When Diet Slip Ups Happen...

Don't beat yourself up about it

Realize that no singular binge or fatty meal is going to wreck your diet. If you have a slipup, don't let one bad decision derail your progress by letting it turn into a week of unhealthy eating. Popular diet programs like Weight Watchers acknowledge that setbacks are a part of the dieting process, so don't beat yourself up for that buffet binge.

After a binge make the very next thing you put in your mouth the healthiest thing you can think of—an apple, carrot sticks, a dinner of broiled fish and veggies. If you return to healthy eating at your next meal, your slip up can’t become a pattern.

After a slip up, eliminate carbohydrates from your breakfast the next morning. You’ll want to burn off some of that stored glycogen before you start to plow your body with more carbohydrates. Cottage cheese and a hardboiled egg is a good pick.

And since your stomach is filled with an oversupply of food from the day before, schedule an early-morning workout before you eat anything. Cardio will kick-start your metabolism, and help you to mentally get past yesterday's slip up.