I am so glad you found this board! I can completely understand how you feel. Sometimes, when you give in, you can start to feel like you can never get it done. However, I'm here to tell you that you CAN do it. You can get the weight off. The key is to set in some new habits, figure out a plan and understand what weight loss looks like. The problem is that sometimes, we give up when things don't go down as quickly as we like or we lose some weight and then we stall for a bit. This is the time to really be most determined! Stick to your plan like glue and the weight will eventually come off. It didn't come on over night so it won't come off over night either. It is sometimes painfully slow, but it is happening. You are getting healthier.
Since you've lost weight before, you know what it takes, which is a great step in the right direction. As far as making some changes, here are some things I recommend:
1. Food log. Don't put anything in your mouth unless you have first put it on your food log. You can have a food journal or use an online tracker. Studies prove that people who log their food intake lose more weight and tend to keep it off. I highly recommend calorie counting. It's free and works great.
2. Have a plan of action for when the urge to eat off plan strikes. Go to your room, chew gum, drink hot tea, call a friend, do some push ups, clean your closet, go on this website and read success stories, knit, paint your nails, whatever it takes to get through that time. Visualize yourself feeling so proud of yourself the next morning for not giving into your cravings. I think visualization is very important.
3. Recommit every day. Motivation comes and goes, but every single morning, you need to remind yourself how you felt right when you wrote your post and do the work it takes to get to your goal.
4. Exercise. Move more every day. For me, working out isn't for weight loss. It's for mental balance. I feel like I'm going to stay on track if I know I've sweated that day. If you can do it early in the morning, then you know you've done it rather than putting it off. I have my gym clothes out the next day and I put them on without even thinking about it. There's no question about it. I'm going to workout. I often am at the gym at 5:30 in the morning and I leave there looking like someone dropped a bucket of water on my head.
5. This should have been higher on the list. Remove trigger foods from your home. If you want to have an occasional treat and it fits into your caloric budget, then go out and have a single serving. Rather than buying ice cream for the house (as an example), go out and have yourself a cone of it. Just don't keep it in the house.
6. Think positive thoughts. Don't beat yourself up about anything in the past. What's done is done. If you fall off track, get right back on! I fall off track a lot but I tell myself now that I need to get right back on or I'll gain all of the weight back on.
7. Don't pressure yourself to lose X amount of weight by so and so date. That kind of pressure leads to failure more times than success, as far as I can tell.
8. Reward yourself with things that are not food related.
9. Be kind to yourself. Your worth is not tied into your weight. You're a good person and have a lot to offer, so stop being mean to you!
10. Enjoy the journey. I know that sounds weird but think of it as a fun challenge. Read a lot about it and do whatever you can to make it more fun. You're much more likely to stick to something if it's pleasant as opposed to a dreadful task.