Motivation Needed to get back on Track!

I've recently moved (again) and I'm having a hard time being super strict like I used to be :(  When I started this diet 10 months ago, I was so strict worked out 60+ minutes 4 days/week ate no junk food and thus have lost 75 lbs.  I moved in April and ever since then my whole routine has been messed up.  and i'm having a really hard time finding motivation to workout everyday.  The scale has finally just budged and i'm maintaining.  I just moved again July 26 and I've started to get back on track.  But I'm a lot more lenient these days then I was when I started.  i'm not sure if its because I feel more confident with my new body and am liking the changes I've seen. But then it counteracts itself, and I look in the mirror and feel like a whale :(  I've been trying so hard, I haven't had any chips or anything lately.  I did however go out for dinner with the hubby Friday night and had some chinese food/popcorn/ and chocloate almonds.  And then Saturday I had 2 slices of pizza and today we were out again for lunch, I got a side salad and chicken/rice wrap.  And we shared a deep fried cheesecake.  I just am so confused, some days I feel so good about myself and then other days I feel huge.  The fact that the scale is hardly moving anymore is a big contribution to my motivational loss.  I have been working out still but its only anywhere from 35-50 min.  and 1 day /wk. of sculpting.  I still feel hungry lots though, I don' constatnly satisfy this hunger because I think its lying to me,  for eg) I ate lunch at 12:30and I'm feeling hungry right now but theres no way I could be.  I know I can eat more because my metabolism and muscle have built up.  THe CC meter says I should eat 2100 calories /day doesn't that seem like a lot , I never (intentionally) eat that much but who knows, this weekend has been a gong show!  I'm just looking for some help and if this has happened to anyone else , what did you do to recover from this and get strict again.  Thanks :)

1. Get a food scale.  Start measuring your food.  I know I had some nasty surprises when I did that. 
   
2. Get back to logging what you eat.  Licks, bites, tates, nibbles, and OPF (other people's food) all count.  If it goes in your mouth, it goes in your log.  Even if you can't get to a PC, you can write it down or send yourself a text message from your phone. 
   
3. Stop eating out so much.  It's not good for you.  Too much salt, fat, and calories.  Even the "slim", "Weight Watchers", or other "good" choice are often a LIE!!!  CBS did a report on it.   The calories count on the menu can be wildly off  (1000 or more calories) from the dish that arrives at your table.   If you don't have to eat out, DON'T.  Your body will thank you. 
   
4. Log your activity and make sure that your burn isn't out of proportion with what you think. 
   
5. Maintain a 500-700 cal. per day deficit. 
   
6. Drink lots of water.  Take your body weight in pounds and divide by two.  That's how many ounces of water you should be drinking per day.  If you weigh 200#, you drink 100 ounces of water - good old H2O.  Not diet soda, juice, tea, coffee, milk, etc.  That's all extra. 
   
7. Get rid of the processed food.  High Fructose Corn Syrup is my current "evil" food.  It's banned in Europe and is associated with a whole host of health problems, many of which my husband suffers from.  

If you do all that, I guarntee your scale will start moving again.  If you do that for 30 days and it doesn't move, something else is afoot and you need to see your doctor ASAP. 

I move a lot too and every time I do it is a set back.  I feel embarrassed at a new gym and tend not to go too often until I figure out when it is mostly empty so no one can see me.  I actually have been pretty ill for a while and I haven't been to my gym and now I'm nervous about going back, even though I know those people and they are very nice, I feel awful about me.  Anyway this isn't about me.  You just need some time to settle in to your new surroundings.  Try to make better choices when you eat out...did you say deep fried cheesecake?!?! You might have to force yourself to just do what you gotta do until you feel comfortable in your new surroundings.  You can do it!!!

I'm needing to get back on track myself. I know it's worth it to do so, because my weight is always on its way up or down, according to how well I've behaved that week. I never seem to just "maintain".

The first step is to be honest and conscious of what you are doing. I know that my biggest self-sabotage tool is avoiding thought about what I am eating. I just like to ignore reality while I'm eating and then "remember" just after I'm done eating - "Oh yeah, I had meant to do better from now on!"

When you remember you will log what you eat, you know you will be more strict/careful. Sometimes it's overwhelming to think of logging what you eat FOREVER, so that previous suggestion of making a goal to record it all for 30 days is a good one. By then it may be a habit again. You can be proud of your effort just as you can be proud of your results.

Take little steps up. It was good that you only "shared" the deep fried cheesecake, and you probably knew you would have been just as happy if it hadn't been fried. And of course frozen yogurt or something similar would have been that much better for you while still satisfying the urge for a creamy sweet dessert. When you're tempted, don't reach for the lowest common denominator, try to go for the healthiest alternative that you can live with.

Part of being more conscious of what you're doing is planning ahead. Usually we eat out when we don't have a plan. It's better to save dining out for special occasions. It'll save you money, too. Maybe you can make a menu. It could be as general or as specific as you want. Grocery shop with your eating plan in mind. Think about lunch while you're eating breakfast. Divvy up your own "100 calorie snack packs" of fruits and veggies in case hunger strikes unexpectedly. Often I'll grab a piece of fruit not just to stave off hunger for an hour until the next strike, that's lazy. Instead I'll eat it and then search my cupboards for my meal plan. It helps me think more rationally because I can think with my brain instead of my stomach.

Another tip: Being sure to get some dairy (like lite yogurt or cottage cheese) really helps me feel satisfied and not be hungry as soon after lunch. Lean Protein and whole grains help, too. If you're all fruits and veggies and salads, you'll be hungry in 2 hours or less.