There’s always that moment when you have to decide: to eat or not to eat the tempting food, whether it’s at home or work or elsewhere. We all know the theoretical strategies for making better choices. Take a walk, phone a friend, eat something healthier. Do those work for you?

For me, sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. I find my best strategy to be the delay tactic. I try to tell myself I can have whatever it is, but I have to wait a few minutes. Then I try to get busy with something else. Sometimes it works!

What do you do when you’re actually in the decision-making moment?

I will not deprive myself of anything in moderation. That being said, I didn't get to almost 300 pounds because I did anything in moderation, including food.

I truly believe depriving yourself is a catalyst to failure. You will fill punished, you will feel regret, you will feel isolated, you will left-out and eventually those feelings will lead you to not just one slice of cake but several pieces, then those pieces give you permission to eat something else equally bad and before you know it you have started the journey of the slippery slope to weight gain.

I understand that it takes great dedication to your health to decide on WLS and with that dedication came sacrifices. Many of those sacrifices include "tempting food" but for many people a slice of pie is just a slice of pie or a few french fries it just a few french fries. Being a WLS patient doesn't mean you give up the joy of tempting food. It simply means you know when and how to make the splurge.

Here's what I do and it works!!!

I use a visualization technique, and visualize myself how I want to look and think about how that will benefit me and that allows me to better choices.

If that fails, I put what I want to eat in my food tracking app and see if I can make it work with my requirements and visually seeing that it doesn't work makes it easier to say no.

I ask myself if this is my only opportunity to eat that food - now or ever. Usually it is not. I also ask myself to remember how I felt the last time I ate it and I remember feeling unsatisfied, physically sick and quite unhappy. Then I decide that it's not worth it.

I used to love Hawaiian pizzas but one of the last times I had one many months ago - despite my better judgement, I felt incredibly sick the next day. I don't think I will never eat pizza again but it will have to be really high quality or homemade in order to be worth it. And I will have decided to have it rather than given into an impulse.

I ask myself if this is my only opportunity to eat that food - now or ever. Usually it is not. I also ask myself to remember how I felt the last time I ate it and I remember feeling unsatisfied, physically sick and quite unhappy. Then I decide that it's not worth it.

I used to love Hawaiian pizzas but one of the last times I had one many months ago - despite my better judgement, I felt incredibly sick the next day. I don't think I will never eat pizza again but it will have to be really high quality or homemade in order to be worth it. And I will have decided to have it rather than given into an impulse.

I kind of do this too. If i crave a fast food, soda, etc I remind myself all of these chains/companies have been around 50+ years. I tell myself that if they ever announce going out of business or quitting production of something I like...maybe then I'll indulge. Until then there is no hurry for me to have one now, today, in this moment. I have a a goal to meet and more than likely, all this stuff will be there when I meet goal-- if I even want it by then.

Over the last 14 months I've become less afraid of food. Now, one "slip up" doesn't make me nuts.

But I also recognize immediately that late at night cravings do NOT mean I'm hungry, but instead am bored, procrastinating or feeling compelled by old, unhealthy habits.

In those instances, I try to delay or white-knuckle it.

And here's what I observe (so far). The more times I resist head-hunger, the longer are the intervals between these head-hunger moments.

I'm loathe to attribute this recent success to will-power, but there does seem to be something to the idea that the more I resist temptation, the easier resistance becomes. Kind of like: "I don't smoke cigarettes."

Hey, maybe those 12-step programs are on to something, eh?

I will most often take one very small bite if I am offered something yummy while. For me, that's all it (usually) takes to cure any craving.

If I am at home, I think about when I am having my next meal and if that bite will ruin it. (My restriction is very tight.) I rarely indulge in "extras" at home.

I take a small bite or two of whatever it is to kill the craving. That usually works for me.