I have backslid a bit on my diet the last few days. Stress eating just like you. And I have stopped, today is a cleansing day, just water and proteins.

Ok, I backslid a lot. And I paid the price, I was really sick last night.

I see a dietician. That helps. An organized program that makes you commit helps me dramatically. Weight Watchers is actually very good.

That's huge. Now that you're aware of it, be more conscious of it. When you look at food you have got to stop and ask yourself if you're really hungry or not. If not and you still want to eat it, try to force yourself to put it away. Go for a walk or find something else to do. Even cleaning something will take your mind off of it for a minute. Another idea is to trick your brain a bit. If you have the urge to eat, go online and start looking up healthy/vegetarian recipes. Things you actually have to prepare and cook, not snacks.

I have the opposite problem. I starve when I'm depressed and eat when I'm happy. I've been losing weight the past couple of months.

The other solution is, stop being miserable. At least, don't let it rule your day. Treat it like an annoying friend. Acknowledge it, but don't spend the day with it.

I know you'll overcome this.

You've literally got a lot of things on your plate, from your recent posts.

Are you getting any kind of counseling? Could you? You need support.

What else do you do for stress?
I go out and weed. I go and take it all out on the weeds growing on the lawn. I pull clumps of crabgrass, dig up dandelions, etc. Our lawn is full of weeds, so I'm not going to run out of "victims" any time soon. "Take THAT, you ignorant clump of crabgrass!"

Are there things you could eat that take a lot of chewing?
We used to eat strawberry twizzlers because it was kinda satisfying to bite into them, pretending they were people who aggravated us. " Take THAT, you S.O.B.!" (chomp)

Finally, I've been trying for the past year to do some short breathing meditations from books by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk from Vietnam who has written some awesome things. This is the one I most often use:

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is a wonderful moment.

That is from his book "Peace is Every Step." Your local library probably will have some of his books. There's a fantastic one for dealing with anger, "Taming the Dragon Within" that I highly recommend.

We all go through sucky times. That's what our friends on DU are here for.

That can be very relaxing, and the results satisfying.

Feel free to come over and distress at my place any time. I could keep you in weeds for weeks.

but it's so kind of you to offer.

We've got crabgrass, goosegrass, black medick, dandelions, nimblewill, creeping bentgrass, Japanese stiltgrass, two kinds of woodsorrel, chickweed, Pennsylvania bittercress, purslane, barren strawberry, spurge, scarlet pimpernel, moss, speedwell, henbit and Creeping Charlie, plus way too many violets. A small area of violets is okay, but we have an unbelievable amount, and they go underground in the winte, so the ground gets all bare and muddy.

Also plantains, pokeweed, cleavers, lamb's-quarters, yellow nutsedge, shepherd's purse, groundsel, thistles (because of the nitwits who put thistle seed in bird feeders), garlic mustard, and a couple of kinds of weed grass I can't identify.

Just trying to help!

Seriously, good luck. I fight most of the same weeds.

I find it satisfying, but that's about it, Den.

I know how you feel , you realize the pattern so it will be easier to taper off .

Also caffeine and weed together which they call a "hippie speedball." That's pretty much how I wrote all my papers in college.

If you try to cut your 'serving size' it will only stress you out. For me it works if I eat a little bit and then do something else before going back to the food. My body gets that full feeling much faster. Notice I don't suggest you eat less. Just don't eat it all at once.

Another things that works is to not eat while you're doing certain things. For example, don't eat while you're on the internet. If you feel hungry then get away from the computer and stop eating when you go back to the computer. It won't take long before you've trained your synapses to forget about food when you're on the internet or in front of the computer. This gives you the freedom to choose whether you want to be on the computer or eat. You're still free to do both, but you decide which one you'll do at any given time.

And stop beating yourself up because you're hurting your feelings and that makes you crave the comfort food.

If you're doing it daily, though, that may call for professional help in some form.

but I know that if I ask myself if I'm hungry and the answer is no the next step is to ask what I'm really looking for (comfort?, reward?, something to do when I'm bored?) and try to find other ways to get that feeling. It really limits things when you are at work because it's not like you can take a bubble bath or watch a favorite movie, but what can you do?

Talk to a coworker, call a friend, spend a few minutes on DU, talk a walk even if it's just to the break room and back. I know a cookie won't really give me comfort so it's up to me to find something that will. If you were home I would say snuggle one of the kitties, that always makes me feel better.

into your life. Avoid reward eating but also avoid cutting yourself off from certain foods. Eat mostly the same diet, but based on your calorie limit.

sliced into matchsticks. Then I eat it in little handfuls. It is zesty. No need for dressing. They also sell a cleansing salad of kale & cabbage and carrots in the deli section of the store. I haven't tried that one. I think it has a few nuts in it. I'm not eating perfectly. That is for sure. But half the time I'm eating veggies and loving it. I feel healthier too. Lost 4 pounds and have kept it off.

I also eat oatmeal (steel cut not rolled oats). You have to microwave it for 14 minutes. Take it out and stir it every 4 minutes. I add frozen wild blueberries (the kind that are small and blue all the way through). No milk or sugar. Just blueberries thrown on top of the oatmeal and zapped for a minute. Oatmeal and blueberries increase your metabolism too.

I yo-yo'd a 120lbs this past year. Was doing well, then once the backslide happened it is so hard. I'm still trying to remember how I was able to make the first week last year or so. I hope you can find your u-turn soon as well.

I recently got some tests including one where they stick the camera down into your stomach. I had a whole bunch of bile built up that was causing stomach aches. Also my cholesterol level was high and I'm overweight.

I'm terrible with exercise and I never stick with it.

But this time I'm swearing up and down I'm going to do it. I may relapse at times, but the important thing is to get back on the horse and not give up.

I'm finally figuring this out at 43. My dad had his first stroke at about the same age I am now. He died at 55 (10 years ago in June).

I sound like a hypocrite to myself for saying this as I've never followed it until now, but moderation is the key.