I hope you don't mind me posting in your forum considering I am not a maintainer but I am curious.
Suppose one day President Obama came up to you and made an executive order. You must tell him one and only one thing that you think has helped you the most in taking off and keeping off weight? What would it be?
Everything flowed from that: creating a new self-image, learning self-discipline, persevering through discomfort, eating to fuel my body, emotional and physical strength, postponing immediate gratification for a greater reward, and discovering that I had the power inside of me all along to make my dreams come true.
It puts my head in the right place so I can do all of the other things that are equally important - counting calories, sticking to the food plan, etc.
I couldn't have said it better. When I'm exercising consistently, it makes me 1) a happier person (thus less emotional eating), and 2) it serves as an appetite suppressant, and 3) it just makes me want to eat more healthily, and smaller portions. If I go to the gym I want to follow-up with a healthy dinner, you know?
I should say that my exercise goes through phases. I went through a running phase, then I got into weightlifting and run less now. I took belly dancing classes for a little while, went to yoga classes for a while but they're not at a good time for me anymore... as long as I'm doing something physical, I think it's ok to switch it up. Keeps me interested.