Granted, I have only been at this a short while and had a bump in the road (though I am fully on track again--I feel like weight loss/eventually maintaining is akin to that AA motto--one meal at a time, one day at a time), but tonight I noticed something. I was drinking water and it tasted good. So good, I wanted more. Even two weeks ago, I had to force myself to drink water--it didn't taste very good, it made me feel both hungry and a little nauseated. Normally in the evenings, I would work my way through almost 2 liters of (diet) soda. Full disclosure, I still drink diet soda and more than I should, but it is less than it was and I want water, rather than having to force myself. It may not be a big deal, but it was one of those moments where things clicked. "Hey, I'm adjusting to this. I can do this and maybe this time it actually will be different."

Has anyone else had a moment like this? Not specifically water, of course, but those times where the light went on and you realized things were clicking for you and the lifestyle changes really started to stick, not just as a chore but as a natural inclination? "Wow, I really do want/am craving the grilled chicken salad rather than the bacon cheeseburger!" kind of moments?

I'm starting to feel this way about healthy eating. I just don't want to eat too much fat or nutritionally bankrupt meals. If I have a few meals or days where things get out of whack (and I have less control over what I'm eating) I find myself craving lots of lovely veggies with some lovely lean protein. I want salads every day and I can feel it in my tummy later if a meal I've consumed was too fatty.

I'm glad. For me, I think that in order to keep it all off in the long term, I really have to want to eat healthily and to prioritize nutrition over cheap sugar or fat fixes.

On one note, water just sometimes tastes amazing when your thirsty.

But I totally understand what your saying about wanting that healthier choice. I was thinking maybe it is your body sending a message to your brain, like, please please I can't handle a cheeseburger right now. Kinda like today, we have had these amazing brownies in the house from a BBQ on sunday, and I had probably 2 on sunday, 1 yesterday and 1 today and I don't think I'm going to be able to eat chocolate for the next couple weeks. Yeah they were good but after I just felt like complete crap, ya know? SO I think if the opportunity rises for some chocolate cake I think I'd pass it up.

I've had that happen with an amount of vegetables, actually. For too long, my motto sort of was "I don't know what it is, so I don't like it", but you'd figure out that at 28, it'd be high time to shed the kid's mentality about that... And it works. Who would have known that I actually like eggplant?

I have recently started feeling this way about exercise. When I wake up in the morning instead of arguing with myself ("I should go but I don't really want to!") I just get up and go. About a month ago I got up and went running I didn't even realize until half way through my run that I hadn't even thought twice about going out and exercising....I just did it, like habit. I was sooooo excited! I do still have days when I don't really feel like going but atleast 90% of the time I do it without even thinking and even look forward to it!

I definitely crave healthy foods. I rather have a bowl of berries with yogurt than ice cream. I want my Fiber One and Kashi instead of Captain Crunch.

I also crave the healthy stuff now. My tastes have changed so much, it's truly mind boggling.

Bobbie, I'm glad that you're adjusting to this new lifestyle. It really does get easier as you go along, and like I said your tastes change. And you actually WANT and look forward to eating healthy foods. It's such a great feeling. I always admired those people who made their health a top priority by eating properly and exercising - and now I'm one of them. Kinda cool.

It is an adjustment, but for some reason it is clicking better this time. I don't know if it is because I'm staring down the barrel at 30, or if I've just grown p some or what. On previous attempts, every day I had to remind myself to stay on plan, not to eat this thing. I'm also not playing the bargaining game--"if I have this doughnut/cheeseburger/pizza, I'll work out extra hard and only have cereal for dinner" or what-have-you. I am making healthier decisions without really thinking about them; it just feels like the right and natural thing to do. I know it won't be all unicorns and rainbows and I have a long, long way to go, but it is the little things that give me the push to keep on going. It doesn't hurt that everyone here is so helpful, either...

Absolutely - there really comes a point where you just click into your new lifestyle. For me, I realized things were working when I had a day when I wanted to overeat ... but I found myself only wanting HEALTHY stuff. It's just really hard to binge too much on apples and skim milk and Fiber One!

Every day, it seems like I rediscover how much this is clicking with me. Just this morning I found myself really enjoying my low cal Egg Beaters and fat free cheese. I suddenly realized I was thinking "Yum! This is great!" and I laughed because not too long ago I would have turned up my nose at low calorie, fat-free egg beaters and fat free cheese.

Of course, expect that there will be some days when you don't feel as enthusiastic and that doesn't mean you are DOOMED to fall back into old habits. But realizing you like the new lifestyle you've chosen means you are on the right track!