Hi everyone. I have a big issue with long term dieting. Any tips from people who have lost 45+ lbs? (i have 45 to lose) How do you push through all those late nights without snacking? How do you deal with negaive emotions? What got you through those rough patches when you felt deprived and thought you would fail?

Reduce CARBS! These are the reasons we all gain gain gain! Carbs should be 100 or lower unless you're always moving then it should be 150 and lower. Eat foods high in protein and low in carbs. Also eat veggies and fruits in good amount. Make sure to drink lots of water, and don't drink fruit juices unless they're actually made with 100% fruit.

This is one of those 'easier said than done' things - but it really helps to get into a different frame of mind. It made such a difference for me to start thinking of food as a fuel, and to eat mindfully, instead of eating when I was bored or lonely. Changing your habits helps - instead of doing the things you'd normally do while snacking, do something else so your mind isn't associating the activity with eating.

Sometimes you do just wanna eat everything though, and I know this has been said many times on these boards (because it's so true!), and the best way I've found to combat those feelings is to find another activity to do - go for a walk, knit, read. And funnily enough, the best way to not feel deprived is to not deprive yourself! Just eat everything in moderation, and patiently phase yourself into a healthier way of eating. It's easier to make a few small changes at a time, and build up from there. It'll help you maintain the changes when you've lost the weight, too.

How do you currently keep yourself accountable? Do you log your food somehow? If so, do you really want to have to log those late night snacks?

I used to be a big late night snacker but counting calories really stopped me from that. I didn't log my food, but I did keep track in my head and when I was at my day's limit I just didn't eat because I didn't have the room for it.

Ask yourself if you're really hungry or if you just want the food. Chances are, you just want it and you don't need it. If that's the case drink a tall glass of water and see if you still want some of it. If I have an exceptionally bad craving that the water doesn't get rid of, I'll given in—just slightly. I'll have one or two chips—or whatever it is I'm craving—and tell myself to enjoy the taste because that's all I'm getting. Usually after that the craving is gone and I haven't "ruined" anything

Edit: How much are you eating a day? If you feel too deprived you might not be eating enough or you might be on the wrong plan for you.

While reducing carbs can help with cravings it's not the end-all means to weight loss. Weight loss is primarily about calorie reduction. Some people can't handle too much protein and MUST have carbs. You CAN gain weight eating too much of anything, even protein.

Fruit juices are actually horrible to drink, even if they are natural. You've stripped the fruit of it's fiber and removed some of what was healthy about it. You're better off eating the actual fruit. Too many calories for too little nutrients

Stop thinking of it as a diet, start thinking of it as a life style change. For me, I have to tell myself that I can't eat the way I use to eat anymore. That's what made me fat. That's what kept me fat. And that's what made me fatter. I have to eat this way to look the way I want to look. When I get down to goal I'll take a look at adding back in some foods I love but until then I just have to remind myself that I just can't have them like I use to.

As for the late night snacking, I will either have a small bit of left overs from dinner (I'm not calorie counting) or I will drink a big glass of water and make myself busy. If I drink then play a video game or something I forget that I thought I was hungry. When I'm feeling sorry for myself about what I can't eat, I'll have some cheese (Not supposed to have cheese). Not a lot. Just enough for a taste.. and I eat that morsel slowly so the flavor and texture last a little longer.

Every time you feel like you want to eat more than your calories or eat things you're not supposed to have on your diet, ask yourself if it'll be worth it in the morning. Two weekends ago, I REALLY wanted a pretzel from Auntie Ann's. And you know what, I ate it. And it was effing worth it. But it was just one pretzel once. Other times.. like when I want a bowl of cereal.. is it going to be worth it? Nope.

I agree the problem is we all continue to keep in our old mentally of it's a diet. A diet is something SHORT term, it fixes whatever we need to fix for the time being then we go back to our old patterns and within a certain amount of time we "diet" again.

This is a life style change, so unless you want to continue to yo-yo get thin, get fat, get thin, become fatter than before etc...change your mentally because it's not just the physical aspect we need to change it's also the mental one.

