My 5 year old grandnephew was here for the weekend along with his grandfather and his uncle. Lots of cooking, special foods in the house, etc. I learned some things about myself and how I view food. I was never aware of these things before because I just ate (and ate and ate.....).

1. I read a post where someone suggested thinking of "forbidden" foods as "their" food and equated it to wanting someone's lunch in the frig at work which you would never take. That really helped with staying away from the cookies, cupcakes, and potato chips.
2. I live alone so normally when I fix a meal I measure the portions and take the meal to the table to eat. With all the family here, everything was served family style so it was all sitting in front of me. To stay on track, I tracked everything before fixing meals, determined what I could have, and then stuck to the serving sizes.
3. Emotional eating wasn't a problem because I was never bored or lonely. However, I was exhausted -- hey, I'm 63 and he's 5 -- and I definitely went off track on Sunday night. So, I have discovered that while I've developed techniques for bored and lonely, tired requires way more energy and sometimes it's ok to just have a treat.

Losing weight this time has been very different. Are others learning things about themselves and how to cope?

Good for you Betsy BTW I have a 4 year old and they seem to have endless amounts of energy.
I can so agree with your number 2. Eating at home is much easier. I went home to visit the parents and it was a challenge. I had to buy healthy food and ate smaller portions of what was cooked. I learned that I could fight for my right to be healthy and happy but still enjoy meals and family time with them.

I have a 2 year old daughter and she is like a robot with a nuclear supply. I've seen her run full blast back and forth down the hall or over an hour and then just lay down and sleep out of nowhere. I wish I had that kind of energy. LOL

I've started training myself to grab some kind of fruit or juice when cravings hit. That's how I'm dealing with all of my cravings now. That way I don't feel guilty at all. Carrot juice is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to grab when I have a sweet tooth and sometimes to drink with dinner. It also seems to give me an energy boost shortly after drinking it.

Good for you