When it’s time to make better decisions, especially when it comes to dieting, the first step is to, well, take the first step. And the challenging part is- what is the first step? It’s a daunting question. You can sit and analyze all the things that you’re doing wrong. The fact that you ate three packages of cookies, that you haven’t been to the gym in over a year or that you are addicted to caffeine. But looking at all your problems isn’t going to make things better, in fact, it’s more likely to make you feel worse and discouraged. You can’t get too worked up about everything that you’re doing wrong.

So take it one little bit at a time. What can you change today? What’s something small that can make a difference in your diet? Let me give you an example. My mom has always been a fan of sour cream and enjoys putting it in a lot of things. Of course, sour cream is very fattening and so some time ago, my mom found a fat free sour cream that she liked. (It’s called Naturally Yours.) As long as I can remember, my mom has always bought that kind. That’s the only kind I’ve ever known. It’s much better for you than regular sour cream. Does having fat free sour cream change everything for us? No. Does it mean that we have a great diet? No. What it does mean is that we’ve made one positive decision that can lead to others.

So what’s your one step going to be? Maybe you’ll try taking the stairs rather than the elevator? Maybe you’ll try to cut back on the number of Diet Cokes you drink in a day. Or maybe you’ll decide that getting 8 hours of sleep isn’t such a bad thing. Start today by making one small decision and you will be surprised how it can lead you to make more.