In the end it's about how much you're willing to self sabotage yourself. Because really thats exactly what it is. Keep a journal and do your research, find out what works best for YOU. I know some people can eat 1200 calories and be satified. 1200 calories is too low for me so I'd completely fail if was my number to eat everyday. At one point I found myself calorie cycling and you know what to start of with Calorie cycling for me is a bad idea because I always end up over eating. DO something for a week, or a few days it's it's not working try something new.

So My new goal this week is 1500 calories and hitting the gym. Trying to burn 500 calories a day. (is that setting myself up for failure...no, but is it going to be a learning lesson? yes.)
I gotta set myself up with daily goals. Remind myself why I'm doing this and the moment I want to jump up and eat something that isn't healthy for me or I'm going to through something emotional. I need to right it down. You have to find out what trigger's you. Learn your body this isn't just a jump start and you're going to know everything. It's very much a learning process.

I re-evaluated last year when I lost my 30 pounds...now gained back 20. Why did this happen? Mainly because I self sabotaged myself, because THAT's what I'm good at.

Try going to bed a regular time so you're not up all night snacking. I find if I'm up later than usual I get bored so I snack. I gotta keep a straight scedule. Sometimes when you feel "hungry" you just need to drink more water because at times your body places hunger feeling when you're just thirsty.

I notice if I eat later at night, I find myself famished first thing in the morning than I do when I keep a regular eatting and sleeping pattern!

I also totally realized I just wrote a novel....lol whooops my bad guys!

I'm a little over halfway to my goal, as you can see from my ticker. I won't pretend to have it all figured out, 'cause I don't, but, nevertheless, here's what I've found helpful for me.

First of all, I don't eat things that I don't like. If I'm eating less, then everything I eat has to count; there's no room for things I don't like. There's no room for indifference, even. I find that if I'm forced to eat something I don't care for, I crave later. If I like what I've had, then I don't.

Nothing's forbidden. Seriously, nothing. If I make something forbidden, I give it power over me. If I'm doing this, then food needs to have no power over me. So, yeah, if I want bacon? I can have bacon. If I want cheetos, I can have cheetos. If I want ice cream, I can have ice cream.

I can't have all of them at the same time, though. And if I want them, I have to be prepared to eat less the rest of the day. Sometimes it's worth it, and sometimes it's not. Since I calorie count, though, there's an immediate consequence to eating those things, one that's more real than the nebulous threat of weight gain. If I have bacon and ice cream for breakfast, then I'm having very little or nothing for dinner.

I have dinner later--around eight or nine PM. That way, the late-night munchies only hit when I'm too tired to do anything about them.

I refuse to count carbs. This goes against what almost everyone here says, and, indeed, carb restriction seems to work very well for a lot of people. In my case, I just see it as a distraction. Moreover, I like carbs, and, at 1200 calories, I'm not gonna get a whole lot of anything, so I'd better enjoy what I do have.

That being said, I've also found that protein does keep me full longer. So, when I can, I try to incorporate it. But you can have my bread when you pry it from my cold, dead hands, thank you very much.

Also, lots of people use the term "lifestyle change." I hate that term; it reminds me of after-school specials and group hugs, and goes against my sarcastic exterior. That being said, those people are right. I'm too curmudgeonly to admit it on their terms, though, so here are the ones that work for me.

In AP Biology, one of the catchphrases that my teacher drilled into the class was, "form follows function." And though she certainly wasn't talking about weight loss, I borrow the phrase for my own uses anyway. If I eat and exercise like I weigh 150 pounds, then I'll eventually weigh 150 pounds. My form will follow my function. It's inevitable.

Now, is it about eight million more times complicated than that? Yeah. But it removes an element of random chance and choice, and for me, that's a good thing.

I'm at 1000-1200 calories a day and I absolutely have a snack around 9. I plan for a measured amount of something, so that I'm not starving at bedtime or hungry as all **** when I wake up.

I think to stick with something long-term...you have to make changes you are willing to make long term. For me, that ISN'T going carb free....for me that meant adding in extra veggies. For me that ISN'T salads at lunch every day...but it is eating a 400 calorie lunch.

I don't think you can sustain anything you are unwilling to do. So if you aren't willing to do it forever, don't do it now. Because your weight loss time frame will seem like "forever" at times.