Eating and guilt

I don't know that off meals would work for me because of the sheer guilt associated with it.  But that being said, here is the hypocrisy, I have enough "off" times that they make up for the off meals.   I just don't have the control to plan this stuff out like that.  I'm terrified that one "off meal" will turn back into 140 pounds of off meals. I need a psychologist, don't I?  Sheesh.

I operate with the understanding that leaking a little all over the place, unplanned, will cause a flat.--- and I may  be in a dangerous place when that tire finally goes. But if I PLAN it, and let the air out all at once in front of a repair shop, I can fix it and be back on the road. Know what I mean?  Snacking is death. I don't snack. It doesn't have boundaries, so the possibility of abuse is just too great. I eat three meals a day, and if I wanted an occasional "big meal" (with appetizer or dessert) I scheduled one in every few weeks. In my post op (after goal) I plan to do that once a week, in fact. For whatever reason, it works for me.

That's the thing, we all have to figure out what works best for us.  We are not one size fits all.  The problem is that it can take many, many failed weight loss attempts before we find what works best for us.

I don't know if what I have to say is really an intelligent additive to this post, but here's my two cents.  I feel that unless we plan to have our off meals, that we "cheat" simply because we've told ourselves not to and the "all or nothing" attitude a lot of us have.  If you are scared of heights and you happen to be up somewhere high and someone tells you "don't look down", what is the first thing you do? Look down! You know it will scare the hell out of you, but you do it anyway. I think it's part of human nature to rebel against what we're told not to do so that we can see for ourselves.  I am trying to look at this weight loss journey as a bike ride - somedays you will have smooth ride, somedays you will have bumps and potholes in your way and other days, you'll just fall right off the bike and land on your butt. As long as you get up and get back on your "bike", you'll get there eventually. Granted going off the plan will take longer than strictly staying on course and not veering off course.

Oh Heather, I agree with you 100%.  Most people who deny themselves for too long will eventually snap.  Like Shari said, I would rather have a controlled, planned "cheat" than a totally out of control, I've fallen and I can't get up, give me a cookie before I kill somebody month-long binge. You're right, an all or nothing attitude is just a disaster waiting to happen.