I count calories, so theoretically, nothing is off limits to what I can eat as long as I stay under my calorie count. Of course, it is in my best interest to get the most out of my calories and I'd much rather have a day of eating filling and healthy food verses a tiny amount of calorie dense foods.

That being said, I do have certain "rules" that I follow. Certain foods are just out of the question.

1) I do not drink my calories. Regular soda and even calorie rich juices I'm just not having AT ALL. We a few minor setbacks I basically stopped drinking alcohol. Drinking calories takes away from foods that I could be eating and it does nothing for me other than hinder my long term plans.

2) No deep fried foods. The visual imagery I have of a plate of french fries is just a mound of fat. It annoys me to no end that most restaurants serve fries as the traditional side to just about any sandwich. I will always substitute a side salad or if that isn't possible I make it known that I do not want to see fries at all.

3) No pizza. This is more of a personally thing for me as pizza was perhaps the single leading contributor to my morbid obesity. It is a trigger food for me and one that does nothing to keep me full. I have been known to consume 4,000 or 5,000 calories in one sitting eating large pizzas.

For me, there is no temptation when I've made something a rule. It takes the "inner dialogue" away where we argue with ourselves whether we should have something or not (often using logic like "but I've been good I deserve a treat", etc. that makes one cave in). When you make something a rule, there is no argument. End of discussion. I'M NOT HAVING IT.

Do you have certain rules you follow? If so, what?

that is really helpful. soda is something i have GOT to eliminate- i am down to 2 cokes/day, and i know i could be losing half a pound/week just from getting rid of soda.

my rules:

1) except for my 2 sodas/day (which i am working at eliminating)- i don't eat/drink anything with HFCS.

2) I don't eat anything that contains MSG (and A LOT of things do, surprisingly).

3) I don't eat or drink anything with artificial sweetners (no aspartame, splenda, etc.) they give me headaches and make me crave real sugar and carbs.

4) I don't eat anything with Red Dye 40.

5) i don't eat at parties and limit myself to one or two beverages. i find the unconscious eating at parties is ultimately unfulfilling, and unsatisfying and i always end up feeling unsatisfied.

6) i don't share at restaurants. it helps me with portion control to look at my plate and judge how much i've eaten that way.

7) I don't eat doughnuts (trigger food that leaves me totally hungry an hour later).

8) I don't eat McDonald's or any other fast food. If I really need something to eat when I'm on the go, I will go the gas station and get a granola bar, some fruit, and a bottle of water.

9) I don't eat food off my kids' plates after they're finished. (this is a rule I'm aspiring to- i really need to work on this...)

great thread!

Hmm, I hadn't thought about it in those terms, but now that you mention it--yeah, I do have rules.

- Like you, I won't drink my calories. Soda was never a problem for me, but juices and super-sweet iced teas were. Now it's unsweetened teas and water. It's actually been a beneficial change taste-wise, too--food tastes better when I drink water instead of something syrupy and sweet.

- No salty snacky stuff. I used to tell myself that because Cheez-Its or pretzels were only X calories per serving, they were "better" than junky Chee-tos or potato chips, foods I always knew were no-nos for me. But as I could never eat them "per serving" and instead ate them until my fingertips were dessicated from the salt and I felt grossly overstuffed, I had to cut them out entirely. It's easier for me to eat none at all than to eat "just a little" of those foods.

- Exercise is non-negotiable. Back in the 90s when I worked two retail jobs and was on my feet constantly, I lost 70 pounds just by cutting calories. I never internalized the lessons about exercise because I didn't see my jobs as exercise. Now that I have a sedentary job, I absolutely must make time to walk, lift, or even do vigorous housework at least thirty minutes a day, preferably longer. Unless my leg spontaneously falls off, I will get up and walk; if my leg does pop off, I will get up and hop.

- No beignets. It makes me sad to think of cutting out beignets--a food that has nothing but the happiest associations for me, from childhood breakfasts to late nights with friends--forever, but I have declared a moratorium on them while I'm in the process of losing and will never eat a full serving of them again even as I maintain my eventual weight loss. Beignets have 540 calories each and come three to a serving; no amount of happy memories outweighs that kind of gut-bomb.

By the way, Matt, your weight loss is stunning and you look terrific!

No candy, no chips, no fried food, no rice, no pasta, no potatoes, no junk food and no more than 1 slice of whole grain bread a day.

Most of my "rules" are more like guidelines, but I have a few definitive ones.

1. NO soda, none. I can't, not ever. It's my drug.

2. Like Matt, I do not drink my calories. I will drink soy milk, but limited and I consider it "food".

My guidelines are:

1. No HFCS if I know about it and if it can be avoided. I will indulge at parties, restaurants, special events, etc.
2. Avoid chocolate. Actually, it's more like I will eat chocolate full well knowing it's going to take me three days after that bite to reduce the craving again. Can I live with that? Is this piece worth that?
3. Only WW flour, when possible.
4. I eat whole foods, almost entirely.
5. No chips, except on rare special occasion. Fortunately this is no longer a trigger food, though I do tend to overindulge in one sitting.

* I don't drink my calories either - but that's no biggy, I never have been crazy about either alcohol or soft drinks.

* I don't eat junk food.

* I don't eat anything artificial - sweeteners, low-cal 'butter' etc. If I have occasional tsp of sugar on my strawberries or butter on a cracker, I have a tiny amount of the real thing.

