I would like to know the answer too. Anyone here know what is the answer to that question. I'll do some research in Google and get back to you if I find an decent answer. You should email the people at Medifast as they probably could give you an answer..

I wish I had an answere for you, but I don't and feel the same way you do at times. I am in maintance and I still find myself haivng days of just eating and eating. I hate that I can not just keep up the healthy eating I am sick of being good for 2 days and then bad for 3 or more. It is a bad cycle we do to our self and it takes a lot of time and practice to get past it. I do not want to gain all the weight back so I have to get that voice out of my head so I can have positive thoughts that will help me and not bring me down..

Best of luck to you, you can do it in time and practice. But as you can see you are not alone and it doesn't go away once you reach goal it is something that one has to work on for life...

I have felt the same way you do. I don't think I'll know the answer "this side of Heaven". I've dealt with being overweight most of my life. I did have a few periods of being a "normal" weight but it never lasted long..

I lost 80 lbs. with Medifast two years ago. It took me about a year to lose it. I thought I'd NEVER ever go back to eating my old way...but here I am again. No one is more shocked than I am that I wasn't able to keep eating healthy..

I am taking it one day at a time and coming here for support..

I'm currently reading a good book called 'A Weight Loss Course". I'm really enjoying it. When I feel true hunger in between the Medifast "meals" (which is very often) I pick up the book and it takes my mind off my hunger and back on to why I am doing this!!.

Hang in there!..

Ohh, I know that evil voice! It's been in my head for years, too. Definately trying to keep active to drown it out! I listened to it last weekend, but have a plan for this weekend lots of keeping busy..

I agree that food can be harder than alcohol or cigarettes. We can't avoid food forever. There are ads constantly on TV, and in magazines about yummy, fatty foods that I should not eat. We are addicts who can never abstain from our "drug". Unfortunately, I'm another yo-yo dieter, so clearly I don't have the answer yet for how to not listen to the evil impulses. I guess it's a good thing I have a long way to go before maintanence!..

Have you ever read anything by Geneen Roth? She has written several books on weight loss and emotions. Her biggest one is called Women Food and Love. I am reading one right now called "When Food is Love"...I know that when I first started to think about losing weight, I stumbled across her book. It helped to provide insight into why I abuse(d) my body with food, and then also lead me to discover that it might be beneficial to employ the use of a counsler for extra support while I am going down this path. Not meaning to imply that you need professional help! but sometimes it's good to have a third parties interpretation. Best of luck to you!..

Thanks you guys, it's does help to know I'm not alone. I'll look up the books. and thanks for taking the time to reply...

What gets me are trigger foods, things I simply can't seem to eat moderately. I have a little bit, of cheese <!> and there I go, I'm eating another piece, then the evil voice is saying "You know you're eventually going to eat the whole thing so go ahead." Darn it! I do OK as long as I am strict enough not to eat any at all..

Why moderation is so much harder than abstinence I don't know, something very powerful kicks in and excess results. I continue to explore this on a mental and emotional level, conquering it is the key to creating and maintaining the body I want to be living in..

It certainly causes me to recognize that people who don't care about food don't have this issue, just like alcohol does not cause this response in me but does in others. We each have our path, our personal demons, and as adults we have to find our own responsibility to make ourselves behave in such a way as not to undermine our best interests. There is no one else to blame because we are 100% in charge of what and how we eat...