Down but not out, in fact better than in the past

So I have been fighting w/ my "down" swing for quite some time.  It is hard for my family and for me.  I get irritable, lethargic, unable to work out, and binge.  Mostly I just want to sit around and do nothing.  There are a few things I am noticing that are different this time around:
1. I am continuing to make it to the gym 3+ times per week.  Yesterday I didn't want to go, I just wanted to sit on my duff.  My office mate, Bonnie, said you don't have anything else to do, so go to the gym.  Well I took her advice and I sat on my duff on the recumbent bike. 
2. I am binging at times, but they are more controlled binges.  I LOVE me some Dark Chocolate covered cherries.  With Christmas approaching, they are in the stores; I couldn't resist, so I bought 3 boxes of 10 (they were on sale of course).  Now usually I could devour the whole box in one sitting and probably start on a second box.  I shared these boxes with Kat, so I only got half a box.  I did eat my half of the box in one sitting, but since we had 3 boxes, I ate half of each box for 3 nights.  Knowing that the other half of those boxes are Kat's, I'm not touching them.  I have no desire to get into them.
3. When I hit this stage, I am usually not able to keep my social obligations.  So far, I have been able to keep my schedule and attended the classes ect. that I am involved in.
4. I am finding bursts of energy that would never have been there before. For instance, I am not feeling well enough to shower in the morning, so I am bathing.  Yet, some mornings I am able to at least unload the dishwasher.  This is not a daily basis, but it is often enough that I can see it.
5. My diet has not totally reverted back to my old ways.  I am continuing to eat my Greek yogurt for breakfast and taking fruit and cottage cheese/yogurt for snacks at work. When I do get munch and binge in the evening, I am not binging as much and I am using Veggie chips instead of crackers, chips, cookies, ect.
6. A negative is that this time around my craving for soda has increased exponentially.  I'm not sure why.  I have been sober from soda for 2 years, 7 months, and 2 days (not that I'm counting).  I rarely crave soda anymore.  It has been at least 6 months or more since my last soda dream, yet I find my body craving it.  I think on some level, my increase in Snapple consumption may be related to this.  I was proud of myself though.  I had a Snapple this morning and then met my Mom for lunch.  I had actually grabbed another Snapple, but then thought about it, listened to my body, put it back and got water.

There is a difference this time.  I recognize that this is all a process and I have to be happy with the steps that get me closer to my goal.  I have to remember that I am about 10 lbs lighter than when I started this year. My clothes continue to be loose and fit differently.  I am still getting cardio in during a time when I would usually just stop all together. 

Bonnie and I were discussing how frustrating it is to feel like you are doing everything right but no weight results are accomplished.  She found the article below and I thought that it has some very interesting ideas.

 

5 Bizarre Weight Loss Tricks That Work

 By Reader's Digest Magazine | Healthy Living 

You might feel silly, but it works. When Dr Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago tried this with 3,000 volunteers, he found that the more frequently people sniffed, the less hungry they were and the more weight they lost - an average of 30 lb each. One theory is that sniffing the food tricks the brain into thinking you're actually eating it.

2. Hang a mirror opposite your seat at the table.
One study found that eating in front of mirrors slashed the amount people ate by nearly one-third. Seems having to look yourself in the eye reflects back some of your own inner standards and goals, and reminds you of why you're trying to lose weight in the first place.

3. Surround yourself with blue
There's a good reason you won't see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.

1. Sniff a banana, apple, or peppermint

4. Shoot your food
Rather than writing down every morsel, take a picture of it, and file the photos on your phone or computer by date. A visual account of your consumption may help you curb your intake. "Snapping photos and then looking back at them can make people stop and think before indulging," nutritionist Joan Salge Blake says. It needn't be a big production: your cell phone will do. Think about it: there you are at the salad bar, making a plate of vegetables. Don't pat yourself on the back quite yet, though. A simple snapshot of your heaping dish may "show your extra helping of cheese or deep-fried croutons," Joan cautions. A visual reminder might be just enough to give you pause next time before you ladle on the blue cheese dressing. -- Joan is a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Find other healthy eating tips in her book, Nutrition & You.

5. Tie yourself up
You could try fitness guru Valerie Orsoni's "Le Petit Secret": "A number of French women wear a ribbon around their waist and underneath their clothes when they go out for dinner. It keeps them conscious of the tummy-particularly if the ribbon starts to feel tighter as the evening goes on!"

-- Le Personal Coach: A French Trainer's Simple Secrets to Staying Fit and Slim Without the Gym. Source:

-- Five Minute Fixes and Best You