Another common mistake he sees is that people focus on what they will eat less of and not on what they will eat more of or what is missing in their diet. Changing eating habits then feels like punishment if people are giving up their favorite foods.
This ultimately ends up in the dieter feeling deprived and resentful of a new style of eating so "all hell breaks loose."
A better approach is building in small amounts of a favorite food to keep you on track.
"Ban the concept of forbidden foods," Ayoob said. Think instead, "all foods are okay, but not all the time and not in all amounts."
Another weight loss pitfall is that people want instant results and make goals that are too general and lofty, like "I want to eat better."
Ayoob will try instead to pin the person down to a small gradual goal and suggests giving yourself simple things you can do for a month to achieve that result.
"Slow and steady wins the race" is Ayoob's philosophy for lasting lifestyle changes. For example, most people, he says, need to eat more fruits and vegetables each day. He advises patients that they don't have to get to this end point all at once, do one thing at a time. Add an extra piece of favorite fruit each day, for starters. Make sure there's at least one vegetable at dinner -- every night.
Ayoob also suggests getting organized about food shopping and chopping, and working to ensure food preparation is fun and meals involve the family.
With the holidays behind you, the new year is a great time to quit smoking, and millions of Americans will attempt to do just that.
"There's a psychological benefit to starting off a year fresh, and a little more of a commitment on people's part -- at least for the first week or two," said Dr. John Spangler, director of tobacco-intervention programs and a professor of family medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Successful quitting entails both a motivation and a desire to break the habit.
"When I talk to patients about why they want to quit or whether they're ready to do so, I often hear comments, such as 'I want to, but I'll miss it' or that 'smoking is my best friend,'" Spangler said. "For many people, smoking has been a companion when they're bored or stressed, so quitting means ending a long-term relationship they've had their entire adult life."
If you're not ready to give it up entirely, Spangler says you can take some small steps to move you closer to quitting. These might include delaying that first cigarette of the day, or cutting down on the number smoked or not smoking immediately after a meal.
To have your best bet of succeeding, you need to have a plan for how you will quit. To create such a plan, Spangler recommends writing down all the reasons you want to quit. Next, write down your trigger times or those situations when you might automatically reach for a cigarette.
A third step is to think through a solution or strategy for what you can do instead of smoking when faced with a trigger situation.
As Spangler puts it, not smoking is like a war on two fronts. On the one hand you have the addiction center in your brain screaming, "I want a cigarette." And on the other hand, you have the environmental cues, in which smoking becomes the automatic response.
"It's easier to deal with the trigger situations, if you have the addiction center under control," Spangler said.
Medication can help treat the addiction, while coping strategies help tackle the triggers, he suggests. "You need to develop new habits for every single trigger."
This might mean reaching for a breath mint instead of a cigarette, drinking tea in the morning rather than coffee, or counting to 10 when feeling stressed or angry.
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