Some days you just wanna...EAT A WHOLE CAKE!

A huge piece of cake...a dozen cookies...2 donuts...a quart of Ben & Jerry's...oh goodness there are days when all of these things sound so tempting.  There are days when staying away from the pantry, fridge, or freezer would be so much easier if I could lock it and throw away the key.  There are also days when I have given in and "cheated", but after, I would make myself feel so guilty.  I don't condone frequent cheating, but I also don't recommend putting yourself through the guilt that I put myself through.  I was so focused on reaching my goal that when I slipped, I punished myself.  Now don't go all crazy on me...I'm not talking eating disorder crazy or anything.  I just allowed guilt to consume me which in some cases did make me feel sick.  If I can give you one piece of advice, it is this.  DO NOT CONSUME YOURSELF WITH GUILT WHEN YOU SLIP, OR YOU WILL BE UNSUCCESSFUL.  Once I was able to wrap my brain around the fact that one slip wouldn't bring back all of the pounds I had lost, I was much more able to accomplish what I had set out to do...change my life.  And once I realized that there were rewards that were better for me that didn't constitute cheating, making those better choices became so much easier.  Now, understand this, if you cheat with unhealthy, calorie and fat filled foods, tell yourself it's okay, then cheat again the  next day, tell yourself it's okay, cheat again...and so forth and so on...you will fall right back into the lifestyle you worked so hard to come out of.  Finding balance in this journey is the single hardest thing you'll do.  Being able to reward yourself once in a while is going to keep you from leaping off of a tall building...and really...who wants to take a flying leap off a building?  Balance...find yours...stay strong...reward yourself...BUT ONLY ONCE IN A WHILE!  

Here's my suggestions for how to reward yourself without losing control or packing on the pounds:
1.  sugar free angel food cake with fat free cool whip
2.  low fat yogurt mixed with Special K cereal
3.  100 calorie snacks
4.  Skinny Cow products
5.  Weight Watchers ice cream products
6.  Yoplait fruit smoothie mix with fat free milk
7.  any type of fresh fruit
8.  sugar free popsicles
As you can see, my weakness is my sweet tooth.  
REMEMBER....IT'S NOT A DIET; IT'S A LIFESTYLE!