Start Small

Diets don't work. If you have a mind-set that they way you are eating is temporary, it will end up being a lot more temporary that you plan on. If you really want to stay motivated to eat right, you have to shift your mind-set. Eating right is a lifestyle, not a diet. Start small, for example, commit to eating healthy foods like apples or popcorn for your snack instead of candy and soda. Once you are doing that regularly, add a little more, like instead of eating out at fast food, invite friends to dinner at your house. Home-cooked is always more healthy than eating out. Shift your mind-set a little at a time until eating right is no longer a conscious decision. If you stay small and shift a little at a time you will stay motivated to develop a healthy lifestyle rather than try to keep a crash diet on track.

Keep your Rewards within Reason

Rewards are a great way to stay motivated, but you have to keep your rewards within reason. You won't stay motivated to keep eating right if you allow yourself to go on a sugar-binge as a reward of healthy eating. A date that ends in an ice cream cone is much more likely to keep you motivated to eat right than a night camped in front of the TV with a gallon of cookies and cream. If you stay motivated long enough, willpower won't be needed to keep your rewards within reason, you'll want less. Stay motivated by rewarding yourself, but don't ruin your momentum by going overboard.

Focus on Fitness

Eating right can be more easily achieved if your focus is on fitness rather than diet. If you really want to be fit, you're willing to make some permanent changes to do so. Staying motivated to make those changes into habits can be easier done if you focus on the end goal of being physically fit. Focusing on fitness gives you great rewards. If you are focused on being fit, you can see your progress with the changes in how your body looks and feels rather than how the food meets your cravings. Don't neglect your body and not feed it or you will lose your momentum because you don't have the energy or mind-set to follow through and be healthy. Long-term changes require time, so stay motivated by focusing on the end goal of being fit.

Stay Away from Temptation

The best way to stay motivated to eat right is to stay away from temptations while your pallet is still vulnerable. If you don't see it, smell it, or think about it, you won't want it. Always make sure you are well-fed (with healthy food) before you have to drive through town next to all those fast food restaurants. Take all the junk food you have in your house and give or throw it away. If you are serious about staying motivated to eat right, remove temptations that could stop your momentum once you get rolling.