Good habits important for weight loss success

Summer may not be officially dead yet, but having passed Labor Day, the unofficial end of the season, we can look forward to cooler months ahead. September means back to school -- even back to work for some -- and a return to routine. In terms of diet and exercise, it may be time to restart.

"When you make a mistake or fall off the wagon and stop exercising, you need to learn to start again," said Mary Wilson, a registered dietitian and extension nutrition specialist with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. "It's like that old motto, 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.' We all have to learn to restart, and the better you get at it, the more likely you are to succeed over time. Don't just write it off and say you're done."

While you're restarting, Wilson suggests looking at other behaviors that affect diet and exercise.

"Awareness is the first step toward change," she said. "Take a look at what you're doing. Make it easier to do what you want to do, and harder to do what you don't."

In terms of food, that may mean keeping temptation out of reach. Wilson, for example, said she doesn't keep any food in her office, because "I know if it's there, when I get bored, I'll pick at it."

She loves potato chips, but doesn't keep any in her house because "I know in a weak moment I might eat them."

Thinking about daily food management, she said, will encourage you to "buy less, prepare less, save less, see less, eat less and weigh less."

And be sure to eat slowly and savor the flavor.

"That particular behavior is definitely related to how much you eat," Wilson said. "It takes time for the brain to get the signal that you've eaten -- at least 20 to 30 minutes, sometimes longer than that. Give yourself a chance to recognize that you've eaten and that you're full, so you don't overeat."

If you do crave something to eat, she said, tell yourself you'll have it in 20 minutes or so, and do something else first, to "buy yourself some time.

"Lots of times the craving will go away by then, and you find yourself in better control."

If you're tempted by buffets, she suggests walking through first to see what's there, and then going back with a plate so you don't take things you don't even want and end up eating them out of guilt.

Remember, she said, to make lifestyle changes, rather than just diet.

"There are habits you have to learn, and they have to do with healthy behaviors," she said. "You have to control the situation yourself. And hopefully the people in your household will help you."