In order for a diet to produce the results you want you must stick with it. This is a logical statement but not always so easy to do because of all the distractions that seem to pull us off track.

There are literally hundreds of safe, healthy and effective diet plans on the market today and most of them spell out how to get from where you are now to where you want to be. In other words if you follow the plan you will lose weight and you will reach your goal.

The problem is that this requires patience and the process can get, well...boring, and there is also the risk of hitting a bump along the road where the scale seems to get stuck and even though you are following the diet, the results are not showing. This is the time we become vulnerable to distraction.

Distractions take us off our path and delay our progress and if we allow them to carry us too far off course they can prevent us from reaching our goal at all.

Let's say you decide to lose 40 pounds. The quickest and most efficient way for you to accomplish this would be to monitor your calorie intake and eat whole grains, lean protein, healthy fats and fruits and vegetables. You would also want to eliminate refined carbohydrates and add exercise to your daily routine. This is a very simple and direct route but unfortunately we often get distracted and step off course. Common distractions include everything from tempting foods, stressful days, emotional eating issues, and the lure of the "quick fix".

All these things rob our focus and make our journey last longer than it needs to be.

Now we can step back and take a reality check here -- everyone has "one of those days" or an occasion where lightening up on their diet seems appropriate - I am not saying the only path is perfection. What I am saying is that if you have been bothered by extra weight for a long time then you can change your situation by consciously limiting the things that pull you off course.

The quickest path between where you are now and where you want to be is a straight line. The more you are able to lessen distractions and stick to your dieting plan the quicker you will reach your goal.