I love bread more than any food in the world. Bread with butter, a plain croissant, a bagel, toast, etc. For years I thought that if I could do without soda, candy, meat, fried stuff, and all other "bad" stuff, I could eat bread with abandon.

Sadly, I know that bread and my tendency to binge on it are one of the main reasons I continue to steadily gain weight. My plan as of now is to do a South Beach style higher-protein, lower-carb, plenty-of-veggies diet. I guess having a strict no-bread-ever policy is one option, at least to lose initial pounds, but how do I re-integrate it without falling horribly off the wagon and into the bakery?

Well, mem, unless your stats are incorrect you've got 10 annoying pounds sticking to you like glue. glue, which is basically what bread is. Glue that turns to sugar in your digestive track.
Try to find a tasty healthy alternative that quenches the monkey. I have sworn bread off entirely. bread is my trigger food.
You might try whole grain brown rice cakes. they are 30 calories each and if you can limit your intake, thats half the battle.

bread is my biggest problem too. i can go through a loaf of some good french peasant or sourdough bread and a brick of cheese in 2 days all by myself. it's amazing and it's sad. now i just don't buy it. for me, there is no alternative. if i can go somewhere and order a sandwich it's one thing, but if it is in the house it is a disaster. when i look at a bagel i picture it like one of those inner tubes that you float in the water in. right around my waistline. that is where it sits. when i eat bread i look like i am wearing an inner tube. and unless i'm floating down the river in a bikini it is not attractive.

for me, i am better off with a daily bowl of ice cream. and that is an acceptable trade off!

I was going to suggest what Katie (my taco bake sistah) did and just get it out and don't have it in the house. Make it a treat once a week (whole grain in Ph2 only, of course) and see how you do and ease from there.

I'm another one! I don't keep bread in the house anymore. Or anything even resembling bread. I have gotten used to life without and will eat it on occasion when I am at a restaurant or meal out of my house where there is not a whole loaf to tempt me.

That said, I know there are others who very successfully eat bread in moderation. But maybe they are not like us bread lovers One thing I have done is find a substitute. We get a whole grain flatbread and my husband (who ha kindly given up bread for me) eats it with everything that he'd normally eat with bread. I use it for things like pizza crust.

Sign me up as another who can't control eating bread. I am just about ready to read "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. That should remind me why I'm healthier without eating it too! He attributes the cravings to a form of addiction we get from eating breads. I find other substitutes for it now....roasted edamame is my favorite crunch food now. Also eat a lot more beans, occasional couscous, sweet potatoes. I really don't eat many grains at all anymore.