Every year, it’s the same routine. First it’s the season to be eatin’. If you have kids or live near them, eatin’ season can start the day you stock up on Halloween candy. If you are childless and live in the woods, or you happen have some of that stuff called self discipline, it might not start until mid-November. Either way, if you are an American there is a good chance that by January 1 you have indulged in a little too much something; pies and cakes, mashed potatoes and gravy, onion dip and chips, champagne cocktails - it could even be certain things that charade as vegetables, such a broccoli with cheese sauce or green bean casserole. Your clothes might be a little tight. If things are bad, your fat jeans are tight. If they are really bad, your underwear is tight. If they are unspeakable, you are wearing a caftan. So, by January 2 people are streaming into gyms and weight loss centers and purveyors of pills and potions to fatten the industry’s coffers. But according to statistics more folks are doomed to fail than to succeed, so the only thing guaranteed to get thinner is your bank account. “Expert” advice on how to succeed abounds. Type in the words “weight loss” on an Internet search engine and in less than a tenth of a second you will get 68.8 million hits. That’s a lot to sort through. Although weight loss is a complicated issue, the physics of it are fairly simple: Burn more calories than you consume and you lose weight. Consume more calories than you burn and you gain. Keep them the even and you remain the same. But metabolisms differ, and promises to make yours more efficient are at the heart of numerous diet programs. Over-the-counter pills, powders and potions promising to boost your metabolism can be dangerous - such as ephedra, which the Federal Drug and Food Administration banned in April of 2004 after a reported 16,000 “adverse events” (some of them deaths of otherwise healthy adults) related to ephedra products. There are still plenty of others available, however, and just because they are natural doesn’t mean they are safe. “They can be very harmful because they are basically manufactured to take the place of amphetamines,” said Dr. George Reinmann, MD of Vernon Urgent Care. “ Reinmann says the only real solution is a lifestyle change. “Medications and extreme diets can be effective in the short term but are doomed to failure within a couple of months. Studies show that a pattern of gaining and losing usually results in a permanent weight increase of about a pound a year. After 20 years, that’s an extra 20 pounds in addition to the weight you’re putting on and taking off.” The doctor recommends a diet “made from scratch.” More whole foods less packaged and refined products little or no fast foods. He cites the Mediterranean Diet as one of the healthiest. “But keep in mind that there is a second reason Europeans are healthier and that’s because most of them walk several miles everyday.” Often, even the most healthy diet and exercise routines can be threatened when the lure of steak and cake becomes stronger than resolve. So, how can you help yourself? West Milford therapist Shannon Foster, LCSW offers the following advice: “Keep your goals attainable. If you go off your diet or exercise plan to be forgiving of yourself and start fresh. “Let go of your expectations. If we don’t meet them we tend to feel badly. Feeling badly leads to poor eating and decreased exercise. “Most importantly having a strong attitude of I deserve this.’ Sometimes our self esteem can also get in the way of being successful.” Life Coach Susan Isaacson, MA, CCC, MSW who runs Hearts in Harmony in Warwick had these words of wisdom: “Regardless of the type of resolution you make, you should tell people. That way, it’s like a pact ... and it works on more than one level, in that the people you tell become support for you.” She also said falling off the wagon is pretty natural when a healthy diet and exercise plan are not habits yet just hop back on. One of the most valuable tools she suggests to her clients is to keep a journal. “Just use it to talk to yourself when you start because you might want to re-familiarize yourself with the promises you made. In the end, it’s all about empowerment. Jane M. from Chester is one of the success stories. Two years ago on New Year’s Day she went on a diet. She lost 70 pounds and has kept it off. Here’s what she had to say: “I kept looking for a quick fix but in the end I hate to say this it was a change in life style. It’s not that I don’t eat junk, but I don’t do it often. I keep a really close eye on the scale. The minute I gain three or four pounds I straighten up again. It’s a slippery slope but it can be negotiated.”