Derail. You know the word. Let's face it, most of us working toward good health through diet and exercise have an intimate relationship with the word. Diet derailers are everywhere -- in your house, in the grocery store, at work, at play, in your head even. Here, we'll address the very things that throw us off course. Together, we'll learn how to avoid our diet traps -- and how to get back on track when we can't.
The way I see it, boredom can derail the best of diet endeavors in three ways. One: You're bored and choose to fill your time chowing down on cookies and chipping and dipping yourself into oblivion. Sure, eating helps pass the time. It also helps pack on the pounds. Two: You're bored with dieting, you fall of the wagon, and your bulge gets, well, bulgier. Three: Exercising is taking its toll, wearing you down, and you're bored to tears with it all. Wait, there's another: You fall victim to all three. Now what? One at a time, shall we?

OK, you're just plain bored. You could read, garden, knit, watch TV, play video games, take a walk, ride a bike, play with your kids, call a friend. But you eat. I know. I do it too. I just try not to, most of the time. Here's how you can try too.

• Next time you think, "I'm bored, maybe I'll have a cookie," find something else to do. It's hard to eat while you're busy with an activity, like mowing the lawn. Or sit out your craving. Give it 20 minutes -- fold some laundry while you wait -- and let it pass. Or grab a piece of fruit instead. If you must fill our belly, do it with something healthy.
• Keep a food journal and track what and when you eat. Notice when boredom typically hits, and see if you can divert it next time around.
  
• Find a hobby that consumes more of your time. Just don't make it baking.

Maybe you're just plain bored with your diet. You've been dieting away, seeing some fantastic results, and then it all becomes so monotonous, so, well, boring. It's easy to give up when you find yourself in a diet rut. Here, a few ways to dig yourself out of diet disappointment.

• Fight the good fight. Boredom may be leading you back to bad habits, but you must fight back. Set some new specific and flexible goals, allow for some minor setbacks, and keep plugging along.
• Stay fresh. Mix up your routine. Been sticking to a low-carb plan? Ditch it, and try something new. Splurge on a healthy cookbook, try a new recipe once a week, eat some new foods too.
• Drink water, and plenty of it. It will keep you from munching all day long. Hey, good idea: Add this tip to the above list too.

Maybe it's your fitness routine that has you whining, "I'm so boooooored." James Bond guy Daniel Craig knows how you feel. The man says he hates diet and exercise, but guess what? He sticks with them both. "I mean, no one enjoys the gym, he says, but it is part of my job these days to keep in shape." Consider working out part of your job. And break up our exercise boredom with these AOL Health tips.

• Change your outlook by changing your venue. Get off your treadmill, and get outside, for goodness sake.
• Pick some non-traditional sports, like backpacking, mountain biking, kayaking, even bowling. You'll burn calories, and it won't even seem like exercise.
• Count backwards. Count your reps backwards, from 10 to one, instead of one to 10. See if it mixes things up.
• Bring a buddy. Make exercise a social event.
• Get some gear. Get a new MP3 player, download a new playlist, how about some new running shoes to get you pumped?
• Train for something, anything -- a 5K, a marathon, a soccer game with your family. Reaching for a goal might keep you off the bench.
  

For more AOL ideas, check out this cool slideshow. And if you've got anything you'd like to tell us about boredom and your bulge, do share. Give us enough good stuff, and we'll turn it into a post.