The most common confession from diet clients when they return for review appointments, except 'being bad' equates to eating chocolate or drinking wine as opposed to shooting someone or hitting someone's car and not leaving a courtesy note. There is no such thing as 'being bad' on a diet – there is eating more than we need to; or enjoying a few glasses of wine too many but as soon as we mentally equate eating too much to a childlike behaviour, we begin a childlike cycle of punishment and reward for eating the certain types of food. Focus on food habits rather than one-off eating occasions to develop better food perspective and focus on what you are doing right rather than what you perceive to be doing wrong to move forward with positive diet changes.

3) 'I will start my new diet next week'

Why would you do that? If you need to improve your dietary habits, there is no time like the present. Regularly postponing and starting over with good eating habits not only means that we lose time but in most cases it means we never really get anywhere. Rather Monday and Tuesday become days when we eat well before giving ourselves an excuse not to for the rest of the week. If you are committed to changing your lifestyle for good, just start the very next meal. Small decisions add up and there is no time like the present.

4) 'It has been a bad day; I need/deserve this'

The late-afternoon chocolate binge after a bad meeting; or the half packet of chocolate biscuits in front of the TV after a particularly nasty day sets a pattern of satisfying your emotional needs with high calorie, high fat foods that are easy to overeat. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a sweet treat after dinner or a biscuit or two with a cup of tea if you really feel like it, but giving yourself permission to eat when you are sad, bored, tired, lonely or frustrated can being a lifelong pattern of emotional eating. Practise tending to your emotional needs with sleep, the support of good friends, exercise and rest and leave the food for special occasions and your regular meals and snacks.