Momof4girls: First of all welcome. I find this board is an amazing place for advice and support. I have learned so much stuff on nutrition and what not and even little tricks to help us.
I will tell you some of the most important things I have learned on this board which has helped me oodles.
1. Don't expect perfection. We aren't perfect, we make mistakes. I have learned to accept imperfection as a fact of life and this has made my eating and weight loss so much better. I would have one bad meal and binge eat for the rest of the day... dumb I know, but now, if I have an indiscretion I accept it and move on no guilt (okay most of the time, still working on this).
2. Food choices do matter. I lost weight on 123/Winning Points 3-4 years ago. I could eat whatever I wanted in small moderation and still lose weight without a problem. Forge ahead to the present, my body is different. My body likes unprocessed foods. Stuff like granola bars (with refined sugar) lead me to binge. So I stick with lean protiens, whole grains, fruits and veggies, good fats, nf/lf milk products. It helps and helps keep one satieted. I admit though I still have the occasional slice (or slices
of pizza....mmmm combo with Olives). But now, I will have my slice and eat a salad with it.
3. Don't let yourself get too hungry. I have hypoglycemia and I make sure to eat at certain points during the day, if I didn't I would be ravaginly hungry. It really helps.
4. Keep your environment clean. That is, keep trigger foods at bay and figure out if you can ever have them around. I am starting to be able to keep some junky stuff around the house without running over and eating it all (thanks to therapy believe it or not). It is a huge victory, but if you're really struggling perhaps try and keep trigger foods out of sight or even better out of the house. Some of the people maintaining huge weight losses here will not keep junk food in their house at all. I also find keeping veggies and fruit around helps me to snack on those, not other stuff.
5. Find out what works for you. We're all different. Some of this advice may work or may need to be modified to work for you. For example Some people take one piece of chocolate daily to stay on track. Some people ban it alltogether. I treat myself weekly to a nice dessert. It works for me and my weight is still coming down.
6. Don't fret if the scale is up. It could be up for a plethora of reasons: time of month, too much sodium the night before, humidity, whatever, weight loss usually isn't a straight line. The best thing to look for is that the scale is heading down, but that may involve one week up, two weeks down, one week the same, one week up, one huge loss. I have gained 5 lbs before my period. I have gained one pound for no reason, our bodies are like that. Accepting the fact that the scale doesn't see the whole picture does help.
7. It's not a race, but a lifestyle. Get into a way of eating you can sustain for life now. I eat in a way I can maintain. Sure I might have to add a few calories a day, but I can live with the way I eat. It has taken me 2+ months to lose 10lbs when I used to be able to do that in 4 weeks.. It can be slow and frustrating at times, but it does come off if you work at it. Really it does.
8. Enlist support from whereever. Get the support of your friends, family a weight watchers meeting and tell them why you're doing this . I was really struggling for a while and saw a psychologist, it really helped me deal with some of my eating issues.
9. Don't be afraid to try new things. Mixing it up can be good. I tried South Beach for a while and it helped. I couldn't stick with it for life though so I am back to WW and am loving it, but it helped me steer away from refined sugars.
10. Exercise helps so much. I am running with people now and it keeps me so motivated to keep going. Find an exercise you like and keep at it. Exercise is a wonder drug.
11. Okay this is my advice which you may think goes against all I have said, but it works for me... Don't make any foods forbidden, for me if I fall and splurge I used to go and just eat and eat and eat.
12. You're just one bite away from being back OP. So if you mess up one meal, move on, relax and just get back to eating OP for the next meal. This one has helped me oodles and oodles.
Hope this helps!
Ali
How do you do it?
I just wanted to cry. So, then all day I have done really well, and then boom I got hungry, ate the left over pizza, and then have proceeded to eat 5 small candy bars (halloween treat size). I SUCK! 
