What would you say is your one thing, your secret weapon that has helped you reach your goal or allow you to get closer to goal?

I know that many things work with many others, like diet AND exersize, not diet OR exersize, but I'm curious about the one thing that really sent the weight coming off..

Was it one food you ommitted? A book you read? Not so much what caused you to decide to lose weight, but what helped you to actually start losing?

Thanks so much!

If there was a degree in weight loss efforts, we'd all have PhD's

totally gave up regular soda over a year ago.

Having a personal trainer. It's expensive but I can't think of a better way to have spent my money. I would have been just another gym dropout without the training.

- Barbara

3fc!!!

My journal.

My Journal and GUM

The one thing that has helped me stick with optifast, and do it how it should be done is completely changing my mindset.
Definitely, having the time before starting the program to really get into a positive mentality (instead of my usual defeatist mentality that its not gonna work) has helped me make it through the rough spots... my "bad" times are not nearly as bad as they have been during past efforts.
Finding a new outlook on life, food, relationships, etc... how things *could* be if I changed how I looked at and related to, well, everything has helped me stay on track too.

it's gotta be the 3fc website - it has kept me movitated, on track and has been an invaluable resource for answers to my stupid questions!

Definitely 3FC. I may have not lost anything, but this site does an awesome job on keeping me motivated.

Planning - I make purchasing decisions that allow me to eat healthy meals during the week, and

Preparation - I'm not a morning person, so if I have fruit and celery already cut up and in baggies, a healthy (and inexpensive) lunch and breakfast becomes much more likely.

Sue

Journaling.

Rainy

I'm with you on this one. Woah! I portion some of my foods as soon as they arrive home and put them in separate baggies. Sometimes I put all those baggies in the original container/box/bag that it came in so I know the nutritional info and it makes for easy storage. This week I wrote down all the spices I currently own (and threw away some of the really old ones) and I will be buying some that I know I will use on the super foods and on the fat flush plans. I will put color coded dots so I am encouraged to use these more often.

Now that you mention planning. That really was my biggest one. Mine is MAKING A MASTER PLAN. This means writing down every food I can think of that will go great with my diet. My categories are: Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, Snacks, Veggies, Fruit, Dairy, and Meat. I use this to help grocery shop (though I add new stuff all the time). I use this to help me answer a post. I use this to keep me from being in a rut. I use this to remind myself that dieting is not limiting.

1 tablespoon of whipped PB (70 calories) on a whole wheat La Tortilla Wrap (50 calories of good fat, protein, and calcium) for breakfast and 1 tablesppon of whipped PB with 1/2 serving of mini Chocolate Chip and/or Honey teddy grahams (26 minis is 65 calories) for an afternoon snack.

The PB really fills me in the morning and curbs my appetite in the afternoon. On the mornings I don't have the PB I feel like I want to eat everything-NOW!

I do whipped because you save 50 calories for 2 TB and it taste the same and fills me the same. Love my PB!

I stopped feeling sorry for myself and drew on the persistence and resilience that has helped me achieve other goals in life.

As hokey as this sounds.... a "can" attitude. No excuses.

None.