What's the biggest thing you struggle with as a dieter?

for me it's the exercise part. I can control my portions 90% of the time. But I can't find any exercise I enjoy. I love fruits and veggies and I like to cook. I know how to cook healthy. I'm just not motivated to move my butt.

^^^
this is me. I have been eating better for a little while now, I guess I will have to get off my butt eventually.

Having people think I'm borderline eating disordered simply because I want to get in shape (I'm a healthy weight and only have a few pounds to lose - mainly for the summer to look hot in a bikini!).

I'm not "obsessed" but disciplined (well, trying to be!)

"obsession" is a word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated.

Knowing that I live next to like 10 - 20 resaurants most of which are fast greasy food and most of which are only like 3 minutes away, so easy to go to. lol and sodium too.

Not eating (chips, chocolate, everything etc etc) while watching a movie at home, the theatre, friends place . I could eat....but carrot sticks just aren't the same. :P I watch *a lot* of movies. I've taken a liking however to sipping Wild Sweet Orange tea. It's delicious, and almost tastes like candy. ALMOST.

I struggle with lots of things. I worry that I'm one calorie away from gaining all 90 pounds back. I struggle with not eating chocolate. Sometimes (like today) all I want to do is eat...everything...NOW! Drives me nuts! I HAVE to log everything. It is the only thing that keeps me honest!

I struggle the most with sticking to my eating plan at parties or family get togethers. Seems like between never eating on time and just an abundance of food choices almost always ends badly.

feeling like i don't know what i'm doing

YES!! I popped in here to say the same thing. There is so much information out there that it's hard to know what will work for me... Namely how many calories a day I ought to consume.

My biggest problem is thinking I'm getting this all down pat. "A little this" and "a little that" won't mess me up. Or as I approach the 100lb mark, thinking that I am done. That I've gotten to where I am wanting to go.

Setting my mind on what is the mission every single day.

This^^ is me, too. I've got to stay humble always, because an innocent "little of this" easily turns into a binge. Then I feel like I'm caught in a whirlpool. It's such a monumental effort to get back on track again, retrain my taste buds, and then weeks to re-lose the weight I've gained.

To put it succinctly: My biggest struggle is to consistently respect my body's need for a healthy diet.

Wine.
Vodka.
Ice cream.

I agree with so many of the things already said... I think the hardest one is when the scale goes down one day and up the next. And feeling a little obsessed with every little thing I put in my mouth. And worried about eating out. I'm great at ordering foods that I feel would be healthy, but there is always so much sodium in restaurant foods and that always makes the scale go crazy the next morning. That is hard for me to accept. Also, being fearful that I won't be able to keep up the intensity that I feel is necessary to get to the goal.

I have to say that this topic made me realize two things....

1 - SO MANY THINGS HAVE GOTTEN EASIER THAN THEY WERE AT THE BEGINNING..... I do not have nearly as many cravings as I used to. I am slowly beginning to enjoy exercise. I don't care about food like I used to care about food. It is easier to speak up and ask for what I need.

2 - WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE WONDERFUL CHANGES I AM MAKING...... I feel so much better. I love the feeling of my jeans fitting loosely. The fact I passed down my "fat" pants to a co-worker, who is also losing weight and was so happy she could fit into them. Making myself a priority. Buying myself some rewards (new yoga pants and a Ipod shuffle). My taste buds have completely changed, I just had a craving for a fresh crisp apple and it was more delicious than a piece of cake ever would hope to be.

Love these changes.

Dieting sux which is why I'm never going to get fat again. I love food too much to do that to myself again.

My biggest struggle is munchies before bedtime.

That is easy to fix. You save up some of your daiy calories and eat them then instead of earlier.

Beer and fatty greasy delicious meats. I really really enjoy my beer and it has been one of the hardest things to avoid. I don't drink nearly as much as I used to but still have 1 or 2 at dinner during the week and usually 6-7 on Fridays and Saturdays. I switched to a light beer which has helped with the calories because it's only 95 a can, but it taste like crap just water basically.

I've also struggled with avoiding greasy food. I don't go to fast food restaurants ever, but I grill out a lot for my family and the smell and taste of brats and burgers on the grill just over whelms me. I also get really weird cravings for raw red meat. I've had them now since I was 18 or 19, it's really weird in a savage animal like way. If I am handling ground beef like to form burgers, it's almost impossible for me not to steal a couple pinches of it before I cook it. When I am having extreme cravings for raw meat I usually go out and buy a high quality sirloin and grind it into ground beef then make a sandwhich on rye bread with onions....freaking delicious!

I've never had a problem with any sweets and frankly could care less for most of them, but meat just gets me every time. When ever I grill out, I over indulge big-time. Last time I borderline binged I ate 2 italians and 1 burger right off the grill, then 2 more of each before the night was over. I could literally live off brats and burgers.

My ex-husband was from Wisconsin and that was their Christmas thing. Raw beef and onions. I'm from the deep south...I just couldn't do it. And I like my steak almost raw!!!


My struggle is exercise. I still don't. 3 months in, 18 pounds down...no exercise. And dang fast food...ugh. I just make it fit in my calorie goals and move on...