Question for those who rarely slip up ...

I just started on Monday but I have not slipped up because I want to make a change. There has to be something that motivated you to start losing weight and use that to prove to yourself why this is the best option. Also, whenever you think about food that you are craving always second guess yourself tell your brain that it is wrong and that food is nothing but flour, fat, sugar and corn syrup. It is a lifestyle change and you have to want it so badly but in the end food is not worth the weight. It tastes good for what? 2 minutes and then you regret it years later. Once you start being consistent you will never want to go back to your old ways because you are never going to be happier! I wish you luck everyone deserves to be happy with themselves.

Uh, well, if you don't count the first 53 years and two months of my life BEFORE I finally made the commitment to lose the weight and get a healthy lifestyle in the process....

For me, it was just my commitment level. This is the time of the year when it is really hard to not slip up. I swell up in the heat, and then freeze to death in my office (Houston, TX, gotta love it) Logging is king. Getting my activity level up and adding more Barre3 daily (I am hitting 30 minutes per day very consistently, the on line videos that change / get new/ every month help tremendously).

I think averaging 1 pound a month is great, 1 pound a week fantastic. Keep up the great work!

I like what I eat and I would rather have abs than overeat.

I am in the same boat. I usually put on 3-4 pounds on vacation and vacation is ended but I still in vacation mode. I continue to eat for a few more weeks and put on some more pounds. And this time I keep telling myself that vacation is over but my brain keep urging me to eat even though I am not hungry.
WILL POWER to get back on is the key.
Good luck

A few things that have personally helped me mentally:

It is nearly impossible to stick to a 1200 diet if you're working out. Try different calorie intakes and see which works for you.

Don't deprive yourself but work around the special foods or occasions. You know you're going to a pizza party. Work out in some way to cover the calories of a slice or have a lot of fruits and veggies for breakfast and lunch (low calories).

Losing the initial weight is (and should be!) a gradual process. As long as you're consistent; you will notice the change in your body. It takes time.

Log everything. Good, bad and indifferent. If you ate it, own up and face the day tomorrow with a better attitude.

Pre-logging! Check restaurant websites and plan ahead.

You're doing great! Just focus more on how your body feels before, after and during eating. Then log it.

I plan ahead and allow myself treats here and there so I don't deprive myself of anything.

I don't slip up because I don't think of foods as good or bad. I just eat them and make sure they're within my macros.

Listen to him.

Look, I've been at this for 3.5 years. There have been times when I "slipped" on a regular basis and still consistently lost weight, and there have been times when my diet has been tighter than a nun's panties, and I still gained and lost the same 4 lbs over and over again. It is not always a linear process. For example, your hormones impact the way your body responds to the food you eat and to the exercise you do, and a lot of things impact your hormones.

The best advice I can give you is to track your food as accurately as humanly possible. Weigh and measure everything. Plan ahead so you can make good decisions and will be less prone to give in to cravings or inconveniences. Then give it time. And whatever you do, don't fall into the eat-punish-eat cycle. Stop thinking of food as a reward or exercise as punishment. Figure out something you're comfortable with, and then nothing will be a "slip-up."

Even if you ate clean consistently, your body still fluctuates in weight, especially if you're female. It's normal.

Hi there, first of all, well done on the weight loss! I started on 5th January 2013 and have lost close to 32lb, I have lost something every week with the smallest amount being 0.5lb one week, overall I have lost an average of 1.5lb per week and have not had a gain nor have I stayed at the same weight.

I can only share what I am doing, may be right for me but not for others. I have been on 1200 cals strictly since the start and have my activity set to sedentary, I have a severe lower back injury which means I am lucky to manage 2 x 20 minute walks a week due to pain levels, so basically I do no exercise but still losing.

I am very strict on my 1200 cals a day, I tend to balance it 300 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 300 dinner and 300 snacks/drinks as much as I can. I eat up to 10pm at night and don't worry about that as long as under my cals, I always have breakfast. All my food is low fat, I don't cheat, I have not had fast food since early January. I do a lot of HUGE salads with lean protein and low fat dressing, they would probably serve 4 people, most of them are under 200 cals, I throw in all sorts of salad goodies. I eat fresh fruit, apples, grapes, melon mainly. I have low fat snacks like biscuit cereal bars that are all under 100 cals each, I snack on rice crackers and salsa or low fat dip, celery sticks, carrot sticks.

I basically took all the things I love and swapped them for alternatives. I look at foods on a menu if I can before eating out to decide in advance about my choices and when out I ask for no butter, hold the dressing, etc etc. I have managed to eat healthy and still eat out quite a bit. I cut back on my salt intake. My diary shows an average of 50% carbs a day so I am certainly not doing low carb, but I do have wholemeal bread, healthy cereals, avoid white processed carbs then my other carbs are from fruit and veg mainly. The few times I have gone over my 1200 cals a day I just balance it the next 2 days, take a few off. Most days I eat an average of 1000-1100 of my cals. I was hungry all the time when first started but not anymore. I have dropped 3 dress sizes since 5th January. I also run an online weight loss group on Facebook which keeps me motivated and accountable.

I don't know if that's any help at all, it was all or nothing for me this year, I am losing weight for health reasons as well as to feel good. But know steady weight loss can be achieved, even with no exercise. I am sure as I lose more it might come off less or even plateau but for now I have been ok. Feel free to friend me if you want, I have an open diary which might give ideas.

I log faithfully, I also check the calories and nutritional data against any product I have because have found too many in MFP are entered with the wrong data. I log everything, and aim for 2-3 litres of water a day but don't always succeed in that one.

Good luck!

I eat whatever I want in moderation... So rather than a bowl of ice cream I have 1/4c and rather than the 3 muffins I wanted this morning I had a half. I don't deprive I just don't OVER indulge .