What stops you from eating bad foods?!

I know I crave sweets alot, so for me I always keep some jello and reddi whip handy. Also, for lunch I do a nice peanut butter and jelly on wheat and the sweetness of the jelly will take the sweet cravings away for the day. Lastly I cannot forget about my low fat and low calorie brownie recipe I got from the Biggest Loser cookbook, as well as the 100 calorie snack packs. All in moderation my friend. And as a fellow mfp user told me keep your weight loss goal with you in your wallet and every time you are in that store looking at the candies at the check out line, look at your goals instead. You will start to find yourself walking right on by.

First of all, I just don't believe in feeling deprived, so I make sure I eat food that I think tastes very good everyday. I also find the healthiest options available of things which wouldn't normally be categorized as diet food, but are good for your body none the less. For instance, after each workout as a recovery drink I get to have half a cup of Promised Land Chocolate Milk!! Promised Land doesn't add any hormones or other scary things to their cows or milk, and there is a lot of research that has shown that drinking chocolate milk after workouts helps your muscles recover better than expensive protein mixes and shakes. I get chocolate and my muscles get recovery!

If I am really craving something, it should last more than two days, so if I crave something for two days I plan a way to have a reasonable amount without going over categories - again, out and out denial just doesn't work for me.

As for millions of temptations you face during the day, the ones that I used to ALWAYS let myself cave to, well those take some mental fortitude. If I see pecan twirls in the grocery store and think I will just get them as a treat, I have to completely stop what I am doing, put them down and remind myself that Pecan Twirls don't do anything for me, and don't make me happy.

And then the ultimate argument: None of the food I know I shouldn't eat, and no food that takes me over my calorie allotment for the day are more important to me than people are. So I have to make myself choose between loving and receiving love from people or food. Ever since I have been thinking of it in terms of people vs food I have not really struggled with the temptations like I have on previous diets. I have to keep reminding myself that that is my motivation, but it has been a good one.

Good luck! Try to find some foods that work with your diet that satisfy your sweet tooth, chocolate cravings, or whatever other flavors you love. It helps a lot!

My tip is: consider what people with no weight issues are doing. Moderation and mindfulness are the key.

My mother sent me a gift box of German Christmas sweets -- Lebkuchen, mostly. They are large, round nut and gingerbread "cookies". They aren't even particularly bad for you -- not that much sugar and added fat, and tons of nuts and dried fruit. One, depending on type, is 200-250 cal. So I have about 3000 cal worth of delicious, traditional Christmas fare right here. I'll give away most, of course, but I HAVE eaten some -- one every second day, approx -- and logged it. Today I have a 300 cal hole in my eating plan -- and will fill it with one of them.

Don't let yourself eat mindlessly. Know how much you've eaten and how much it is in calories, very approximately, take ONE piece if possible, and log it.

What everyone has said is very true. You don't want to deprive yourself completely. If I had done that in the very beginning of my weight loss journey, it would have crippled me more then help me. I think it comes down to the choices we make. If you are at a party, stay away from the real high calorie desserts. This knowledge comes with time. MFP was so helpful with training me to know that a sugar cookie would probably be a better choice then a piece of cake. Parties are the hardest to me because you have no control over what's going to be there, you are having fun and it's so easy to just sit and eat fun things!

Ingot to the point with me that I seriously stopped being tempted. I knew what my goals were. I knew what pants I wanted to fit in. I envisioned the me I wanted to be and that cupcake wasn't in that vision! Haha! It took a long time to get there but it happened! Now I can be around junk food and completely remain in control. It's totally a control issue. You have the ability to say NO and to treat yourself. Finding the balance is hard but in all actuality it's not that good for you anyways. So if you aren't sure, say no or eat half. Take small bites. You can do this. Believe me, if I can get a handle on my immense Reeses love (used to eat one or two before bed!) then you can so do this!