Hello everyone!! I can't believe I stumbled across this site and I just love it!! I just joined today and I am SO excited.

First, I have been a dieter all of my adult life. Took 9 months off three times - you can guess why. Two boys and one girl. Anyway, I am always on a diet! I'm rarely succeeding though! I also exercise weekly - but I go months where I only exercise once a week so I need LOTS of help staying motivated! A part of me knows it has to be a lifetime change and not just a "diet", but the other part refuses to give up white bread and chocolate forever - but I'm working on it!

Turned 40 last year and it is even harder to lose weight than it was before. It used to be hard just to maintain, but now it's harder to lose too! This darned aging thing is for the birds!

Anyway, glad to be on board and am looking forward to all the support and advise I can get from this site!

The great part about it being a lifestyle change...you don't have to give up anything forever. You can make room for the occasionally less-healthy choices by making good choices the majority of the time. The difference is deciding that one less healthy choice isn't going to set off a whole bunch of other less healthy choices.

And you DEFINITELY don't have to give up chocolate. Lots of our maintainers or success stories eat a bit of chocolate every day - and I'm one of them. Of course, the chocolate now comes in dark form, or more commonly, in a chocolate protein shake with extra cocoa powder. 165 calories of high protein chocolate milkshake bliss.

Keep posting and get to know us, and we'll provide tons of motivation and ideas.

I guess forever was too strong. I just know that when I give myself permission to have a "little" I go overboard! Total admiration for those that can have a little everyday and keep it to that!

We have cookies and bite size chocolates at my work that are available to me everyday so I was overindulging and am now just trying to avoid them all together. I think maybe I'll grab a bite size almond joy or snickers in the morning and keep it all day and eat it on the way home. That way I don't have another one so close at hand - I'm very good at going back into the box and grabbing more once I start!

Oh, I'm the same way. When I do allow myself a chocolate candy, I buy a -single- lindt truffle at the bookstore. Once a week or less.

We call those "once I start I can't stop" foods "trigger foods". You have to avoid them, at least for a while, true. But you also lose your taste for them after a while. Or you learn to do without them.

Its a learning process, but you'll get there!

welcome and good luck

What are some of the substitutes you keep arround in case you do get cravings for chocolate? Or a sweat tooth for something like say gummi bears lol....

I actually don't have anything around - although in the past I have had those single servings of pudding. Fortunately/unfortunately I don't quite crave them - but if they are around I will start and can't stop!! So best to avoid them. At least for now.

I got kids in the house 3 of them its hard not to have it arround but pudding would be a good sub :-/