Well thought out, Tammie. BTW, my inspiration came from beachers here, specifically Cyndi and Femmecreole, who indicated that they didn't stray far for quite a long time. At first I wondered how long I'd make it, and in retrospect, time passed very quickly.
I agree, that planned cheats are different than the times where something comes up which is out of your control. I think one of the best things for me in adopting this was planning ahead for potlucks at church, and then for all the holiday partys as the year closed down. By sticking to my commitment, I made sure I took a salad with my dressing to every event and took a SBD friendly dessert. It worked great and I continue that habit today.
I kind of thought of it as a "time out". Time out from doritos and donuts....white rice and ramen....potatoes and gravy. All things I could live without for 6 months and replace with something healthy.
I think it's possible to work around the temptations from the family, too. Yesterday I was going to the store, asked DH if he wanted anything, he said "could you bring me a pie?" Ok, I can do that. Later as the pie stared at me, I picked it up, got a plate, knife and fork and put it in his office. When DH leaves food out, I simply put it away and resist tasting first.
When you question yourself, come here. At 6 weeks I "felt" fatter than when I started.
When it took a month to go from 200 to 199, I was encouraged. I still feel fat, and yet yesterday at our club I had the most fantastic comment from the pilates instructor who said I look 10 years younger. Humbling, yet we're all a work in progress.
You'll find your P2 groove by trial and error. Best wishes!
One saying I remember, I saw in someones sig; "No food is neutral, everything you put in your mouth moves you either forward or backward." It makes me think before I eat something....usually...if not, I just get right back on track.