Just last summer, we were awed by his seemingly super-human strength in the water. But over the weekend, a tabloid photo of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana proved to us that he is, in fact, human ... just like the rest of us.

Michael made a major error in judgment. What it means for him as an athlete and a role model is hard to predict right now -- will he keep his endorsements with healthy product labels like Speedo, Power Bar and Kellogg's, for instance? But as people who are dedicated to a healthy lifestyle, I think -- in a lesser sense, at least -- we all know what it's like to make a mistake like Michael did (but hopefully not an illegal mistake).

Much like Michael spends hours each day training, we dedicate our days to planning healthy meals, squeezing in workouts around busy lives and making good choices for ourselves. But every now and then, something comes along to throw us off track ... a slip-up that makes us feel like our success doesn't count.
But Michael's eight gold medals are proof of his success, and in the long run, I think they'll be the things we remember long after this tabloid picture fades away. It's too bad we don't get gold medals when we do the right thing, isn't it? So that when we slip up, we've got tangible evidence of our success to help lift us back up. (I know if I could wake up and see a gold medal for every five pounds I lost, it would make that one I gained far less painful.)

Maggie recently asked That's Fit readers if they were all-or-nothing thinkers, if one mistake can wipe out your good feelings about your diet and weight loss success. Nearly 45 percent of you said you get pretty down on yourselves, while 28.6 percent said one little slip-up is enough to make you give up altogether. I've been right there with you.

Just like Michael will move on from this small failure, so can you. What matters is not that you fell off course, but that you pick yourself up and get back on. Even if it's two steps forward, one step back, eventually you'll reach your goal.