I started going to WW about 40 years ago. In those days tracking was pen and paper. It was a PITA and took some effort to look things up. Once I got clued in on MFP's online food tracker with the food database, it was so much easier. It still takes motivation to keep doing it, but sooo much easier.

Probably the biggest stumbling block for me in regards to tracking was to stop throwing in the towel when I would exceed my calorie budget. Like not tracking it didn't mean my body didn't count it? Yeah, you can imagine how well that worked.

Once I got the mindset that I would always track - the good, the bad, and the truly ugly, then the consistency with tracking was established. I had to view tracking as data not as some moral judgement.

Uhmmm...not eating the food in vast quantities, whenever I wanted. Right along with that, figuring out what was really going on in my head when I wanted to eat.

I got fat leaning on food to help me navigate all sorts of situations--those that stressed me and those that made me happy. Sometimes there was nothing obvious that led to it; I just ate to eat (or so it seems now). I got used to reaching for food or drink without giving it any thought. I would just pack the food in. I mean I wasn't slobby or slovenly about it. I just ate / drank a lot. Even as I had to bump up a clothes size or two, I'd be pissed at myself--but not enough to do anything different.

Putting limits on my intake was a real change for me after the better part of a decade of freewheeling it entirely with food and drink. WW was a good program for me because it helped me reduce my intake over time, giving me time and success to learn to be mindful. Honestly, tracking was not all that tough compared to limiting myself. I read enough GOAD posts to know that the plan works if I worked it, so I did. I made lifetime (I think it was two years ago this week). Still, to this day, I have to be diligent every day about my following my plan. I have to be mindful and I have to implement that plan with every choice (even if I choose to go off plan).

The mindfulness has also really helped me understand what drives me to want to eat. It sure ain't always about hunger. I've had to train myself to pay close attention to triggers and eating itself and to stop eating or not finish everything on my plate just because it's there. I've worked to understand and actually feel what satisfied feels like (as opposed to stuffed). I've deliberately worked to know what's going on when I make choices consistent with my plan...and when I don't. There's a big difference. One makes me want to toe the line, the other can lead to the effits.

The work has paid off for me so far, but I sure don't take any of it for granted.

Not eating my feelings is a big one, and one that I still struggle with. Guess who was eating her anxiety over the house search this past week? It doesn't help I'm not sleeping either...oiy vey.