Overall, I'm pretty flexible with myself on this journey. I subscribe to the "this is not a temporary change" mentality, and celebrate lots of small milestones and behavior changes. If I felt like I had to adhere perfectly to something, I know without a doubt that I'd fail, so I treat this as the rest of my life.

All that being said, there are three rules I have for myself that are non-negotiable:
1. Always track and be accountable for everything I eat, every time I eat something.
2. Make good decisions as often as possible.
3. Never eat ice cream when I'm home alone (based on prior behavioral issues).

What are your thoughts? Do you have any rules of your own?

Your numbers one and two definitely apply to me. I'd also add that if I mess up, I have to immediately get right back on track. No excuses. Great list!

Your first two rules are similiar to mine.

Great rules! Since I am 'maintaining' I also weigh myself daily - this helps keep me from starting to regain the lost lbs.

Like the others, I agree completely with your first two rules; they apply to me as well.

I also agree with your last one, except that I would substitute pecan pie rather than ice-cream (although I love ice-cream, too). Pecan pie is a "red-light" food for me (to borrow a phrase I learned long ago in Overeater's Anon). A month or so ago, I made one, thinking that I could eat one slice every other night. I even froze slices to encourage moderation. Well, a day after I made it, I found myself in front of the freezer eating frozen pecan pie (which, incidentally, tastes better to me than when it's at room temperature)..

A recent rule I've made is to try to keep most snack foods out of the house, for the most part. I find that if it is there, I will eat it. This doesn't apply to all snacks; some are no problem. However, I don't buy chips, for example, because I don't need that 150-300 calories I would eat every night (and that's if I can control myself). I do occasionally eat that type of food, but I try to buy it in single servings rather than big bags from the grocery store.

i dont know if you call these Rules or not....but here is what I aim for:

- daily multivitamin
- get enough sleep
- exercise 6 out of 7 days per week (days off vary depending on my work schedule but i try to take sundays off, but if i know i cant exercise monday because of meetings all morning, i will exercise sunday and take monday off)
- track what i eat, good or bad, try to stay within 1400ish calories
- AIMING FOR limited sugar/healthy carbs, not always successful on that one

I only have ONE rule. Never EVER EVER eat out of boredom.

Eat lightly for breakfast/lunch--that way I get a more "normal" dinner.
Make healthy choices and try to eat from all food groups daily.
Dinner is one plate of dinner....no 2nds. If it happens to be pizza, it will be one slice, served with salad. I try to have generic protein/veg/starch dinners.
Don't graze--for instance when eating grapes, don't take an hour to eat the grapes. Eat them and be done. (I think popcorn might be excused from this rule).
Drink water. Even when I don't want to drink water.

I like your rules. Very similar to mine. My rules are moderation, limit sugar, keep track of everything and keep trigger foods out of my dorm room.

My biggest trap is bingeing. I'd rather eat one really good slice of apple pie at my mom's then eat the whole pie by myself in my room and feel awful about it. This semester I've been doing very well with that. I hope I can keep it up.

My rules are quite simple:

1. don't eat unless I'm hungry
2. don't let myself get TOO hungry
3. stop eating before I feel full
4. rinse & repeat

I love these! Having "eaten just to eat" for so long, it has been a long road to learn how to eat until I'm almost full. Knowing my portion size saves me a lot of tummyaches!

1. 100 carbs or less every day, which means virtually no white flour or white sugar, or potatoes ("addicted" to fresh breads)
2. Eat something at breakfast, still don't like eating first thing in the morning, know I must
3. gentle exercising everyday despite physical limitations
4. Overall, take care of myself, it's okay to say no sometimes

1. Plan! I plan out my meals a day in advance, and always pack my lunch for work the night before. If I have everything planned, packed, and ready to go in the morning when I leave for work, I have no excuse to get food from McDonalds or the vending machine.

2. If I slip up, don't beat myself up over it. If I start feeling really guilty about a not-so-good food choice, I end up turning 1 off-plan day into 30 off-plan days. I try to stay on plan as much as possible, but if I do have a day where I get off track, I make myself get back on plan the very next meal.

3. Avoid fast food as much as possible. Whenever I go to a fast food place, I end up ordering way more food than I should and go waaaay over my calorie allowance for the day. I just have no self control when it comes to fast food, so it's better to avoid it.

1. Food is meant to be enjoyed, not mindlessly stuffed in.
2. No food is "good" or "bad"- some foods are better than others. Once I qualify food, it leads to binges.
3. Only eat when the tummy rumbles.

1. Never, ever, ever go food shopping when you're hungry. EVER.
2. Think before you eat -- stop and ask yourself 'does my stomach want this or does my mouth want this?'
3. Just say 'No'.