I had an experience like that last night, it is so HOT here and my A/C is on the blink, so we were sweating it out all night with just fans. So mind you I was up all night, THANK GOD there was no junk in the house as I seriously think I would have cracked under pressure and throw in the towel. For me as long as the junk is not available I will be okay.. but yes I fear this everyday, my motivation though is the scale right now

Try sitting down and thinking of a plan for IN CASE you feel like you are going to crack. Make a list of things you could do, friends you could call, etc. I know I always feel better when I have a PLAN even if I never need to use it.

Oh yes.

In fact, I HAVE cracked... more times than I can count. It's okay. The fact you haven't cracked is beautiful, but if you DO, just remind yourself that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life and ask yourself what is more important: a lean, healthier version of yourself who allows you to be more comfortable in your skin... or junk food? In the end, the former always wins.

If you want to be really hardcore, you can always exercise when you crave junk food.

I SOOoo understand this feeling. It's the "waiting for the other shoe to drop" feeling. I get it all the time. THe hardest was when I was first married. I was so very happy. I kept expecting him to wake up one morning, figure out that he'd made a horrible mistake, and for it all to end. It just couldn't continue this way. It was unnatural! Finally, after two or three years, I realized that I no longer felt like I expected that proverbial shoe to drop. That happy married contentedness had become the new "normal." And we were stuck for life!

It's really a matter of "talking back" to that voice of defeat. It says "it's just a matter of time" and you reply "That's bull****! For month after month it's been going well. That shows that I HAVE made the commitment this time, and I AM learning the skills I need, and I AM getting the support necessary to succeed at this. I am succeeding and I will continue to succeed."

Then you just continue on your plan day by day until that voice is completely defeated in a flood of your fabulousness!

So what is you do crack? I cracked in May. Seriously cracked. It took me 6 weeks and 10lbs to get back on track. But so what? I'm back on track and I'm happier. Sure it would have been nice if I hadn't had such a difficult 6 weeks but I don't have a time machine. Now, I just understand my triggers better and I have a better plan in mind for dealing with stressful situations.

And you may never crack. Or you might. What matters is what you choose to do about it. You can say "oh, poor me, I guess I'm just gonna be fat still" or you can take control and change the situation that made you crack in the first place

Have you found healthy substitutes for the kind of food that you are craving?
I always craved sweets but after a year of changing my diet, I am very satisfied with the low calories substitutes that I eat. So I don't have those feelings of "cracking" anymore. It's important for long term weight loss that you feel very satisfied with what you are eating. Otherwise, you are strictly working on "willpower" which is not always easy to find. Good luck!

I don't really feel like binging at all... but I do wonder what would happen if something really really stressful hit... the way my life is working right now, all my good habits are in place, but I worry that if I had to deal with a major upheaval, I might have a lot more trouble.

When I start to feel overwhelmed, I remind myself that this process is only one day at a time no matter what my goals or fears are. I can't change the fact that I need to do this and that no matter how much I want to lose weight fast or how badly I'd love to be in a skimpy swimsuit, I can only do this one step at a time. It helps me get perspective.

As your journey progresses you will devise strategies and develop skills for staying on plan during social events, stress, anger, happiness, sorrow and just plan old craving. You'll learn how to tell yourself no. Your cravings will also diminish as you go along. The longer and longer you go with out certain foods, the less and less you'll want it. You also must remember that just because you want something - doesn't mean you have to have it. The craving WILL pass. Every time you get through a rough period unscathed, you will build more and more confidence. It will get easier, not harder. It will be just what you do and how you live.

Make certain to find foods that you LOVE. Delicious, healthy foods that are lower in calories. Experiment with different recipes. It takes a while to develop a repertoire of healthy foods and snacks, but it will happen. Be creative. If what you're eating is so yummy and enjoyable to you, there will be less reason for you to *give in* to the unhealthy stuff.

And don't forget to plan ahead - always. Map out your food schedule in advance. Much easier to stay on plan when you've got one.

It would be great right this second to come up with a recovery plan, for the time, not if, but when, you do crack. Because it's pretty much a given that it's inevitable. Cracking does not mean that this journey is over. That's what you must remember. It's a blip in the road. You get tripped up, you dust yourself off - immediately - and jump right back on. Minimize the damage.

I think even the most dedicated dieter, with years of maintenance, can sometimes slip up big time or hit an event in life that throws their habits out the window. Cracking isn't a sin, it doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't doom you to a life of permanent fatness from there on out... But NOT regaining control after a crack very well COULD do that to you! You really have to decide what is important and get back on the horse when you fall off. That is what distinguishes a successful loser or normal person from a yo yo dieter

It happens. And if it happens, you need to be accountable with yourself enough to say "Okay, I binged, but enough is enough and I'm going to get back at it right away". It's all about picking yourself back up again. It's also about understanding that if you skip those work outs and eat that food you know you shouldn't have, you will have to make up for it somehow.

Either it will be extra work outs or being more careful with your food choices, or suffering a little longer to lose that weight. You have to want it bad enough!

If I had never slipped up back in Dec, I would probably be at goal weight by now. But I didn't start eating right until April and didn't start weighing again and working out until May. I lost four months of time that I could have been losing weight!

Thank you so much for asking this; I thought I was the only one with this constant fear of, as many have said, "waiting for the other shoe to drop." I've started so many diets/lifestyle changes in the past and then given up 10 to 20 pounds in, that I'm just waiting for that "meh, I give up" feeling to kick in again. I don't want it to!!!

I worry more about cracking and then never going back... and to keep falling down the slippery slope that cracked. XD If you can handle slipping up once in awhile, even if it's just one day, it's not so bad as long as you get back on track as soon as you realize it.

This is why it's ESSENTIAL to make an ironclad commitment *to do this*, no matter what, once and for all and PERMANENTLY. Remember why you began this journey in the first place.

You make that ironclad life long commitment to good health, eating well, exercise and being the best you possible. Second best is no longer good enough. You're done settling. You decide you are going for best. Better is no simply not an option, not when best is available.

And of course committing to a life time of being a healthy weight and all that it entails does allow for indulgences once in a while - even if they're *unplanned* (cracking). You've slipped, you've made the wrong choice (this time), it doesn't mean that your commitment is out the door - it just means you lost focus for a bit, had a small lapse - it's normal, to be expected .

It's that commitment that will get you right back to the healthy ways. So you can rely on that commitment and the good habits that you've obtained during this process. Because good habits, once established are just as hard to break as bad ones.

When you're doing this long enough, it won't feel *right* to have those slip-ups. you'll feel *off* and you will WANT to get back to your good eating/exercise plan. And if you're not there yet - fall back on that commitment.