when will it hit me?

That's the trick isn't it? Getting into that mindset where you say to yourself, "no pepsi or chips for me." I quit smoking years ago and once the cravings stopped it was no problem, but eating is entirely different! You have to monitor yourself every minute of every day, seemingly forever. I had two servings of doritos last night, mindlessly munching while watching TV. I just had to forgive myself and start over today. For me it's using the calorie and exercise tracker....once I stop using it I begin to gain weight steadily. I have that type A personality and seeing the chart and the totals is the way I get my brain on board with the plan. Good luck to you! Keep thinking about it and your "moment' will happen.

It's in your head. Completely. You cant make excuses, either you want to do it bad enough or you dont. Right now, you dont. You have to make a consious effort to WANT the change and do what it takes to make it happen.

For me, it was really learning about healthy eating. Not from a standpoint of cutting calories but really sitting down and looking at ingredients for the things you buy pre-made, pre-packaged, processed in the grocery stores.

Chips = crap
Soda = crap
Candy = crap
Cookies = crap.

They put so many preservatives and FAKE ingredients in this stuff that even if it was only 10 calories what does it matter? its still crap. I haven't had a soda in............ I don't even know when the last time was I had a soda. I LOVED soda... but its crap. No wonder I always felt like... crap It is hard, even thinking about the nutritional side and trying to eat clean to give it up... so i suggest do a clean sweep in your house... get rid of EVERYTHING. START OVER. If there's no crap in your house you won't be tempted because its a slippery slope from "just a handful of chips" to the whole bag. I used to put butter or ketchup on EVERYTHING. I very rarely even use that either... now that I have real food that's vibrant with lots of great taste... i don't need that stuff.

Good luck!

The trick for me is to approach eating not as a diet, but as a whole lifestyle change. I decided to eat healthy permanently because I find that a "temporary" diet just sets me up for failure. It's important to indulge every once in a while, but find tricks to make it impossible to binge. Instead of buying a bag of candy, buy just one piece

Replace chips with baked chips, or pop chips, or healthier versions. Replace regular soda with diet soda, or even flavored water additives. Then slowly go to water all together. The way to be successful isn't to "diet" but to change your lifestyle, and how and what you eat.

The other issue with chips tends to be portion control. It starts as a few chips and turns into the bag... Measure out your chips (a food scale will allow you to do this easily by the oz) and bag them by the serving in ziplock bags. Or buy the single serving bags to start (not easy to find in your grocery store with the healthier chip options).

There are healthier versions of almost everything that are the treats you have now... Find them, and maybe you won't like them as much in the beginning, but i've found now I have zero desire to go back to greasy, fatty potato chips or soda (except when drinking, and always diet). Otherwise have your treats in moderation. They make flavorful treats in 100 calorie packs (normally pretty similar to the full calorie things just in smaller pieces with less of them).

It is a way of life and all about making better choices. I just ask myself "is it worth it" after I spent 1.5 hrs at the gym this morning ! I find that I am asking myself that question less and less. Push hard in the beginning and it will become a way of life later in your journey. Stay motivated and strong But really, who am I to say, only 3.5 months into this new lifestyle myself.

if it's really that hard, just try cutting down. like have a bowl of chips but that's it. and make sure it fits in your calories!
eventually, you'll ween yourself off it, and you'll start feeling better about the choices being made

as for me, i don't have chips or pop ever. i know once i start, it's hard to stop. so it's easier just not having them for me.
as for pop, i never drank it anyway. so i'm pretty thankful for that.

I was never struck by motivation to lose weight; I just grew tired of my excuses. I started all of this by simply walking my sons to the school 1 mile away that I had been driving them to for years. I did this for ecological reasons, not because I wanted exercise. I never considered doing diets or anything to lose weight, though I was disappointed in my weight. I had more energy now that I was moving around more, but I wondered why I hadn't lost any weight. I thought exercise = weight loss.

I happened to read an article in Fitness magazine that explained calories, something I was ignorant of. I ended up doing a manual version of what MFP does for us. So I kept track in a notebook. I had zero support, just did my own thing. I lost the weight I wanted to lose. I knew I had to change my life, so I cut out everything that triggered my bad habits. It was many months before I allowed them slowly back into my life. But I never went back to the quantity of food I used to consume, and I now make wiser decisions about what I consume. It's been a slow progression. I hope you find your way soon.

