Having a bad day doesn't have to translate into diet failure. You can stay in control of your diet even on your worst day with the following strategies.

Trick Yourself With Less Harmful Foods
Mindless eating that goes on all day often begins with a handful of jelly beans, a small bag of chips, or a bit of somebody else's fatty or sugary food. It feels fun, naughty, and comforting which diffuses all that may be wrong but that doesn't make it o.k. and it only produces feelings of guilt once the drama is over. If you need to mindlessly chew on something to relax then make it something less harmful like ice cubes, gum, kashi go lean crunch cereal, air popped popcorn, raw veggies, soy nuts, or almonds. Chomping down on celery may not sound as fun as a handful of m&m's but when stress eating is just a distraction, what you crunch on is actually less important than the actual act of crunching. Give healthy crunching a try and you'll take in less calories, less fat, less sugar, and less guilt.

Inflict Some Quick Bootcamp Therapy
When you're stressed, upset, or anxious your fat storage hormones are busy wreaking their own havoc so the most important thing you can do is counteract them with 5 to 10 minutes of vigorous exercise. Start with jumping jacks go to pushups, crunches, lunges, dips, and finish up with couple of downward dogs. This raises endorphins which block pain and also fat storage, it distracts you, and turns the focus away from your mind and towards your body. Once you're done you'll feel energized and a little less anxious which can really help you deal with the issues at hand more calmly.

Pamper Yourself & Indulge Your Other Senses
It's important to take care of yourself in ways that don't involve food because it sends a message to your emotions that food isn't the solution to your problems. Maybe it's as simple as taking a nap, buying a new book, or getting a 20 minute chair massage at the mall. Maybe it's more involved like booking a spontaneous weekend away with a fun girlfriend or calling your personal trainer and asking for an extra session just for stretching. Placing yourself first in a more indulgent way will instantly relax you and help you engage in more productive stress minimizing strategies in the future.

Get this awesome book and learn how to handle "self destructive eating behavior": Fight Fat After Forty: The Revolutionary Three-Pronged Approach That Will Break Your Stress-Fat Cycle and Make You Healthy, Fit, and Trim for Life