What keeps you going during those rocky times?

Moderate calorie deficit, no restricted foods and exercise I truly enjoy.

You can still enjoy the foods you love, have nights out, etc, they just take some planning. Work them into your goal and you can still lose weight and have fun nights.

Treat it like a challenge. I remember what it was like when I was heavier and unhealthier than I was today. I'm not going back there, and I imagine how good it will be to be even more in shape.

Indulge occasionally. Without frozen yogurt, my life would be less enjoyable. All in moderation. Including beer and bar food.

Don't lie to yourself. Don't "I'll do it / start / get back on track tomorrow" yourself for a week. Do what you can today, then do it again tomorrow.

Don't give up. If you have a bad day, or a bad day or two, that's no reason to give up. Just remember how wonderful it feels when you're staying on track.

I went with the "set it for half a pound a week weight loss and be excited when I lose more than that" plan. I feel like it sets me up for success rather that "failure" if I don't lose quite as much as my goal said. It is a win if you lose weight (or inches) so I try celebrate that instead of worrying it wasn't enough. Feel free to add me

As I write this, I am eating ice-cream lol! The first month I looked at a scale the first day and not until the last day, I knew I would get to hung up over the number instead of how I feel. Now I weight frequently but that is only because I'm a data nerd and find data trends interesting, I wouldn't recommend weighing everyday unless you can detach yourself from the number.

Aside from that, it's a process, you don't need to be completely strict, you have to be realistic with what will work long term. There is zero chance I would succeed if I couldn't have chocolate ,ice cream or nights out with friends.

Wow just reading all that tired me out. TOO much at once. Breath and try starting a bit easier. Due to hypo active thyroid and medication issues I completely forgot the scale and made my priority to become healthier. I eat less and pay more attention to my nutrition. Logging for a week without making any real changes opened my eyes to my portion sizes (way too big). I tweaked until I became comfortable logging and eating at a deficit. I then incorporated exercise slowly first only walking a mile 3 times a week. You can do it but too much at once can derail you too.

There are various tips for staying on track that have been said in many places:
- try to keep only healthy food on hand
- try to keep any food that you are likely to overeat out of your house, or out of sight at least if you can't get it out due to other people. Don't keep food where you can just mindlessly grab it. Move yourself or it.
- If you are somewhere and are given a large portion, divide it so that you have a reasonable portion in front of you and get the rest of it out of your sight, like in a to-go box at a restaurant or in the refridgerator at home.
- if you find that you wait to eat until you're ravenous, you are more likely to make bad food choices, so don't let yourself get to that point, eat often enough for you. That might mean every 2 to 3 hours and smaller meals/snacks for some; or larger periods of time with larger meals/snacks for others. Eat when you are truly hungry.
- Don't eat when you just want to put something in your mouth or you just ate and it hasn't gotten to your brain yet. Drink some water. Distract yourself, with a hobby you like, exercise, reading, anything that will stop you thinking about it for 20 minutes or so.
- Try not to drink any sodas if you can, diet or regular, if you want (and can) drink a little then fine, but not a whole lot.
- Try to cut down alcohol to not very much. It too has a lot of calories.
- Record every single bit and taste that you put in your mouth. All the time, even if and when you are going over your calories for the day. Take the time to put it in before you eat any more.

All these things help with staying on track, but not motivation.

Motivation has to come from you. No one else. You have to want to change more than you want to eat.
- Determine for yourself, why do you want to lose weight? Write it down.
- Is that more inportant to you than immediate gratification? If it is, then you'll do it. If it isn't then you won't.
- If you believe it is more important, then put it where you can see it, especially when you will be tempted.
a) If you want to look sexy: put a picture of yourself now right there on your refridgerator and put a picture of someone that you want to look like when you lose the weight.
b) If you want to avoid an illness of disease, do something so that you think of that when you reach for food. I see my Dad, bedridden with a stroke, only able to move his head; and his father, my grandfather the same way.
c) If you want to be able to run and keep up with your friends; think of that and maybe even put up a picture to remind you.

Avoid, as much as possible, the things that will derail you.
- I don't go to fast food restaurants ever, even to get their healthy stuff, because that will start a craving in me for specific fast food that I don't even like that much, but get obsessed with when I see or worse, smell it.
- I don't ever drink any colas, because not only do I find them addicting, but they also can get me wanting to eat more food.
- Friends that try to get you to eat what you shouldn't, even when you have explained to them that you are trying to eat right, are not your friends. Avoid them until they stop.

Seek places, activities, and friends that will help you with your journey.

Personally, setting small rewards undermines my success because it causes me to avoid focusing on my real goal - A healthier, happier, and longer life. I am not on a diet that I need to stick to until I achieve some arbitrary goal. I choose to pay attention to how much better I feel when I eat and exercise. Then the motivation to cook dinner at home instead of going to BurgerKing is that after eating a whopper I will be hungry in a few hours and have less energy than if I have a homemade turkey burger with a wonderful salad followed by apple slices drizzled with carmel for dessert. If you could see into the future and see yourself at deaths door would you regret not doing something as simple as eating well in the past in exchange for a few more days? I refuse to eat substandard frozen, pre-packaged foods and choose to make healthy flavorful foods I enjoy every bit or more than anything offered at a restaurant. The fact that I eat better at a fraction of the price of restaurants or prepared foods allows me the freedom to take vacations and actually enjoy my life by being fit and active. That is the true reward for me. Get busy living or get busy dieing - you get to choose!