Anybody who has tried to lose weight knows how difficult it can be. It seems like temptation is all around us. And who wants to constantly refuse invitations to dinner, because you're worried you'll blow your diet? When you're faced with a mountainous chocolate cake, dripping with cream, it's very easy to forget your weight loss goals.

The problem is, after giving in to temptation, you suddenly realize what you've done and feel terrible. Then you give yourself a hard time for being so weak and pathetic, and more often than not give up on your diet. Either that or you figure you might as well wait a day or two before you start your diet properly. And of course those two days stretch into four, and then a week, and on it goes.

One of the best things you can do to make the process of losing weight less painful is to realize that one lapse isn't a big deal. Maybe it means you won't reach your weight loss goal today, but in the end if you eat healthily according to your diet plan the rest of the time, that one slice of cake won't totally ruin all the other hard work you've done. And you'll be a lot happier, too, instead of down on yourself and miserable. Mind you, that doesn't mean you can have lapses every day, either.

If you're disciplined, choosing a specific time or place to enjoy a small lapse can actually make the whole process of dieting more pleasurable. In fact, the anticipation of enjoying something special and a bit naughty can make the whole experience much more enjoyable, than eating treats all the time.

Now that you've decided you're not going to let one small lapse ruin your day or your diet, you can focus on getting back on track in time for the next meal. Review what happened, accept that you lapsed, but put it aside and move on. Nobody is perfect; so don't expect yourself to be. Still, it's important to refocus on your weight loss goals, and accept that lapses don't support your attempts to reach your goals.

Every day it's important to do things that help support you in reaching your weight loss goals. For example, if you've made the decision to eat healthier foods, then make sure you have them available in the kitchen. If you don't, then go and buy them. After all, you can't eat healthily if you don't have healthy ingredients at hand when you're cooking.

It's also good to have your goals close to hand. For example, have a sticky note on your computer screen at work, or keep it in your pocket. Then, when the cookies in the kitchen tempt you when you go to get a coffee, pull out the note and read it again before you take a cookie. Ask yourself whether eating the cookie is supporting your goal or not. Sometimes, if you really want a cookie, just take it but save it for later. It's amazing how later never comes, once you get used to saying no in the first place.

But if you decide later that you really do want the cookie, then go ahead and eat it without feeling guilty. See if tomorrow you can say no, or at least wait a lot longer before you eat the cookie. Sometimes it might take you a little longer to reach your weight loss goal, but learning the ability to say no and mean it can do a whole lot more for your weight and health in the long run anyway.

So the key is to focus on your goal. Every time you're faced with a choice, ask yourself "will doing this help me to achieve my goal? Is this supporting me?" Once you start to do this, you'll make better choices. That way, instead of constantly getting frustrated and angry with yourself you can simply make choices and move on. By taking all the negative emotions out of the situation, it's possible to turn losing weight into a game of choices, which can make the process a whole lot more enjoyable.