* I don't often eat real bread but if I do, only at either breakfast or lunch, not both, and never dinner.

* I don't eat carbs other than veg. at the evening meal.

* I don't eat a meal after 8pm.

* I don't eat chocolate ~ 1 piece is never enough.

* If I'm offered unexpected cakes or cookies, I always say no.

I need to create some rules. I wish I could see french fries as a mound of fat. I need to visualize these things and stick with them! Thanks for sharing your rules.

Interesting thoughts...

I guess I do have a few "rules" for myself now that I think about it.

1.) No soda unless I'm out to eat (and not always even then). I used to drink soda all the time and switched to water...now I view soda as a "treat" instead of a normal drink. So far it works for me.

2.) No ice cream. I can't. I have no self control at all when it comes to ice cream.

3.) No "picking" at food while I'm cooking or putting the food away or just...whenever. If I'm going to eat something then I need to dish out a serving, put it on a plate and eat it.

I am also a calorie counter. I only have two rules, but I keep them strict. I'm really afraid that if I break them, it's gonna be down-hill. For the last 10 months and 28 days I have not broken either of these:
- No sugar of any kind
- No white bread - (I have 1 slice of whole grain sprouted bread once a day at lunch and that's it for bread in general)
and adding this one which I didn't consciously realize was a rule until ya'll mentioned it:
- no drinking calories (except soy milk on occasion in my tea if I am hungry in the morning before breakfast)

I also have loads of guidelines that I fudge here and there, but for the most part, stick pretty close to:
- no white carbs
- no processed food
- 1 hour of walking a day, at least 4 days a week
- drink lots of water/tea

I don't drink my calories (other than fat free H & H and fat free milk in my coffee and tea)

I don't eat "fast food" ever! If I eat out then I'm going where I can get food that is better than I can cook at home. This is becoming an issue since I've become a really good cook.

I don't eat white flour or rice

Once dinner is done and I've had my small treat (dark chocolate) I don't eat any more food.

I don't buy packaged meals and I really try to eat as close to whole foods as I can get.

Like all you others, I will NOT drink my calories.

-No pastries, ever, including donuts, cakes, bagels, etc.

-Red meat only ONCE a week.

-Never get seconds. Once it's done, I'm done.

-Candy, once a week. Chocolate, maybe once a quarter.

-Burger-Once a month, but only half of one.

-Pizza, once a month, but only 2 slices.

-No regular potato chips. I stick to unsalted pretzels.

- No booze

- For snacks, anything I put in my mouth, has to be 100 calories or less. I found these GREAT 100 cal ice cream sandwiches from klondike, and they are really satisfying! I find myself only craving one maybe once ever two weeks.

-Never get seconds. Once it's done, I'm done.

This made me think of another rule that I have. NO BUFFETS.

This was violated a few weeks ago when I met up with a friend for brunch. She drove and she picked the place and I didn't realize it was a buffet until I got there. I went overboard and regretted it. There is an interesting psychology to "getting your money's worth" that is at play in a buffet and I just can't place myself in that situation any more.

I'm with the majority on this - no DRINKING of my calories, including juices. I'd much rather have a nice pulpy real ORANGE than a glass of juice. Basically, all I drink is water, and 1% milk. I gave up soda (diet) pretty early on as I think it's going to be the "smoking" of our generation, they just won't find out about for 20 more years!

Other than that, I tend to stay away from really fatty deep fried stuff as it tastes gross to me now. Baked stuff only if it's my OWN and I can calculate the calories (a bakery cookie i put at about 250 cals turned out to be 600! that's right SIX HUNDRED CALORIES lol).

I won't let food control me anymore so I don't say "i'm never eating ice cream" Most times I choose not to because it's not much caloric bang for the buck, but sometimes i do have it, one scoop and enjoy it and put it away.

I admit I took a bite of the KFC "Double Down" just to say I tried it! it wasn't as horrific as I thougth LOL a WHopper is worse!

Matt yours and mine are pretty much the same.

Also, no buffets here. There is a chinese place up the street from me, it was killing me (literally) cuz it got to the point that I was there more often than I wasn't. I am now just saying NO to buffets!

I can't drink alcohol, my answers as to why are not very fun, which is why I dont' drink:

1.) No matter how much I drink I am sober about 2 hours later.
2.) I get hungover before I even leave the bar.
3.) I don't sleep a wink when I drink. (I'm bipolar, alcohol makes me manic)
4.) I have enough trouble staying hydrated as is, and I get VERY dehydrated when I drink.
5.) I kind of hate the taste of alcohol anyhow!

fun fact: I never drank until I was 27. Drank socially for a year before deciding it was more trouble than it was worth! Suprrised it took me that long!

I've also never been a pop drinker, and I'd also rather eat fruit than drink juice.

No soda including diet, no HFCS, no sugar, no chocolate;
I HATE buffets, things are never hot enough, cold enough, people germ them up and I agree, you always want to try one of everything and end up eating too much;
no white rice, white pasta, white bread (which kills me, I'm Italian)

Can I add I saw for the first time some sugar free cake mix, I forget which brand, and thought I am going to try this! My husband thought it was fine but it actually made me vomit, not sure what is in it but it definitely didn't like me! Lesson learned, no more of that stuff