I'm not one to ask for support much, but here it goes....

DanIsACyclingFool

Here's another trick I use.

Sometimes I want something bad. Something I maybe haven't had in a while. My wife is always bringing bags of potato chips into the house and leaving them lying around. Maybe I get a hankering for them.

There's a couple ways to handle this.

I can leave them alone. Likely as not I will leave the room and think about them for the next hour.
I can eat the whole bag. That'll teach her.
I can weigh the bag, eat what I like, weigh it again then log what I ate.
I can take a set amount, weight it, eat it, and log it at some point.
or I can take a set amount, weigh it and log it. 9 times out of 10 when I see how many calories I just took I put half the bowl back in the bag.

Do the last one. If you are going to have bad food it should be a conscious decision for which you are willing to live with the consequences. A decision based on the knowledge of exactly what you're eating and how it fits into your goals. Do it any other way and you're eating it and hoping to get away with it.

You already do the first step which is log your food without prejudice. That's a big part of the battle. But don't just log it, LOOK at your log. Ask yourself if what's in it is helping you lose weight. I know when I logged my food for the first time (I used to do it in a notebook with a pencil and a food count book!) it was eye-opening to say the least.

DanIsACyclingFool

You are not weak clearly and I did the same things you describe. I weighed the most when I got married that I have ever weighed in my entire life. I looked at the pictures and thought to myself, why did I do this to myself when I knew it would be immortalized in pictures for the rest of my life? After trying lots of things to lose weight, the thing that finally helped me was a book called, "Woman, Food and God". It helped me understand that we eat in a way that doesn't match our goals when we are feeling things and don't want to feel them. In the moment we stuff our faces with food that tastes so good we forget the discomfort of the feelings we were having. Then the food is gone and the feelings are still there along with discouragement, self-hate and disgust in ourselves that we "blew it again".

This book changed my life and occasionally I feel out of control and reach for food but then the information in this book comes back to me and I stop myself and ask what I'm feeling and feel it. I can then move from a place of consciousness about what I'm doing or about to do to decide whether I really need to eat that piece of cake/chips, etc. or stop at that fast food place. I can usually choose well from that point because logic kicks in and I know that eating whatever I've suddenly fixated on will not "fix" what I'm feeling. Only acceptance of the feelings or taking action to change my situation that is causing those feelings will create a positive result. Eating that thing I think I'm craving is never going fix what I'm feeling.

I wish you all the best my dear and you are not a failure. Feel free to friend me if you want to stay in touch.

"Junk" food makes us feel good.

But it only makes us feel good while it's in our mouths. The moment we swallow it the enjoyable part of eating junk food is gone, and what's left? The consequences, that's what. Physical, emotional, whatever, once it's past our taste buds it's probably not doing us any good. Put food in that context when you're tempted to eat it. Some junk is fine, even good. But not a lifestyle built on it. :flowerforyou:

2stepscloser

I've been where you are. Take one day, one meal at a time. Forget tomorrow because tomorrow never comes!!!!

Find someone who you can weigh in with weekly whether it be your spouse, friend, etc. Being held accountable to someone else knowing how you've done on the scale is huge. Plan, prepare, plan, prepare and repeat. If you have the tools and foods in house there is no excuse to binge. I used to be addicted to food too...all it does is provide instant gratification, if any at all, only for you to feel worthless afterwards. Binging on fast food or other junk will not replace the other things that are lacking in your life or making you unhappy. Find an exercise you like and use it to work through the stressors. Believe it or not but exercise is the very best therapy!!!