If you are like everyone else who has hit rock bottom with their weight struggles, and have declared that this day will be the first day of your diet, then this article is for you.

Too often it seems that most dieters jump on the weight loss boat, yet fail to bring along a months pass. Instead, they are usually on the boat for a couple of days, or maybe a week at best.

We all have the motivation to lose weight and look good. Some of us even diet for medical reasons. Whatever reasons motivate you to lose weight, hold onto them.

To many of us fall victim to that one cheat day, or that one hour where we fall off the boat and can't get back on. My experiences with people just like that have shed some light on that missing element that makes people fall prey to losing their diet focus.

Consistency. Motivation is directly tied to dieting through consistency. If we feel that we are not seeing results based on our diet after a few days, or if we hit a plateau soon into the program, then we start succumbing to inconsistent eat habits. We eat whenever, usually whatever, and feel like crap afterwards. Sure, it absolutely feels good giving in and munching up what we have been starving our bodies throughout the diet, but usually what happens later is that we feel bad emotionally about what we just did and how hard we worked to avoid this behavior in the first place.

By getting it into our heads at the outset of the diet, that this process is a marathon and not a sprint, then we can reinforce our consistent dieting patterns and thus stay motivated to stay on the diet. We even get more motivated when we start seeing results. How do we see results?

Yep. By being consistent in our diet methods.

Whether it is drinking a gallon of water religiously throughout the day (which reminds me, I need to get up from this computer and do just that!) or eating 5 small meals through out the day at certain times, these events lend themselves to helping you stay consistent.

What you will notice after several months of doing this, is that your mental resolve to stay on the diet is incredible. Much stronger than what you started with. Another result you will see is that by altering your body's eating habits and forcing your metabolism to process certain foods at certain times, the pounds come off at a faster rate. This, my friends, is the desired goal in ANY diet. Stay healthy and stay consistent. I'm rooting right along with you!

David Speringo is the administrator and owner of http://www.dietdiscussions.com, one of the internet's most established weight loss sites. He has personally encouraged 100's to continue in their quest to become leaner and healthier in whatever diet they chose to follow. For more information and articles like this one, please visit his site at http://www.dietdiscussions.com and join the community of hundreds losing weight every day. You can personally email him at contact@dietdiscussions.com