It's week two of my New Year's diet, and I'm off to a good start, dropping five pounds in the first week. That first week tends to be one of the biggest hurdles to cross in dieting, so here's a look at how to survive the first week of your diet.

For me, staying true to my diet isn't extremely difficult. It's the getting started part that is the challenge - and that's what makes week number one of a diet plan such a struggle.

Getting motivated to finally start down the path of the dreaded die can be hard - because you know what it means --giving up so many of the good things you love so much. So, what do we do? We procrastinate, of course. That would explain why it took me three weeks in January to get started on my New Year's diet.

Hooray for you if you were able to get started. That is the first step --and that first week can be a real bear.

This is the time when  you are transitioning from the old way of eating to the new way of eating -- whatever that might be. All of a sudden you're not eating bread, or chips, or cookies, or pizza, candy bars,  pancakes, or donuts. If your body is  used to having these things you are going to have to deal with some of those cravings -- and overcome them.

It is important that  your eating plan is structured in such a way that you aren't feeling hungry all the time. It's one thing to feel a little hungry - you can overcome that mentally. But, if  you just feel like you are starving, there will be a tendency not only to overeat, but to eat things that are not  conducive to your ability to reach your goal -- losing weight.

During the first week, it is important to get into your routine. For me, that is eating five times a day - at specific times - 5am, 9am, 12noon, 3pm, and 6pm. I have a very specific strategy for each eating time, which essentially breaks down into three 'meals' and two snacks.

Another important thing, when you start your diet, is to make sure  all temptations are out of the house - from ice cream and cookies to Doritos and anything else that is going to be counter-productive. Don't trust yourself to be able to resist the temptation. Most likely you can't. That's why you had to go on a diet in the first place. Just remove that temptation altogether.

Don't let your mind wander to thoughts of how long you're going to have to be on your diet, and don't fantasize about the big, fat juicy hamburger with french fries and a vanilla shake that you would really like to have. Control your mind. Don't let it control you. Think about your weight loss goal, why you are doing this in the first place, and how good you are going to look and feel when it's all over with.

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