I think you've got it, Tink - sounds to me like you're on the right track.
Let me also say this to you: I wonder if maybe it might work for you to take the focus off the food. I've been trying that for the past few weeks, and it seems to be working for me. Here's what I mean: I have noticed that the two places or situations where I am most likely to binge is when I'm alone at home in the evenings watching TV, or when I'm alone in a car driving somewhere. I have made the commitment to myself - one day at a time - to NOT eat ANYTHING when I'm in one of those two situations. I have not committed to eating according to any particular food plan. That means that I eat whatever I want to, BUT I don't eat when I'm watching TV or when I'm driving in the car. So if I get hungry and I want to eat, I turn of the TV. Or I pull over, stop the car, and eat.
For me, this works because it's a "stop" before I go into mindless bingeing. I have to decide what's more important, am I really hungry or do I want to watch my program? Am I hungry or do I want to get to where I'm going? Most of the time, I'm not really hungry. And when I am, I stop what I'm doing and sit down and eat.
And when I do that, I eat whatever I want - even if it's a piece of cake (or apple pie from McD's). But I'm paying attention to it, enjoying it fully. I've noticed that when I eat mindfully like this, I actually notice when I'm full and the food no longer tastes good. Believe it or not, I've actually stopped eating at this point
Tink, I don't know if this will work for me in the long run or not. But it's working for me right now, and I seem to be loosing weight without feeling deprived of treats that I enjoy. I focus on feeding my body good healthy fuel, and I don't worry about calories, portion size, carbs or sugar. So far, so good.
I hope that you find something that works for you, as well. Please let us know!