Seeing results motivates me. Any kind of success (like another day of not eating pop and chips) is motivating, I feel proud of myself for sticking with my goals for another 24 hours.

I try not to bring junky food in the house. I put a ban on soda and chips. My boyfriend recently asked that I not buy little sweet things like chocolates or jellybeans (would you believe I like jellybeans in jars for decor? They're so pretty and i don't like them so I don't eat them, but he does), so they're on the current ban list too.

I let myself have plenty of other food, so I don't feel deprived, and not all of it is healthy - I organized a meeting last night and took care of the meal, and dessert was banana cream pie. I had a piece. It was awesome. I ate well for the rest of the day, and I don't eat pie all the time, but I don't punish myself for having dessert now and then. We don't keep it in the house, though, or I might be tempted!

Also, I've been down this road before, and these things worked for me. I imagine they'll work again, and this time I intend to work harder to keep the results. That's motivating for me.

I take a bit of a different slant on things.

For me, I've found it's all about focus on the good decisions/behaviors. If I'm thinking a lot about good behaviors through the day, making decisions before things sneak up on me etc, it means I'm focused.

And in turn if I am not focused it means I am apathetic which almost immediately turns into eating poorly.

Soda is an easy one, I told myself on day 1 - I don't drink sugary soda. Making it a yes/no, black/white made it totally easy for me. I don't do that. To be fair, I was never a soda addict, always more of a take it or leave it person with soda (I had a lot of vices, but soda wasn't one of them). I did love the occasional root beer (or root beer with vanilla ice cream!), but I don't miss soda at all.

I completely gave up chips (for the most part) and only eat candy rarely. I have found that white carby/sugary foods make it hard for me to eat a reasonable portion. If I eat a chip, I want another chip and another chip. I hate that feeling a lot more than I like the taste of chips. I will generally think to myself "self, how will you feel after you eat all those chips?"

Chips are just a non entity in my life. If I make a sandwich, I will be planning to have something healthier on the side, like sweet potato french fries or carrot sticks or sugar snap peas or maybe apple slices. I don't buy them, they don't come in the house.

I do occasionally eat candy but considering the calorie cost, I try to make it something really special. I haven't had a regular candy bar since I started over 5 years ago. I don't like them enough to indulge. I do buy bars of expensive dark chocolate (World Market has a fabulous dark chocolate sea salt bar that I love). I break it into squares and eat it 100 calories or so at a time. For some reason, very wonderful dark chocolate does not trigger my EAT EAT EAT reaction.

What keeps me motivated...living as a size 6 person. I've now been at goal weight for 5 years and it's still a miracle, every day. I remind myself that I had that chance to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. The food might have tasted good, but I was a miserable person, full of self loathing, avoiding cameras, mirrors, trapped in one pair of fat girl jeans.

Now, I eat carefully, mindfully and I am a happy person. I smile more, I love pictures of myself, I don't mind getting naked in the boudoir (tmi?). No potato chip or Nestles Crunch bar is worth losing what I have now.

I'm not perfect, I do slip occasionally, but it's hardly ever soda or chips or candy! My slips are generally social situations with cheese/crackers/wine/desserts.

Both of these are great ideas, thank you!

This time around losing weight I am "in it to win it" and set up good habits for the long term. I'm trying to be a lot more conscious about the flavor of food and if I am really enjoying it. From what it seems for some of us certain cravings may subside with time, but others we still struggle with. For those that I struggle with I'm on the hunt for great lower calorie alternatives. Sometimes it is finding the right pre-made product. Other times it is finding or creating a recipe that creates a food that is satisfying yet lower in calories.

There are some things I can completely go without. I just know that if I can't see myself going the rest of your life without eating "X" food then it is time to find something that can replace it. Looking back at when I gained weight again one of the main factors is I was so tired of depriving myself of things I really wanted.

So my strategy now is when I really am craving something is not to just shove down that craving, but find something that will satisfy and still be good for me! But you need to find what you can live with and will make you successful in the long run.

(Btw, I'm not sure how you are trying to restrict but there are two things I've tried lately that might help you with a chocolate fix - Kashi oatmeal dark chocolate cookies. 130 Calories and made of good stuff. The Breyer ice cream sandwiches are sooo good, but likely not so good for you. But at 160 calories they are a special treat for me!)

YES! I love that quote. I wrote it down again!

Motivation vs Commitment. That is an interesting topic to me. I am still confused by the two.

Moderation. I keep trying to learn moderation BUT for some things there isn't such an animal! Cookies, chips or anything not healthy in my house. Today it is impossible to do moderation. It can not be in my house! Period.

How do I keep going? By putting one foot in front of the other and when I fall down I quickly get up, brush myself off and keep going. My one foot in front of the other is reading and posting on 3FC, reading books and other articles, talking to friends and my wonderful dh, and making sure I have healthy foods that I enjoy!

Thank you! I am now on a hunt to find those Kashi cookies. They sound delicious! I'll also take a look for the Breyer's ice cream sandwiches next time I'm buyng ice cream.

I usually buy See's Scotchmallows. They're the size of large truffles, and they are caramel, marshmellow, and covered in chocolate. One is 75 calories, and delicious. I love See's, and one is enough for me. They may not be organic, but I like to pretend they're not too processed ;-) I'm honestly not sure, lol

I also really like a pudding cup (Jello's sugar free ones are 60 calories, but I do Snack Pack's fat free since I work for the company!) with a tablespoon of Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips (80 calories for 16 chips). Yummmm...crunchy and smooth, and at MAXIMUM 160 calories (depending on the pudding used).

I don't consider myself "on a diet" so I'm not worried about falling off one. The worst thing I can do is make a bad choice - but I also have the power to make the very next choice a good one. And it doesn't have to be the next day, it can be the next meal, or even the very next bite - so the fact that I might take a bite of a cookie doesn't mean I can't get up and throw the rest of it away and make my next bite of food a better choice.

I plan to lead a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life, but I know I'm not going to be perfect so I also work on not seeing everything in black and white. Before, if I tried to be super strict, as soon as I ate something off plan, I'd think I wasn't on a diet any more so why bother, and I could just go ahead and eat anything I wanted. Now I try to acknowledge what I do, and if I go off plan, to let myself enjoy it BUT THEN MOVE ON and get right back on plan.

For me, knowing that I'm not telling myself that I can NEVER have chocolate or ice cream or whatever again makes it easier to not have it. Yes, sometimes I want it, but I can tell myself, well, if you REALLY want it, you can have it, but I usually realize I don't REALLY want it, I just am used to the idea of having it.

Trix--

In the beginning, I just had to make a rule. I made a list of all the things I was not going to eat (junk food, soda, candy, baked goods, chips, fries...) and I put them 100% off limits.

It was easier for me to say no every single time than to stop and think about whether I wanted some and how much every single time. That will I or won't I thing, once it kicks in, just kills me. Once I'm trying to make up my mind, I'll almost always give in. But if I just say NO right from the get-go, then it's easier.

Rest assured, after a while, it's MUCH easier.

The old habits fade as new habits kick in.

And, you start to really see how successful you are-- you get compliments, drop clothing sizes, and start to feel better.

Then, it's MUCH easier to say no because there are so many reasons to stay on track.

But in the beginning, you just have to really make up your mind to say no to the stuff and stick with it and wait it out. There are so many people here who have succeeded it will make you realize you can do it too.

Thanks all, the support really helps