Virtually any weight loss plan you start will go smoothly at the beginning because you are fired up and eager to do what it takes to reach your goal weight. But over time, it's very common to start losing that inner spark. Before long, you may start feeling annoyed about having to prepare special foods for yourself, or just wishing you didn't have to work so hard at maintaining a healthy weight.

When this happens, you have reached a crossroads. You can either continue down the path of "this sucks and I don't want to do it any more" - or you can do a few things to rekindle your motivation so losing weight becomes exciting and fun.

While dieting, have you ever felt pressured to eat fattening foods in social settings? Do your friends and family love to tempt you with rich, high calorie goodies even though they know you're trying to lose weight? This kind of "peer pressure" can be frustrating for sure - but you don't have to cave under the pressure. Below are some coping strategies to help you handle it the next time it happens.

Why would you like to lose weight? Is it because you want to look good for a special day? Perhaps you have a family event or class reunion to attend this year; the reasons could be many.

However, rather than losing weight for a single day event, you may have more luck losing weight for you, because you're worth it!

Having a particular event to look forward to is a good starting point when you decide to lose weight, but it won't be enough to help you keep the weight off after that day has ended.

Sure, you may look great for your 15th high school reunion or your cousin's wedding, but will you maintain that weight loss once your old high school rivals can't be jealous over how good you look? The likelihood is that you'll go back to your old ways and gain your weight back.

Before starting on your weight loss venture, think of a way to motivate yourself to keep the weight loss going. You can't find a better motivation for losing weight than to get healthy and feel energized. This is especially true if you have health concerns that are complicated because of your weight.

Losing weight for you -- because you're worth it -- gives you a permanent reason to shed those pounds and keep them off!

Here are some action steps you can take to help you meet your weight loss goals:

You can lose weight if you set your mind to it! Are you ready to take action to achieve the body of your dreams?

The biggest barrier you face is actually your self-discipline and willpower.

You may have fallen into a vicious cycle. The cycle starts with eating a poor diet full of fats, carbs, and processed foods. These are the kinds of foods that make you feel tired and lethargic all the time. Then, because your body lacks proper energy, you don't feel much like exercising.

What's the end result? You end up with a huge loss of willpower and you feel miserable and hopeless.

But there is hope! You can make the change! If you truly want to lose weight, you first have to build the willpower to make it happen.

Here's a list of things to consider when boosting your willpower:

Put your hand up if the scale has ever gotten you down, if you've ever told yourself you're useless or stupid, or if you've ever eaten something just to make yourself feel better -- and then suffered through the guilt afterward. Wow, look at all those hands!

If you're like a lot of people, you've gotten into a rut while riding the weight loss bandwagon, forgetting that the big picture is a healthy body and a healthy mind.

It's time now to reinvent yourself! Not that there's anything wrong with you, of course. But it's time to stop plodding along the same route. It's time rediscover yourself and take on a whole new attitude!

Take FitWatch's "Reinvention of Me" Pledge - and take it as often as you need to!

There's no doubt about it, food and exercise are two key ingredients in losing weight. Eat better, move more and you should lose weight in a snap, right? But it's not always that easy. You can know a lot about losing weight, but if you're not motivated to do it, nothing's going to happen. You'll be stuck losing the same pounds over and over again. Your mind plays an important role in your weight loss battle -- it's as important as food and nutrition. Some would even argue that it's the first step in losing weight and getting fit, ahead of eating right and exercising. Get your mindset right, and everything else will fall into place.

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