Those who've been successful at weight loss

Emotionally I am tired of fighting the little child that wants to eat all the things, I've been sitting at work for the past 3 hours fighting it. Trying to keep busy, drinking tea, having small snacks, and STILL I can't stop thinking about just eating all the food. Did you or do you not feel this way anymore? Or did you just fight the cravings bravely every time they came? How did you stay on plan to get to your goal?

All the time.

Well, not really all the time. Less than I used to, but there are still those days - when I'm emotional, hormonal, just down for whatever reason.

Then I have a couple options: Plan for it with my own small treats that are satisfying but portion-limited.

Or, occasionally, I eat all the food. But then I stop eating all the food and return to my plan.

Generally, I do really well when I follow these rules:

1) Exercise. This has literally nothing to do with the calorie burn, and absolutely everything to do with the improvement to my mood, outlook, and desire to eat well. Exercise is the glue that holds my **** together.

2) Pre-logging. I log my day and prep my food at least the night before, almost without fail. I go to work knowing exactly what I will be eating and when. It's all prepped. If I eat as scheduled, I don't really get hungry, and it's MUCH easier to avoid the doughnuts in the break room having had a big, filling breakfast (always 500+ calories) and knowing I have two more big meals and several snacks ahead of me - including treats.

3) Planning splurge days. Seriously, do you know how much easier it is to avoid getting a pastry from ABP as I take the elevator up to work in the morning knowing that I have a birthday party this weekend where I can have cake? Or saying no to an invitation for lunch out knowing I'm having brunch at a great restaurant with my family Saturday? When I was losing weight (I am maintaining now), I'd often get through the cravings by saying, "you can have it Saturday if you want. As much as you want." And then Saturday would roll around, and sometimes I'd eat it and sometimes I wouldn't want it anymore. But planning it for a future date helped a lot. Obviously, your results will vary - I was diligent when logging, and exercise a lot, so these splurge days never set me back (10 pounds a month dropped like clockwork until I purposely stopped/slowed).

So, really, the old adage for me to never let yourself get too hungry, tired, or stressed helps.

FWIW, I lost 133 pounds in 15 months and I've been maintaining since September of 2012. This worked for me. That inner fat kid will always be inside me, I know it. But my outer fit woman is taking good care of her

...one of my sugar craving fighters was to eat a piece of cheese covered in butter.

Are kidding? Cheese covered in butter? I love cheese, and I love butter, but that doesn't even sound good.

Depends on the cheese. I'm no butter-on-cheese professional (I prefer to just eat one or the other by itself), but cream cheese and butter is basically just a (added) sugar-free version of cheesecake or the filling in pumpkin rolls, for example.

Of course, now I'm curious as to what cheeses would go best with butter....

I found a bit of fasting powerful to quiet the nagging. It is very difficult at first but forcing myself to not eat for the day developed my ability to ignore 'the child' and also reduced the volume of it's call. Currently I don't fast regularly but plan to work it into my life permanently as I just plain feel better when I do it. Immediate goal of trimming up is nearly done. Hope this can help

I don't have this issue, because I don't restrict my diet, if I want to eat something I fit it into my day, just smaller quantities (usually) than I had in the past.

In the past when I use to "go on a diet" I would cut calories way too much, restrict all the delicious foods, and I would get cravings like you are having, give in to them... and quit

Yesterday this picture below was 1 of 2 desserts I shared and it was AMAZING

I totally agree with you, I eat what I want, but in limits. I have a few ground rules I follow though, since I cook 2-3 times a day for my boyfriend, and when we go out to a restaurant. These are simple...I will order a starter and a dessert (which I usually share with my boyfriend, even though he's having his own). If I order a burger I will take the half bun on the top off and the chips on the side I will leave..or someone else usually eats it. If I'm cooking at home I won't eat a portion after I cooked it, if I know I had my fair share eating while cooking.

If I have a craving I usually listen to a song I like, practise music or I will even look at a photo of what I used to look like, and decide that I am better than that.

I exercise a lot. 4-6 spinning classes a week, strength training 3+ times a week, perhaps 2-3 gym classes a week (yoga/zumba/step aerobics) and core exercises. I exercise because I love it, not just for weight loss.

But then..some days (maybe once in a month or two) I go through my food cupboard like pacman. And my weight wasn't up or down the next day, because my body is used to consistency.

My BMI went from 29 (verge of obesity) to 21.8

I have hypothyroidism and PCOS. So if I can lose weight, really anybody can.

...one of my sugar craving fighters was to eat a piece of cheese covered in butter.

Are kidding? Cheese covered in butter? I love cheese, and I love butter, but that doesn't even sound good.

Depends on the cheese. I'm no butter-on-cheese professional (I prefer to just eat one or the other by itself), but cream cheese and butter is basically just a (added) sugar-free version of cheesecake or the filling in pumpkin rolls, for example.

Of course, now I'm curious as to what cheeses would go best with butter....

I have my doubts that the type of cheese matters, unless it's some weird cheese that I don't eat anyway. And I don't eat cream cheese at all unless it's sweetened. I love cheesecake, but I do not like plain cream cheese.

...one of my sugar craving fighters was to eat a piece of cheese covered in butter.

Are kidding? Cheese covered in butter? I love cheese, and I love butter, but that doesn't even sound good.

Depends on the cheese. I'm no butter-on-cheese professional (I prefer to just eat one or the other by itself), but cream cheese and butter is basically just a (added) sugar-free version of cheesecake or the filling in pumpkin rolls, for example.

Of course, now I'm curious as to what cheeses would go best with butter....

It's no different than eating a cheese sandwich where you butter the bread or put mayo on the bread, I just ditch the bread. I find it works best with hard cheeses like cheddar or poacher, but not ones that are aged longer than about a year (longer aged cheeses are too tasty to eat, the butter will lessen the flavour). Sometimes for a treat I will do cheddar with a bit of butter and a dollop of no sugar jam or mashed berries. Tres Magnifique.

Also good is goat cheese spread on a slice of cheddar. Cream Cheese on cheddar is okay, but I rather like eating cream cheese with a spoon instead, or melting it into vegetables. (Seriously, mashed cauliflower with borsin cream cheese is divine).