Amy Eiges has struggled with her weight most of her life. She's tried the fad diets, including a liquid diet on which she lost 60 pounds. But none of it had a lasting effect.

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"When the pounds inevitably crept back on, I stopped exercising, as if the 'right' to fitness was a luxury only afforded to thin women," recalls Eiges in a new book, Real Fitness for Real Women, by Rochelle Rice.

Then Eiges discovered Rice's In Fitness and In Health, a fitness studio for plus-size women in Manhattan. After five years of exercising in a gym that's just right for her, Eiges is a new woman.

"I have reconnected with the body I'd been avoiding for years," says Eiges. "Even though it doesn't have the exact shape and form I'd like, it's thriving."

Rice's book profiles others like Eiges who have won the psychological battle with their bodies and are blazing a path to health and fitness. These women are successful in their fitness goals, in part, because they recognize that the path is littered with obstacles.

Something always gets in the way of our fitness plans. And when it does, Rice urges us to keep the following five points in mind:

1. Exercise is just like learning how to ride a bike, writes Rice. "If you've fallen, dust yourself off and try again." Rather than beat yourself up for what you haven't done, applaud your efforts.

2. "Don't judge yourself," she says. If you feel like a failure, ask yourself why. Don't let anyone, including yourself, let you feel like a failure.

3. Remember that thousands of other people feel the same way you do. Determine to lead by example and imagine other women following in your active footsteps.

4. "Successful people usually 'fail' many times before they succeed," she writes. Perseverance is what gets you where you want to go.

5. Tell yourself that you are worthy. As you become more fit you'll see yourself as more capable and powerful.