Avoid food porn. Don't watch any TV with commercials in it, don't watch cooking shows, don't look at the menu when eating out, don't slowly wander down the aisles at the grocery store looking at everything. All those things are designed by geniuses--the brightest minds in their generation--to manipulate you into eating more than you naturally want to. The only way to win is not to play.

I should do that!! I just simply hate how I look so much that I can not bring myself to do it, but I bet it would be a huge motivator.

I try on a certain piece of clothing, it keeps telling me I am getting smaller.

No tips or tricks here - just plain old "stick to the plan not matter what." I'm on Weight Watchers, so that's fairly easy. And it's working.

For me, a big part of my success was rarely weighing. Not at all for first 72 days and then only once a month after that. I needed to stick to my plan, regardless of what the scale said. I knew I had come up with a balance of healthy food, calories in and exercise that would result in weight loss if I just stuck with it. But it was so hard to stick with in the beginning that if I had seen how slow the weight was coming off, I'd have given up.

1. Exercise. If it is hard for you to commitment pay for a trrainer. That'll get you there!

2. When I have the munchies I drink a 16 ounce glass of crystal light.

3. salad and protein for dinner. No carbs after 2pm.

4. Eliminate bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sugar for 6 months. Reintroduce them very slowly whole wheats only.

Become aware of when you are actually, really, hungry, and when you are only "wanting". I had written reminders to myself everywhere at first -- literally post-it notes saying "ARE YOU _REALLY_ HUNGRY?". Now I can consciously say to myself, "I'm not really hungry, I don't think I'm going to eat that." or "I just want that because I'm stressed, but I don't really need to eat it." Even during meals I think whether I feel like I've had enough and I can stop myself from taking extra portions or eating everything on my plate. (That's when i go out. When I'm at home I plate in the kitchen according to set portions, and put the leftovers in the fridge right away.) You may discover you don't always need to be "stuffed", there is a state where you are satisfied before that.

I also bring lunch to work every day. I have a plastic lock and lock box and lunch has to fit in there. (Portion control.) 2/3 is reserved for vegetables and fruit.

Ditto on #3 and #4 above from Stacygee.

Eating 5-6 times a day (protein with a carb) and drinking a ton of water. It keeps me VERY full and keeps the cravings at bay.

I love this one!! It's so true. I've stayed away from the food network...and the other day I happened to watch something that looked particularly tantalizing...and it really affected me with wanting food! Anyways just turned the TV off and had my healthy snack, but you're so right.

My tip is to find a plan you can live with, and stick to it like glue. I don't have "off-plan" days because if I want something high in calories, I eat it within my allowance even if it means I eat little the rest of the day. And because of this, it means I no longer even really want those things...they're just not worth it. How I feel and seeing smaller numbers is way more exciting to me than any high calorie food.

My other tip is to buy goal clothes, a size smaller than you are now (or two sizes). Clothing is extremely motivating to me...so that always keeps me excited too.

I'd never heard of food porn. I think thats a great tip. I think the worst food porn is in magazines. Those pictures make me drool.

Plan, plan, and plan some more.

1. Avoid cravings by eliminating all caffeine. (Yeah I know this was hard, but after 3 days, it made my life a lot easier.)
2. Water
3. I hung up clothes I want to be able to wear around the room I work out in. The room may look silly, but I look better!
4. Share your health reasons with those you love to keep their support.
5. Keep your head in the game with motivating mantras - my current one is a quote from an article on Tiger Moms - "Assume Strength!"

It may seem plain or boring... but in general, get used to the idea that you must cut caloric intake & exercise. Forget all the special diets, the new fads, the new cool piece of workout equipment, the new pill on the market, the new "secret to weight loss!" article on the newstand magazine, etc. Stop looking for fast results, tasty desserts that have little to no calories, a new twist on carbs or proteins or fats...

Just create a big bulletin board in your mind with one huge sticky note that says

I MUST CUT CALORIES (either by portion size, counting calories, WW, whatever way you choose -but this is something you MUST do) and
I MUST EXERCISE

and from there it really is quite simple. No magic, no distress, no guessing.

I cut portion sizes in half (still eating my favorite foods - and I choose to eat on smaller plates or use bowls) and exercise 6 days a week 30-40 minutes a day, leaving one day for rest, or some other physical activity that I don't "consider" exercise, like bowling for instance.

I've lost about 10 pounds since mid-December (during the holidays, OY! - AND before that I was on the plateau from ****!) by following this simple, yet effective, advice.

Agree 100%!

I did try Atkins (twice), not my thing, BUT I did learn how different my body responds to carbs and no carbs meals.

I eat my carbs now only in the morning for breakfast (only whole grain, no white sugar) and if over the weekend I have a beer or pasta for dinner etc, I will stay on low carb following 2 days.

Eliminate sugar from your diet and drink a lot of water (which helps make you feel full throughout the day.

Eliminating sugar also does wonders for the complexion!

I thought it would be neat to start a thread with some nontraditional ways you've lost and/or maintained. For example, here are three methods I use (those who've read any of my posts already know this):

1) I start calorie counting w/ my most unpredictable meal (dinner). So, using my phone app to log my calories, I log my dinner in the "breakfast" category, my breakfast in the "lunch" category, and so on. I've found that this really helps me to stay on track because I can more easily control the calories I'll eat for B & L, but can't predict dinner.

2) I sometimes eat a really late breakfast (more like brunch), so that I just may have a snack for lunch. That means, that my breakfast can be more indulgent and/or heartier than usual.

3) I do quite a bit of exercise using a tread desk my husband made for me.

What are your unusual tips/tricks that you use to control your eating and/or get more activity?