Any woman who has been on a diet  can tell you there is a big difference when it comes to being at the beginning of a diet, being in the middle of a diet, and getting toward the end of a diet. The dynamics change radically. At the beginning of a diet, you are often propelled by high hopes, and the feeling of making a fresh start. You have energy, no mistakes to deal with yet, the excitement of doing something new and different, running on the jolt you get from taking off—like the starting gun of a race. In the middle of the diet, it’s not like that at all. It can be boring, it can feel monotonous, it can seem like there’s no end in sight. This is the danger zone where you absolutely need to find ways to keep on going. Your original motivating factors may be left in the dust, and you may forget why you’re even doing it. This mid-diet time is critical, though, because it is the bridge that goes from the starting gate to the finish line.

There are ways to re-motivate yourself, reignite the weight-loss fires within you. Don’t let the middle-of-a-diet lull you into quietly giving up. You can find ways to traverse this longest part of the journey, if you put your mind to it. You can refresh your goals. You can reward yourself in new and different ways. You can take particular note of how far you’ve come. You can pay attention to the unique challenges you face during this possibly long, drawn out time, and think of uplifting ways to meet them. When you are close to the end, your goal reward is within reach, there, waiting for you to claim it. That in itself will often rekindle motivation, and give you the final push you need.

Pay attention to every phase when you are trying to lose weight, stay tuned in to what you need, how you feel, what you do for and against yourself. Pay particular attention to these things when you are in the middle of your diet. It may not have the pizzazz or glitter of starting and finishing, but it is the most crucial period of dieting time.