Originally Posted by cbressler1976:
Hi all! I want to be able to eat regular food every now and then, but I am afraid that I will over do it. How do you all keep yourselves from overeating? For instance, maybe once in a while (like once a month) I would like to be able to eat a slice of pizza. How do I keep myself from overeating? Thank you all!

what meal plan are you on that you can't eat "regular" food? Are you eating mostly diet foods - shakes, bars, nonfat this, sugar free that, salads, bare meats, steamed veggies?

Do you cook? I will just cook my own pizza so I know the calories in it, can make a thin crust load it with veggies, shrimp a little cheese some homemade pesto (again, so I know how much oil is in it) and then can eat half of it for around 500 calories.

I had tacos last night for dinner, but again I used super-lean ground beef, mixed in veggies, a little avocado and sour cream on corn tortillas, yum! and within my calorie range.

I also track my calories on Sparkpeople, which really helps me keep them within range, and realize that one slice of thin crust pizza isn't going off the rails, or even 2. But it keeps me in check if I want to go and have drinks and a burger one night, I won't go and do it 3 nights in a row since I have to look at my calorie tracker.

I try not to deprive my self of anything. If I have been craving something for 3 days or more, I really want it, so I just incorporate it into my diet for the day. I count calories, so as long as I can make it fit in my daily limit I can have it. Deprivation leads to binging, so you might as well satisfy your craving before it turns ugly. Go to a pizza shop and buy a single slice of pizza. Don't buy a whole one, that's too much temptation. We all know what would happen.
Moderation is hard, but it really pays off.