Will Power

The first thing that I do is to see if I really am hungry when I go to grab food. I will drink a big glass of water or half of a bottle water and wait 15 minutes to see if I still want the food. If not then you weren't really hungry you just wanted it out of boredom or emotional or some other reason. I also ask myself is it really worth the calories and the risk of derailing for the day. If the answer is yes then I go ahead and eat it if not then I don't. These are the two things that have kept me on track for the most part. Talking a five minute walk also has deterred me from eating extra calories at night when I didn't have it in my allowance. I am up very late at night as well due to insomnia so understand the need to try and eat.

i'm in law school, so i feel your pain. i also have an insatiable appetite, so instead of having willpower, i have to trick myself. here are a couple things that worked well for me and might work for you:

1. give yourself one day off a week. i know it sounds crazy, but i got the idea from the Body For Life program (which is excellent, by the way). and it's awesome. their reasoning is that your body, rather than adjusting to having fewer calories (that is, slowing down its metabolism) needs a once-a-week shock to keep it running at full speed, meaning that you burn more calories the rest of the week. MY reasoning is that it makes it easier to eat moderately all week knowing that i can have whatever i want on tuesday (or whatever).

2. do what you're doing, and find foods that you can eat substantial portions of. or, find foods that are filling. protein is very filling, so if i'm about to dive into the oreo zone, i sometimes eat a big bowl of fat free cottage cheese mixed with yogurt, or leftover grilled chicken etc. i tell myself, "i'll just finish this, and if i'm still starving, i'll eat oreos." but it's impossible to still be hungry after, say, two bowls of fat free cottage cheese and yogurt.

3. Dining hall mind tricks. When I was an undergrad I took the following approach to surrounding junk food. Say they had pieces of cake out in the dining hall. I would look at a piece and think, "i bet i would finish that in, maybe, five bites." Then i would flash-forward to after it was gone. That is a miserable moment. Five bites? Not worth it. Better to wait for my day off...

4. Slow eating tricks. I eat fast. So I made a rule that after every bite of food i took, I had to put down my fork and use the same hand to drink from a glass of water. It works! you fill up faster and feel better when you are full, since water makes the digestive world go round.

5. Figure out how to make or buy your favorite sweets in low-cal versions. Like No-Pudge Fudge fat free brownies, Edy's light ice creams, fat free sugar free jell-o pudding with cool whip free on top, angel food cake with orange sherbert. the list goes on. it's gotten so that i prefer my own desserts, which i can eat a lot of, to the five bites of dining hall cake.

I hope these help! One thing I would recommend is getting out there and conquering the dining hall. I think you will find you will remember that your weight loss goals will feel better than five bites of cake. Confronting those decisions is what builds your will power! Good luck.