinner.

Fast Fix

Get some exercise. Taking a walk or a bike ride will shift your mind-set from I am a colossal boob to I'm back in the game! A reminder from Dr. Wyatt: "You haven't failed unless you continue the counterproductive behavior."

Next Time

"Never drink on an empty stomach," says Timothy Harlan, M.D., a chef-turned-physician who also appears on the Food Network's Cooking Thin. At parties, grab a handful of nuts (they're satisfying and healthy) before you pick up a wineglass. If you're out to dinner, try to "sip your wine slowly until the salad is served," Dr. Harlan adds. (And no, this is not an excuse to hit the bread basket ... wait for something healthier to arrive.)

Pace yourself. "In calories, one Long Island Iced Tea is the equivalent of 26 fat-fried onion rings," says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. So make sure you drink water or seltzer — both zero calories — in between alcoholic drinks. Some numbers to keep in mind while you sip: A 5-ounce glass of wine is around 125 calories; a 12-ounce beer is about 105 calories. A 1.5-ounce shot of alcohol (for, say, Scotch or vodka on the rocks) is about 95 calories. A 3-ounce margarita, about 170 calories. A 2.5-ounce martini, 175 calories.

"I ate a supersize fast-food meal"
Hitting the drive-through at Burger King once isn't such a big deal — the problem is that if you do it one time, you're much more likely to swing by again. And that's when the pounds really start to pile on. A 15-year study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota showed that people who ate fast food more than twice a week gained 10 more pounds than participants who had it less than once a week. There were also health ramifications: The drive-through frequenters had a higher risk of diabetes.

Fast Fix

Savor your indulgence. "Splurges do happen," says Dr. Harlan. "For some of us, it's fast food; for others, it's a big chocolate bar." The trick is to focus on each and every bite — this is a treat, one you won't be having tomorrow, so take the time to really enjoy it.