Go Easier on Yourself

"Oh no, I ate a cookie" is one of the leading causes of major lapses. This being said or thought leads to "What the hell, I might as well eat the whole box". Diet researchers dub this the "what the hell effect". It turns a manageable setback, eating a cookie, into self-defeating sabotage.

A better way to deal with setbacks is to be easier on ourselves, not harder. Forgive your setbacks and don't fall prey to the what the hell effect. When you don't feel bad it is easier to get back on track.