If will power were gasoline, then each January 1st many of us could fill up the gas tanks of every automobile in our neighborhood as we make our annual proclamation to lose weight ... one last time and forevermore!

It's at the first of each year that our will power is at its peak. It all starts with Thanksgiving -- for it is during that prized holiday that many of us toss up our hands and give up for the rest of the year. We surrender to the turkey and dressing, the cranberry sauce and the pastries, the parties and the cocktails, the cakes and the side dishes. We embrace a mindset of defeat and entitlement giving into the notion that the holidays are here so what would be the point of trying to lose weight now.

By the first of the year, we are so stuffed and guilt-ridden for every culinary sin that we have committed that we finally draw a line in the sand which just so happens to be located at the rock bottom of our anti-healthy lifestyle selves.

It is from this depth that we can only go up as we envision our come-back, our return to the body of yesteryear (and for some, it's not a return trip but a first time visit). We are filled, if only for a moment, with all the boldness we can muster as if standing on a summit shouting to the world that we're finally going to do this thing for real, no kidding.

Having shouted our resolutions to the world, fueled by will power and boldness, we are stunned to find that only days later the echo of our words reverberate back to us, passing by those we know and those we don't. It is about this time that we wish we had remained silent as if not recognizing the person who had the nerve to utter such a resolution in the first place. Now everybody knows our weight loss hopes, dreams and goals.

Next thing you know we've purchased a treadmill, a membership to the gym and all the accessories that go with it. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy a treadmill or join a gym and all that goes with it but all of that will power that you had on January 1st could easily be gone before the end of the month, week or even by the 2nd. All it takes is a drive down restaurant row where all of those good smelling aromas drift up your nostrils uninvited. Before you know it, you're having an out of body experience with no explanation why your car suddenly ended up in the drive through lane. There you sit, wishing you were invisible, hoping that nobody you know will see you, especially someone from the gym. Heaven forbid!

Now it is several weeks later or maybe you have made it into February before you stopped going to the gym as much -- if not altogether. It's about this time that we start silently rooting against all those other former rock bottom residents, fearing that they might actually make it out of the pit of fatness and leave us there alone to fend for ourselves.

We look to our left, our right, behind, below and above and we wonder just where the heck old will power went.

This is why I believe many of us join a gym with a friend, coworker or spouse. It's a matter of accountability.

I encourage you to find others who can help hold you accountable, but please recognize that one of the most important steps to weight loss is forgiving yourself for those post resolution moments when you might fall off of the wagon. I'm not condoning giving in to that piece of cheesecake that we both know you should not have, but if you do, it's not the end of your program -- it's just a side track.

Just remember that weight loss wagons don't move very fast so if you do fall off, simply get back up, catch up to it and hop back on.