With the New Year comes many New Year’s resolutions. The number one resolution every year is to lose weight.

Alas, many diets are started every year with the best of intentions. These diets soon fall by the wayside and the goal to lose weight is lost.

Stop this vicious cycle in its tracks, and make this the year that you stick to your diet. These ten tips will help you get started.

Tip One

Start your diet on a Monday. This may not seem like a tip that will have any impact on your success. However, the starting day of your diet can affect your mindset about the entire process.

Mondays are a day when we are mentally rested and ready to take on new projects. Often this ready-to-get-to-work attitude is used for your job. Use this attitude to help you to take the first important steps to your weight-loss goals.

Tip Two

Start out by planning what you will make to eat during the week for your diet. With your list of meals in hand, write out what you will need to buy at the grocery store.

By planning in advance, you can make one trip to the grocery store to get all of your food needs for the week. By limiting your shopping time, you are less likely to buy junk food and other items that are not on your diet.

Stick to your list, and get it done.

Tip Three

Portion control is key. A great way to make sure that you stay on track with your diet is to pre-pack serving sizes of healthy snacks. When you have healthy choices on hand at all times, you will be less likely to pull into the fast food drive-thru. Make up your own bags of carrot sticks and celery, trail mix, and other healthful treats, and carry them with you. Also, try bringing a spare sandwich with lean protein, like turkey.

Tip Four

When people are trying to lose weight, one of the biggest mistakes they often make is to skip meals. This actually sabotages any diet by lowering the personís metabolism. To keep your metabolism running at its highest level to burn calories you need to avoid skipping meals. Always have a healthful meal, and healthful snacks on hand to stop you from binge eating because you get so hungry you will literally eat anything.