unwanted137lbs, Thanks. What you wrote explains how I am so easily able to reset my eating patterns after a stomach virus. It helps me to clarify the issue.

I admire you for the treadmill. I have a jogging trampoline. But am exercise avoidant to the max.

TheSatinPumpkin, great work. I love to see those success photos.

As for me, the best results I have is when I go low fat AND low carb. One alone does not really suffice for me. I have noticed that when my brain gets accustomed to the low carbs, the cravings are diminished.

I seriously recommend Plant Nanny for those of you with iPhones/iPads to keep track of exactly how much water you are drinking. I know it sounds silly but drinking the right amount of water has caused me to trim up and feel so much better these last few days. I know it's been boosting my weight loss because I used to be horrible with drinking water and the difference is feeling remarkable.

It's just so cute and motivates me so much because I love love love cute things and I don't want my little plant buddy to be dehydrated. (God forbid, lol, funny how I think of that thing before myself.) It's just one of those small steps that encourage me to make better choices all the way around. Just a fun little something to consider.

Cool, I will have to look this up! Thanks

Wannabe thanks, I never thought about that, WOW!

Having a cup of joe always keeps me on track!

I'm one of those who needs to track food on paper, too. (I've tried the apps and the websites, but they just drive me crazy. I have my pretty little notebook and I just jot things down as I go). That's my #1 KEY secret, it hardly matters what else I do at this point.

Another huge one for me is meal planning, and food prep. I often have my whole week's worth of lunches already made up and in the fridge. I also measure out food portions ahead of time so I can just grab and go, and I make extra meals and freeze them in serving sizes so I'm never without a good and easy alternative.

I keep healthy snacks in my desk at work so I'm not caught facing leftover meeting muffins or something.

I don't remember to do this very often, but after lunch and after dinner, if I brush my teeth that really helps to curb the urge to snack. My mouth feels clean and fresh and I don't want to undo that, etc.

I LOVE the idea of carrying around some before pictures to remind me where I was. I think I'm going to do that one. (I have some motivational Pinterest style quotes and pictures pasted in the back of my food log, which is kind of similar and helps me out a lot).

A tip that I don't think I've seen yet on this thread - eat your veggies first when you sit down to dinner. I start with my veggies, then move on to the protein and carbs. This way, I end to feel sated earlier, and am not looking for larger portions (or seconds) of the other stuff on my plate. If I start with the carbs, I would be more tempted to eat that and the protein, then look for more bread/rice/taters or chicken/beef/fish and get "too full" for the veggies.

I also hate plain water, but love seltzer, so I buy the flavored (non-sweetened) cans of it and have a couple over the course of the day at work and another with dinner. In addition to the water I have at lunch and dinner, I get a good amount of water in each day.

My tips are to plan ahead exactly what meals and snacks you're going to eat (on paper, electronic, or whatever), and cook/prepare as many of those meals as possible, and freeze them in single portions with calorie counts listed on them. You'll always have healthy foods available in just a few minutes, and it's the biggest time and money saver.

Also, incorporate vegetables into your meals instead of relegating them as "a side." Stuff your chicken breasts with veggies, make vegetable based sauces, make your meatballs, meatloaf, and burgers with veggies mixed in, eat veggie noodles and rice, add as many vegetables into one-pot meals as you can (shredded, pureed, or finely chopped).

My biggest "tips" are to eat plenty of vegetables and be calorie-aware.

For me, getting on the scale every day keeps me accountable. I've done this enough that the normal daily fluctuations don't sway me much.

And love yourself. Seriously. Being good to myself and healthy mentally helps me a good deal in this process.

Skipping meals puts ur body into starvation mode it holds onto fat longer so u can" live longer". Try moderating ur meal size and drink as much water as possible with every meal ice water actually burns calories faster than room temp or warm water because ur body uses more energy to get the ice water to get to ur body temp. also eat as much veggies as u can.

If I do get hungry after dinner, I like to make an "icee". I typically use the juice of a fresh grapefruit and ice, blended in my vitamix with a little stevia. Gives me enough of something to tide me over until morning.

Great tip re: going to bed when hungry, BTW. I have noticed that too subconsciously too, but you pointing it out is really going to help me implement that as a strategy!

Here's my diet tip that I am starting today - If it is not in the house, you can't eat it! Cat jumped on me at 2:00am and woke me up. Stomach growling for something sweet, I usually grab an Atkins bar. However, saw the Pepperage Farms Tahoe cookies. Uncontrollably ate 4 and they were the big ones. Managed to get back to sleep, but woke up with a nasty headache. Never should have bought them! Back to plan this morning.....