I thought it would be fun to do a survey... I noticed that every single one of us has some kind of issue with food that led us to do this diet... It's nice to know that we're not alone... and its even nicer to see that we can face these challenges head on and get through them!

My biggest challenges are

1: Stress eating: I always used food to "eat" away my problems... literally thousands of calories in 1 sitting without even thinking about it... until I got so full and realized what I did, and that would just make me feel guilty and depressed that I ate so much. I am still learning to deal with it. I had a really rough week this past week and I cheated a little but I realized it's such an improvement than what I used to be- because I actually thought about what I was doing rather than just eating and not thinking about it until afterwards.

2: Social situations: This is probably really common... It is so hard for me to be around food and/or alcohol, watching everyone else just enjoy themselves. In the past I would over indulge at parties and get togethers... I would look at all the good food- fill up my plate, have a second helping... probably eat more than most people at the party. Now I may have a bite here and there of something that looks good, but that's where I end it. Again I'm actually thinking about what I am eating vs. just eating without thought.

3: CARBS! I always ate wayyy too many carbs. I am still craving them all the time. I keep saying I'll give up the melba to speed up my weight loss process but even that little piece of melba toast makes a difference to me. I wish I could just cut it out completely but I want it too much! I'm scared what will happen when I go off the diet.

How bout everyone else??

I was not an emotional eater, or boredom eater. I ate because food tasted so good!

I was a total carb eater, too. Not too big on bread, all I wanted to eat was sweets - cookies, candy, chocolate. If I could have only eaten that and never eaten anything else, I would have been happy. But I knew that wasn't healthy, and I was getting heavier and heavier. I was very unhappy with the way I looked and felt. I have diabetes in my family, and I knew I was headed for that if I didn't change the way I eat.

While on the diet, I did not eat any melba or breadsticks at all. I wanted to break the carb habit. After a while, I didn't crave them at all.
On my first P4, I was able to eat one slice of pizza, or a couple of cookies, or a few squares of chocolate, without wanting more. I'm now at my goal weight, and started my final P4 today. I am going to try my best NOT to get back into those bad habits. I know this diet has conditioned me to cook more, and not just grab convenient, pre-packaged food.

hmm Maybe if I just stop buying the melba that would help me rid it once and for all. out of sight out of mind.

Oh I thought of another big one for me: TV... I always associated TV with food because I ate meals or snacks in front of the TV... it became psychological... so now if I am eating dinner I make sure the TV is off. I make sure I am not eating my meals during my shows

twinma - couldn't have said it better myself. I still struggle with that. I am on an HCG spray for my 2nd round that doesn't allow coffee and not having that makes me miss the caffeine "high". It's really been hard for me to get out of that state of mind.