Starting a new diet is an interesting and exciting phase for me. I've taken the first step. I have started eating more in moderation. I am exercising again. I feel strong in mind and body (well I'm getting there anyway). I feel I have the power to succeed. My sense of food defiance is at its height.

The leftover Halloween candy waiting for someone to eat it may tempt me, but it does not control me. The same goes for the potato chips stored conveniently for my husband's lunch-making and the candy machine in the lunchroom at work where I make my tea. I walk by, looking at them over my shoulder with a superior glance. I WILL NOT be bowed.

Taking those first positive steps is a euphoric time for me. I feel invincible. I can ignore the fact that i will inevitably stumble along the way. The power is mine.

It is the honeymoon glow of dieting life.

The challenge is to keep it going as long as I can. Then, when it ends, as it has so often in the past, I must acknowledge my food frailty, accept whatever help is available to me and keep move forward on this path to better health.