How do you "just say no."

I had to change the way I think of food.

I now think of food as only fuel for my body.

When confronted with a tempting food like pizza I think several things

do I need some fuel? if yes...I may have a slice but probably not unless its my only choice and that is rare.

do I have room with calories? if yes...I then think if I want all those carbs and fat in my body.

Having occasional junk is one thing but I control it...it doesnt control me anymore.

When I changd to thinking of food as only fuel,,,things really started changing for me as far as tempting foods like pizza and controlling what I put in my body.

When I want a treat...like chocolate or pizza or ice cream...I make sure I appreciate it and work for it and treat it as a special occasion.

Everyone is different, we all have our own reasons for getting thinner and healthier, but I believe when you REALLY want to do it, you'll lose it. The reason just has to be good enough, for you. You just need to find that spark that gets you going.

For me it was feeling the difference... All through university I got fatter and fatter, and didn't really care too much. It was always in the back of my mind I guess, but it wasn't something I worried about. Then I got really sick and had to leave home for a while, and started being healthy almost by accident (I could only find a job in an organic salad bar, and no car means a lot of walking and biking!!). I lost a LOT of weight and it amazed me how good I felt, and sort of woke up to the fact that I was overweight and missing out on a lot of things.

I've come back home now to complete my degree, but as summer approaches and I remember how good it felt to lose all that weight last year, I'm ready to shed the remainder.

So my advice?

Sit down and look at all the reasons you want to be healthier, write them out if you haven't already, and decide if that's worth giving up for a slice of pizza. It will get easier every time you say no. This isn't to say a treat every once in a while is a bad thing... but if you're doing it on a nightly basis, you're never going to achieve the results you want.

Also, be accountable to those around you. Make it very clear you're trying to lose weight, even write your goals and post them to your fridge. Talk to people in your life who might tempt you inadvertently and let them know it would be easier if they kept the pizza offering to a minimum.

You definitely have it in you to do this!!! Start fresh tonight, let us know how it goes this week for you. Once the weight starts coming off it will feel too good to go back on.

I am trying to make sure I eat enough to keep me "not hungry" most of the time, then when the opportunity to cheat comes up... I really don't care one way or the other. Yeah, smells and looks good... but if I'm not hungry I just won't eat it.

It takes a while to get to this point, but it works for me, too. I also make sure I have plenty of good food around so that when the offer arises, I'm too cheap to let my clean foods go to waste.

Coffee barely has calories - unless you're referring to having it with milk, sugar, whipped cream, syrup, etc.? Because you can run out and get tea instead!

When I finally decided that I'd had enough and wanted to change my life and lose the weight, I made some decisions about how to approach food.

I plan my day's meals in advance and log the food in the night before then I don't deviate from the plan.

I made the decision to eat only what I had planned in advance, thus I will accept no food that is offered to me no matter how innocent or benign. Then I don't even have to decide. I just say no.

If I really want pizza or another treat, then I plan for it another day by planning my calories and exercise for the day to allow the calories.

right now my desire to get rid of the weight is much more important than recreational eating.

good luck :flowerforyou:

Recreational Eating! HA! I love that :laugh:

Stef: In the beginning I left the room alot. Not very social, but when my family was eating pizza and I didn't have the willpower, sometimes I had to just get outta there! It does get easier. I choose not to give everything up - I just make sure I can afford it. Tonight I had 1/2 cup of dirty rice with hot links and a HUGE salad. It was plenty.