How you fight the cravings??

I find myself being tempted all the time. I've even caught myself going "Oh I can start over again the next day. The only problem is that day never comes!! I do so good for a week or so, then it comes out of nowhere. Anyone have any tricks?? I am soooooo frustrated.

OK, here's the trick: you are responsible and accountable for your actions, 100%. So, cheat freely on Day 1, but track every bite in your food diary, and figure out how many calories you have exceeded your target. Then on Day 2, without fail, cut back by that many calories, or burn that many calories by exercising. Walking briskly for 30 minutes is worth about 200 cals or so, swimming for 30 minutes is worth something like 500 cals, you get the picture.

The truth is that payback is hell, but since you are 100% responsible for your own actions, you must pay yourself back. If you let yourself off the hook on day 2, it means you are not serious, you are making excuses. And it doesn't build strength to constantly let yourself weasel out.

Go ahead and eat those french fries on Day 1, but remember to walk an extra hour the next day and/or cut back on your eating until you break even. Be strong and determined and know the consequences of your actions, and adjust accordingly.

I think the trick here, if there is one, is that once you hold yourself 100% accountable and you have faced some pretty grim Day 2s, you will be more observant on Day 1s.

Today I was roped into a team lunch at work, and I managed to eat about 920 cals of pizza instead of the 320 calories I had planned for my lunch. That gave me a 600 cal deficit to work out or to carry over. I walked back from the restaurant instead of riding with my boss, burning 200 cals, and then I went to the gym after work and swam a mile. So now I'm actually ahead and don't have to carry over my problem to Saturday. But I have faced some tough days before where I couldn't burn the calories at the gym and had to cut back drastically on my food to break even. That has persuaded me to be more careful.

Anyway, that's my input, and it's what I'm trying to maintain in my own approach to this dieting stuff. I find if I let myself off the hook for even one day, it snowballs, and then I tell myself it's not important anyway, and I rationalize. So I have gone to zero tolerance, and so far it seems to be working ok.