Hi, In my case, I bought better snacks, the baked chips to start with that came in the small individual bags and the single serve snack items. I switched from soda to water and bought a liquid water enhancer. All these items have helped me understand how to eat better and what I can actually do without. Give yourself time, it's work and dedication - not magic. You'll be ok.

Brand new here, but I found that my soda habit was really about the carbonation. I'm not a huge fan of still water but I feel just as satisfied with sparkling water as I did with soda/diet soda. I bought myself a Soda Stream and haven't looked back! I love it. I drink 1-2 liters daily now, without flavor or just with a squeeze of lime. I love that i don't have to throw away so much waste, either. They do also make their own soda flavorings, which are somewhat less evil than commercial soda (sugar vs HFCS; far fewer calories also, natural flavors) if you really need a fix once in awhile.

Also remember not to put too much pressure on yourself. "NO XYZ FOREVER" is a big rule to live up to. Taking each eating and health decision one at a time is much more attainable. When a temptation hits, stop yourself and think, "Is this the decision I want to make right now? How will I feel in 5 minutes? 10 minutes? An hour? What are some other options and how will I feel if I choose those?" That often (not always, but often) helps me make a better choice and I never regret it.

Ha! I fight it every day too! You are not alone, by a long shot. Some people have incredible self control...this is not me.
I try to drink water anytime I get the urge to graze. Some days I drink up to 16 cups of water. There will be ups and downs, each day you fall off, before you write the whole day off just get back on the horse and keep trying. Really.

There really is no need to cut all that stuff out. You need to figure out how to portion out the things you like so that you can make them work for you. Or you need to find substitutes that satisfy you in the same way. I'm not a real salty snack person anyway so the chips were easy to give up. Sugary stuff however was a harder challenge, but like I said, finding substitutes helped. Instead of cookies, I'd have a bag of those 100 cal snacks. Instead of an ice cream sundae, I get a cone from McD's (only 150 cal). Instead of snack cakes, for a long time I ordered those Vitamuffins (oh SO good).

There are still a few things I refuse to give up. Pizza for instance...but even then I made some changes. I get veggie toppings instead of "supreme" or "loaded" and I only eat 3 or 4 pieces of a medium/small instead of half of a large pizza like I used to.
For chocolate, I became a snob. I used to eat whatever I could get my hands on but now I only like the really good dark chocolate that's at least 70% cacoa.

It also helped me to think about budgeting my calories like I budget my money. Is it "worth it" to spend calories on junk when I could have twice as much food if I went with something healthy? Is it worth it to eat 400 calories of cookies that'll leave me hungry later when I can have a cup of yummy greek yogurt that'll be half that much in calories? I don't want to waste my calories anymore than I want to waste my money.

As far as the boredom eating goes...it's as simple as catching yourself in the act and finding something else to do. Get off your butt and clean or go for a walk or if you must sit, play games on the computer or read a book. Don't ever sit down on the couch in front of the TV with a big bag of food. Portion it out as soon as you get it home from the store and if you want some, just grab a snack bag.

Be mindful of everything you do and you can make the changes!! Good luck!

I just had a moment when I decided to stop dieting and start living my life differently. I changed my outlook completely. I am a snacker to the core so I started finding healthier versions of the snacks I loved and as I continue it's easier to pass up on the chip isle in the store. I have loved the Special K items, they make chips, even in single servings for like 110 calories so now, I treat myself to those and obviously include them in my count and I don't feel super guilty, but still have my craving satisfied. Good Luck. It's tough to start but once you get over the intial 'shock' of it all, it gets easier I find...

Ha! I fight it every day too! You are not alone, by a long shot. Some people have incredible self control...this is not me.
I try to drink water anytime I get the urge to graze. Some days I drink up to 16 cups of water. There will be ups and downs, each day you fall off, before you write the whole day off just get back on the horse and keep trying. Really.

^this
I'm sure you're tired of hearing 'you gotta want it!' BUT it is helpful to have a reason to get healthy. Could be as simple as just climbing stairs without feeling like you're going to pass out. Something for you to look forward to doing so you have a good legitimate push to lose weight and not over do the snacks. I used to drink a 24oz of mountain dew every day. I switched to black cherry carbonated water for my fizz fix. I still have a dew though, you don't have to completely give up your soda, really .

I really dont want to get rid of snack foods, I buy those baked chips in small bags, comes with cheetos,chips,pretzels, doritos, etc. and do just fine. Same with 100 count nuts. If I buy small packages I am ok, give me big bag and I wont put it down so I dont do this. I like diet drinks and green tea.