Ppppt.

I feel like a newbie. I was plodding along quite well, happily eating my calories and my body had adjusted nicely. It was easy. I was in total control!

Then the weight loss stopped. So now I'm trying to drop the calories, largely by cutting out sweets.

It's hard! It's like starting all over again! I can't seem to get a "good" day under my belt! Now none of these days have been OFF plan at all...they've just been days like every other day of this past year.

But I can't seem to get ONE day without chocolate in some form or other. Previously I was allowing chocolate. I can't seem to get through even just one day within my new calorie range. It feels exactly like it did at the beginning. I am ravenous and childishly feeling like I'll never get to eat chocolate again, which is ridiculous considering I haven't actually denied myself chocolate yet!

Anyway...I know a few of you out there fighting the same thing right now. Here's a shout out to all the newbie-old-timers..

By the way, today so far has been good. But the trouble starts around 3:30...it's only 1:30. I'm already ravenous, which is not good! My plan is to attack the hunger with a bowl of veggies when I get home. NOT chocolate!

Eliana - this is exactly where I am! I finally dropped another pound, but I'm moving so slow. My downfall lately is sweet potatoes - I'm addicted - and DH brought home sweet potato chips last night. I gave him a list - what made him think that he should improvise?! I have to cut my calories a little more but - I don't wanna, don't wanna, don't wanna....

On the upside - nasty SIL who I haven't seen in probably 8 months walked right past me at Walmart and didn't seem to recognize me! Maybe I can use this to hide from her at family gatherings over the holidays????

Get. The. Chocolate. Out. Of. The. House. Instead of having to be *so strong*, don't have it available. You can't eat it if it's not there.

Know exactly what you will be eating instead of the chocolate. Have something ready and good to go when the hunger hits.

Remember your soda addiction (I read about it recently on another thread)? Same thing with chocolate. But you will have to work through a few uncomfortable moments. Push yourself. You're working SO hard - kick it up a notch. Amaze yourself.

kulchick, sweet potatoes are something I do not do in moderation. Pure candy to me, disguised as a veggie. As healthy as they are, they don't work for me. The only times I really eat them is when I'm out in a restaurant. I order one and I am therefore guaranteed to not eat more than that.

Could you maybe "wean" yourself off? Do HALF a piece of chocolate a day for a while? Or maybe a piece every OTHER day?

How many calories per day are you going to? I found it hard when I went from 1500 to 1200. I ended up making it a range of 1200 - 1300 and find that difficult at times, but to balance that, sometimes 1200 is easy. It is surprising how much difference that 300 calories make to me.

Good Luck, Eliana! From a chocoholic. I have to keep it out of the house.
Unless, it's frozen.

I'm with Robin on this one. I can't have it in my house; if it isn't here, I don't have the dedication enough to go out and buy it.

And you will get to have it again! Its not like someone is going to eat it all while you're off chocolate

I've been putting a scoop of chocolate protein powder in my smoothie in the morning (I have one for breakfast) and I've convinced myself that it's the only chocolate I need for the day. Maybe you could try something like that? I know it's not the same as really good chocolate, but it might be worth a try. Plus the smoothie tastes like a chocolate-strawberry shake, so it feels like a cheat.

As far as the sweet potato addiction, as long as I don't have leftover cooked sweet potatoes, I'm okay. I hate peeling and chopping sweet potatoes, so the uncooked ones in the pantry are safe. I always have to be careful to only cook one serving for myself though or I'll eat them like candy the next day.

rockinrobin - exactly! get it out of reach!

and what works for me, especially on sugar, is to cut it OFF for at least a week before you try to do moderation. its addictive, really strong dopamine reaction in the brain. and really, im better if I just steer 100% clear.

god Im having flashbacks to a peanut butter mnm incident earlier this year - we started stocking them in the office and i couldnt stop taking 3-4 here and there as a 'treat'. had to cut myself off 100% as the line between 30 extra calories and 300 extra calories blurred fast.

I eat the extra dark (90% cacao) kind because I can eat it in controlled portions There is very little sugar in it so I can be in control.

Another vote for "don't keep it in the house." There's nothing more awful than staring at a food you're not supposed to eat and having it within reach!

I keep my house bare-bones empty with no ready-to-eat food at all besides bananas and buy my groceries one day at a time because I'm almost always too lazy to walk 10 minutes to the 7-11 to buy a snack.

I don't know if this will trigger you to want the real thing, but I love diet cocoa. The kind I drink has 25 calories. I find it really filling and satisfying and kind of comforting now that our weather has turned colder.

I was eating chocolate chips daily, and I finally DID stop buying them. I discovered I wasn't the only one in the family having issues with them. But chocolate is EVERYWHERE! Even if it's not in the house, it's at work.

And right now my house is stocked with crap, unfortunately. We supported the kids across the street by buying Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, frozen, ready to bake. Oh my! And DH had to have the brownies. And my birthday cake has been hanging out all week. And my boys are selling popcorn. We bought the chocolate covered variety as way of helping them out. I didn't think they'd sell more than $200 worth so we bought the $40 popcorn. Then they each sold $500!! I've been white knuckling it against all that. This is so unusual at our house. We usually have nothing like any of that. And I can usually throw away left over birthday cake, but DH actually made this one, so I couldn't throw it away! It's one thing when I make it...it's quite another when HE makes it, something I think he's down twice in our marriage.

Excuses, excuses.

Cheryl, I'm trying 1000. 1200 wasn't working anymore. And in fact 1200 this week has me up five pounds. I've been trying 1000 but I can't seem to manage it. I'm not worried about the five pounds because I'm pretty sure I'm losing inches with that gain. I think it's water retention. I finally found that sweet spot at the gym again where I tax my muscles to the point of utter I-can't-lift-that-silly-5-lb-weight-even-one-more-time fatigue. That means success to me. And I think that means I'm toning again. It's been a while since I was able to push myself to that extent.

Anyway, thanks for the support! And Kuchick, sweet potatoes as your treat is cracking me up. I like them...but I think I like them as a vegetable. LOL! I used to smother them in butter and cinnamon and sugar. That was candy! But just a sweet potato with a touch of butter is a vegetable. I have not problem eating a portion. I guess that's a good thing! How funny.

And what about the "I don't want to" reaction to giving up chocolate? I wanted to give up pop. I knew I wouldn't miss it. I knew it wasn't healthy. There's just something about chocolate...

Yep keep it out of the house.
Don't buy it
Don't go shopping hungry
avoid the isles with chocolate and bad things - if you have to get something else from that isle get 4 times the about you would usually to save yourself the temptation
for the tempters at work - you can get chocolate protein bars, keep one or two in your handbag and only use in case of emergency, incase you can't resist -but try to resist.
I've only just started calorie counting - and already I'm noticing what are the most satisfying 'bang for the calorie' for me at the moment - it's humous on warmed lebanese bread at midday and the skinny cappuccinos at 2:30pm gets me through to dinner.

whenever my boss (and I've picked up this habit from him) has baked goods, candy or something he doesn't eat he brings it into work. He used to put it on oun the credenza by me, but we had a talk about that. I would share the lovely goods. have hubby take them to work, offer some to the neighbors, homeless shelters. I do the samething when i support the annual girl scout cookie selling frenzy, buy a box, have a few and leave the rest for co-workers.