It turns out that I can sabotage days worth of good intentions within minutes of eating and that sets me up to go round and round with carb cravings to which I invariably caved. The further I get away from my last 'carb attack' the better I am able to manage them.
I would advise against thinking that way. You can't "undo" the work you've done. You should be proud of every "win".
I still believe that being healthy is much different than losing weight just to see a different number on the scale. Typically, if the body craves something, its good to listen. Its understanding the difference between the body actually needing something or our subconscious wanting of something. I've played the carb battle many many times being sensitive to changing insulin levels. My approach was to limit carbs, but everytime I had even a bit of excess, I crashed and wanted more.
This brings me back to "working out". You can easily regulate insulin ups and downs by needing it for protein synthesis in the muscles. Your body won't use fat stores for energy when elevated levels of insulin are present. It's attempting to use the carbs you just ate and thats why the "energy" feels different. Muscle groups take time to recover and your body will adapt to releasing insulin much more steadily to carry all those amino acids to muscles needing repair.
It took some time, but a few weeks of working large muscle groups and then taking down simple sugars right after a workout made managing carbs much easier. I don't have the will power to eat an exact diet- most people dont. Most people fail. Allowing the body to take on more processes and do more with the food we eat will tip the scales in favor of success.
Its your lifestyle, they're your choices, but I really think incorporating some kind of resistance training sooner than later is prudent. I'm not saying you have to come up with a 7 day split and go buy spandex outfits (get out your spandex outfits) and become a complete meat head. Just take even 10-15 minutes three times a week and work hard. 5 pushups everytime you post is a good start, but doing as many as you can in 10 minutes is exponentially better. Its 10 minutes man. Your mental approach to this whole process will change profoundly.
I'm about 185 now and have fluctuated a bit the past couple years, but at 24 I was 260 with health problems no kid should have. I was really thankful that somebody kicked my *** after a while and was no longer interested in what the scale said when I stood on it. He gave me the tools to lose the weight and maintain a lifestyle to stay healthy years down the road. I no longer worry about insulin- I've drank enough beer that I'm pretty sure my pancreas is pickled.
Keep up the good work