Why is this so hard???

Is your “feel good” weight creating the deficiency you need to lose weight? Next, the more you stick to it the more you will progress. Third, unless there is a medical reason for not eating a Snickers bar then I damn well will eat one once in a while. The human body tends to crave the foods you’re used to eating. During my unhealthy eating years, my body craved plenty of fried and junk food because I trained it that way. Don’t play the calorie guessing game. Use the tracker and actually track all of your activities (food, water, and exercise).

Do you not think we all want to just eat a whole bag of our favorite chips, slam down a burger and milkshake? Of course. Food is unbelievably good ... but WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE?

It has got to come from you hun.

Do you not think we all want to just eat a whole bag of our favorite chips, slam down a burger and milkshake? Of course. Food is unbelievably good ... but WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE?

It has got to come from you hun.

Love this! Gonna remember that when I want a bag of chips or fast food!

I used to be a huge late night snacker. It was hard to break, especially since my husband can eat whatever he want and gains nothing. I decided I want to lose these extra pounds, I pre log almost always! This helps me know what I am eating for the day and where I am calorie wise and not eat things I probably shouldn't.
Also, for instance, last night while watching a movie, my husband brought a bag of doritos over (I was close to allowed cals). Did I want to eat the bag? Yes. I asked myself a couple questions "how will I feel after?" "Am I actually hungry, or just feel like eating junk?"
If I'm hungry I will try and find something a bit healthier to snack on, if I just want to eat for sake of eating junk, I will either go brush my teeth, chug some water or make some herbal tea. I find these methods have helped me, a lot.
Just figure out what you want, make a plan and stick to it

Suggestions:
A) If you have late night snack cravings, go to bed. Brush your teeth (which is supposed to help bc you don't want to ruin the minty taste), put on your pjs and watch the news in bed. I find it much easier to say no to cravings.
Chew gum

I used to be a huge late night snacker. It was hard to break, especially since my husband can eat whatever he want and gains nothing.

OMG, my husband is the same way and it's frustrating. Since I make all the meals in the house, he basically eats what I eat these days. If I lose 2 pounds, he loses 5 and he really doesn't need to lose any! GRRRRRRR

My serious answer to your question is that it's hard because you aren't ready yet. Your mind says you are ready, but emotionally you aren't. Which, you know, is ok. It took me YEARS to get to a place where I was ready, and there wasn't a big triggering event. There were several times I *felt* like I *should* be ready, but I never was able to stop the cycle of deprivation, binging, guilt.

When I was ready, it was a lot easier. It's still hard, but it's more that I'm frustrated I can't have whatever I want immediately - mild, not consuming. I don't feel a lot of guilt any more because I make active decisions about my eating - I don't eat passively or blame anything/anyone else for what I choose to eat. There are days it's hard because I'm stressed out and emotional and tired and my old patterns are to eat a lot and sleep a lot, but I choose still to eat what fits or to accept the consequences of slower weight loss.

You have to get out of your old patterns and mindsets, you know? When you are really ready to do it and accept responsibility for it, then it becomes a priority and you get on with it. Only you can know when you are at that point.

do or do not. there is no try.

The last 10 is usually the hardest, especially if you are already at a healthy weight and want to lose vanity pounds.

How much do you weigh now? How tall are you? What type of workouts do you do?

The other thing for me, and this is so effing cliched at this point - is that weight loss is a lifestyle change. I no longer diet or do anything I can't do long-term. So I eat sweets and treats and fast foods. I have cut back significantly to what I used to eat, I do very frequently opt for fresh, whole foods, I have adapted my diet to a healthier form of nutrition, but that's as a consequence of wanting generally to be healthier. But I don't want never to eat cheese again, you know? I can reduce my intake of cake and choose to make room or not, but there are days where CAKE. It's about finding your own path and what is sustainable in the long term. Building new habits takes time, changing old habits takes time.

If you are determined to take control now, then start small. It doesn't have to be All The Things Now. Start by adding a walk to your day, or by adding two servings of vegetables or eating one less thing that is of lower nutritional quality. Set a goal for a week to plan your meals or to stick to 1800 calories or whatever. Every piece fits together like a puzzle, builds upon itself. Identify your goals and figure out a realistic approach. Sometimes what happens is that people hear you can safely lose 1-2 lbs per week and after a week or two of restrictive eating, they don't understand why it's not working - well, it's not working because you can't create that deficit safely where you are at. If you only need to lose 10 lbs, it's going to be a slow loss, should be about half a pound per week. Think of it as a 3-4 month project, rather than something that should happen in 5 weeks. Eat a bit closer to your maintenance levels, figure out a realistic plan and maybe consider a weekly approach, instead of a daily approach - that may give you some flexibility to have days of higher indulgence without guilt.

But in the end, it will still come down to personal responsibility and choice.

How did you arrive at this "feel good" weight? I'm slightly curious how a particular number on the scale is going to some how make you feel so much better.

What if you've gotten smaller and your clothes are fitting better, but you are still not at that number? Would you feel like you've failed?