weight loss and the environment

Good morning ....first...thanks again for tall the GREAT comments on the blog...I encourage everyone to read these comments and get into the foray yourself as well! Great advice....fun to hear others insights....Yesterday there was a discussion about the "environment" and controlling this via ensuring that there are not challenging foods/snacks around to tempt you. I strongly encourage people to NOT have things around the house that will make it easy for you to derail your weight loss efforts. Face it..if there is ice cream in the freezer, Godiva chocolate in the cabinet, these will, in fact, calll out to you by your first name...if there is nothing like this in your house or desk at work, you would have to get up and actively search for it...."self control" is VERY difficult as this relates to fighting off immediate gratification behavior patterns. Food is a very inexpensive immediate gratification...massages, buying a new car, going on a vacation...all of these are "gratification" but they cost lots of money.....a food item? not lots of money at all. Battling instinctual behavior patterns is very difficult...but by controlling our own environments, we will be more successful. Once again gang, thanks for the comments and keep them coming! I am learning more every day because of your insights...it is helping me become a better physician for you all!