Day Six: You should be happy if you walk to the scale a pound less. But if you find that your weight is the same or if you are a pound or two too much, re-evaluate your recent activities. Have you been sitting in your spare time without exercising? Or maybe you ate something that, however, won’t affect your weight at all (like that slice of chocolate cake your friend offered you at work)? It could even be an old habit that you returned to after five days of avoiding it.

But it’s okay, really. You are only in your first week, so you need to experience these things so that you always remember what will happen if you deviate from your diet. Look on the bright side, at least you didn’t get carried away and gained more pounds than you did. Sometimes being able to see that you are losing or gaining weight each morning is all the motivation you need to be religious in your diet.

On the sixth day, you can probably already list some useful health tips from the last few days. Here’s a list of them, in case you’ve forgotten:

Moderate diet

Drink lots of water, about 9 to 13 a day (and drink more when sick)

Get enough rest (8 to 9 consecutive hours per night)

Take food with you to avoid fast food.

Brush your teeth after your last meal to avoid further cravings.

Take these tips seriously – you should practice them throughout your diet.

Now add this health tip to the list: Chew your food. People really take this for granted. There is a good reason why our teeth are designed to grind food thoroughly before consuming it: it is the only way to ensure that food is properly digested when it reaches the digestive system.

It may sound funny, but you must chew your food 35 times before swallowing it. Some people simply bite into the food they eat and then swallow it straight. That is not good for the stomach and can even cause indigestion.

But more than that, eating fast means that you will only eat more. Chewing your food helps you feel full even if you don’t eat as much.

Also, chewing food can be very relaxing. Not to mention the fact that you can enjoy your food more.

Have a melon smoothie for breakfast, raw tomato soup with wheat crackers for lunch, and Swiss chard with raisins and marinated vegetables for dinner. For your sandwiches, have some almonds and apple slices.

Try riding a bike! If you have a bike, it’s time you got it out of the garage and out for a ride. It’s a fun variation on your usual brisk walks and makes you feel younger.