> I too have yo-yoed and looking back upon my eating habits over the last few
> years -- I have discovered that the falling off the wagon ALWAYS happens 10
> pounds or so away from goal. (and no, my goal is not to be some walking
> skeleton, rather it is a realistic goal)   I generally get frustrated with
> no further weight loss and figure -- what the heck a little of this won't
> hurt and before I know it, a little becomes a lot.  Then, once back on the
> wagon, the weight/fat loss is even slower.

The psychology of weight loss is vastly under-appreciated. You raise an
excellent point about what happens when you are 10 pounds short of your
realistic goal.

It is helpful to ask: What are my thoughts just before I "cheat"? My
thoughts are the same as they were when I was drinking or engaging in
other addictions: I say "why not, a little more won't make a
difference." Then when I have a little more, I say "well, I've already
blown it for today. Why not eat more of this excellent pastry [or
whatever] and I'll be back on the wagon tomorrow to start fresh."

Then tomorrow comes, and some other temptation presents itself. Since I
cheated yesterday, it is just so much easier to say "well, I'm on a
binge at this point, I might as well have some of this excellent bread."

For me, the only thing that works is rigid discipline in the form of
absolutetely sticking to a program no matter what. Then I "know" I won't
cheat and I am free from anything but tolerable cravings. If I think I
might cheat, then I will.

--Richard