As the other poster said, being overweight, eating those bad foods--those are familiar to us and we as humans like what is familiar. I think the most important thing is to forgive yourself. You will never get ANYWHERE if you cannot learn to forgive yourself. Forgiving is not the same as Approving--you can forgive your actions without approving of them.

And I think the second most important thing is to try to understand WHY it's happening for you, personally, on a deeper level, and figure out how to hopefully control it. Is it emotional eating? Is it the familiarity thing? Is it boredom? I'm not a psychologist but I am aware that I eat emotionally and when I'm bored. So, I'm trying to satisfy my mood problems (depression) by other means--thinking positively, maybe call up a friend or my girlfriend, etc., rather than eat. If I'm eating due to boredom, I'll try to distract myself--admittedly, easier said than done.

Here's what I want to recommend to you and others reading this post: for me, sometimes when I get stressed out (which is way too easily, btw), I binge eat/eat emotionally. So, I'm trying to take a stab at examining the reasons why by learning about CBT--cognitive behavioral therapy. There's a book--"Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies" which I was reading last night at a bookstore and decided to buy. It has a lot of helpful guidance (to me, at least) on how to examine your behaviors and identify WHERE the breakdown in your behaviors occur. Maybe you're too hard on yourself, maybe you have certain triggers, etc. I would suggest looking into CBT books like this one. CBT has been proven to help extensively, and just because you don't want to or maybe can't afford to pay a psychologist for appointments doesn't mean you can't do it yourself!! See if your local library/bookstore has anything on CBT and take a look through.

Just my two cents. Hope this helps!!

I was at a training two years ago where the woman mentioned that when she did something really challenging and totally out of her comfort zone (bungee jumping!!!) -- she found success in other areas of life ("If I can bungee jump from 200 feet up, I can make this call to this difficult client.").

Someone mentioned in an earlier post that facing our fears/challenges and I think that's DEFINITELY the key to success -- and it's a key which I haven't found. Maybe a helping hand can come from doing something out of our comfort zone that's not diet or weight related. For me -- my challenge will be to finally run all the way to the top of a hill that I haven't been able to run up to the top without walking part way.

Someone also mentioned that it's easier to stay in the habit of "I've failed before -- don't know why I think I'll succeed this time." I really believe that when we can find success in one area, it flows over into other areas.

Be BOLD everyone! Good luck.

Holly

Hate when that happens.

I've begun telling myself I can eat whatever I want, but only AFTER I have had my daily 5 veggies and 2 fruits. Then if I still want it, I can eat it. But guess what? Every time I do that, I end up not eating the crappy thing.

You should watch Hungry for Change. It has completely changed my outlook on food, eating, and why I want to eat crappy food.

Wow, very wise words on this thread! I have taken notes, thanks!!!