girl... i could have posted this..lol i just lost 50 poundz and you think the though of gaining it all back would scare me... but it doesnt stop me from shovling the food in my mouth... i find having to come on here and post when im doing badly helps because the fact is we are human we will fail at times but its what we do it the next instant that will determine how we affect the future.. for me im starting hard core..2mo.. also gum is becoming a friend when i bake so i dont pick while i cook..

Making the decision to be fit, trim and healthy is the first stop. Then comes that all important COMMITMENT phase.

Once those two are taken care of, this must happen:

YOU MUST SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS!!!

Forget the iron willpower (control), it's just there in the beginning (or ever???). It's NOT going to fall into your lap - ever. So therefore we have to plan, plan and plan some more.

DON'T THROW NEEDLESS TEMPTATION IN YOUR FACE. Find ways AROUND your obstacles. Don't bake. Period. "This" is too important.

Making the decision and then the commitment to lose the weight is fine and dandy - essential in fact. BUT IT MUST BE FOLLOWED THROUGH. You must make a plan. And you MUST find strategies to "get you through". You bite it, you write it. No baking. WHATEVER IT TAKES. WHATEVER IT TAKES. WHATEVER IT TAKES. Don't wait for that control to fall in your lap - it won't ever happen. You have to go out there and reel it in.

I am NOT going to bake....

I don't like that feeling of constantly having to remind myself "don't eat it, don't eat it."

Maybe someday I can bake again, but now is not the time.

I have this problem also, I stopped baking was the only thing I could seem to "control" I love to bake but I can't stop myself from eating what I made. Then I feel awful so the only solution for me was to stop baking. I do have to make 2 dozen cookies for my son's school but I won't do that till the day before otherwise I will be baking them over and over as I eat them over and over ha-ha!!

RockinRobin...did u say WHATEVER IT TAKES?
Don't ya just love a smart a$$
Seriously...I think I am going write that down and make it my new motto. Cuz it is uplifting and non shaming! I love it!

Snarta$$? Hmmm. Interesting word-age . But yeah - whatever it takes.

One quote that I love (I love a lot of them actually):

"You can't achieve extraordinary results, unless you take extraordinary measures."

Whatever it takes. Think outside the box. SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS. FIND ways to make this work. Make a game of it. Challenge yourself. Push yourself. Aim HIGH.

Robin... you forgot one of your sayings...... "you chose your hard"..... is it hard to resist the baking or not eating everything your want? Or is it hard not being able to walk up stairs, fit in a decent size jean, breathe, or whatever pushed you to your WL journey to begin with..... so, as RocknRobin has said in another thread..... CHOSE YOUR HARD.

I also love to cook/bake, but these days I only cook foods that are very lean and healthy, and I almost never bake anymore. I only bake when I have company over and I know I can pawn off all of the goods or have everyone else eat the cakes/cookies/brownies/etc before I get to it. My self-control weakens when I cook hearty, rich foods and baked goods/sweets. The holidays are a hard time of year when it comes to maintaining self-control, but so far this year I've been doing fantastically. I'm staying away from alcohol completely, which is helping. Alcohol has a lot of calories, and it's served way too often during the holidays. I pass up sweets and desserts completely, or I take a small bite and that's it. I do eat everything else, but in small portions. And if I've eaten more than I should for a particular meal, I make up for it by eating very lean and low calorie foods for the next few meals. It's better to overindulge a little bit and then go back on track right away, instead of giving up because your perfectionist record was ruined.

Oh no. I don't get credit for that one (or the one above either, they're borrowed words), though I'm sure I've used it, it's brilliant - Losing weight is hard, maintaining weight is hard, staying fat is hard - choose your hard.

Yeah why not choose the hard with fantastic benefits??? Makes sense, no? They're all hard - CHOOSE THE ONE WITH BENEFITS. And really when you get into this - it's not all that hard. Really. You've. Just. Got. To. Give. It. A . Chance. To. Become. Your. New. Normal.

Give it a chance. Work past the discomfort. Allow it to be come natural and comfortable to yourself.

You r confusing me what is a snart?

Sorry. Didn't mean to confuse you. It was a typo. I meant sMart, not sNart.

Thank You All for your words of wisdom and Your own personal stories of how you handled Holiday eating. Like Rockin Robin says do What Ever It Takes!
I know I need to work on planning better.

Hmm...I like this line of thinking quite a lot!

It is HARD to clip my toenails. But regardless, I have to do it.
It is HARD to resist the staff donuts. But if I want to clip my toenails with ease, I have to do it.

It is HARD to walk up the stairs. But I have to do it, and several times a day at work!
It is HARD to stay within my calorie goal. But if I want to walk up the stairs with ease, I have to do it.