C33, regarding your eating a pastry, i wouldn't worry as one pastry will not undermine your loss. However, I am not eating pastry at the moment for several reasons. First, pastry is usually made of processed white flour, which is, according to what I am reading, not so good for you. Second, it is not obviously not ideal for weight loss. Finally, because I can get what's in a pastry from other ingredients. For example:
* Flour. My body needs some carbs, and I am getting them from unrefined grains such as quinoa or brown rice.
* Sugar. who doesn't enjoy or need sugar. I get is from natural sweeteners such as honey.
* Fruits (in the case of a blue berry muffin): I eat organic fruits.
So I find that by being educated about a diet, I get what my body needs and I do not have craving for pastry, or a kebab, or French fries, etc. I am getting my good fats, my good carbs and my good sugars. The only cravings I am getting are emotional ones that derive from old habits. Having a balanced diet enabled me to isolate them from my real body cravings and I find it very empowering. Now I am able to tell myself: do I feel like eating because I am hungry or because I am stressed, bored, anxious. If it is option No 1, I feel it in the stomach, and I eat something. If it is option No 2, then I try to solve the problem by adressing it, not by eating
On an unrelated topic, these days I am reading "NLP: The new science of achievement" when I'm on the train, and there is one section about motivation. It talks about motivation "towards" and motivation "away from." In the wardrobe experiment, my motivation is definitely "towards" a thin image of myself that I created, and i find it very powerful... more powerful than "I have to lose weight, I don't want to be fat". These last statements are true as well, but I'd rather focus on "I want to be thin" and the type of clothes I'll be wearing, the type of body I will have... it is much easier.