Please help me

The first thing to do is to stop buying the foods that tempt you the most. Don't buy biscuits, croissants, chocolate, or other "bad" foods. Buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables instead. It's really almost impossible to eat too many vegetables!

Just take it one day at a time. Don't try to completely overhaul your eating and exercise habits at once, it's just too much. Change one thing at a time and once you've been successful with that change, change something else. And, if you can manage it without going crazy, give yourself a day off. Unless you plan on never eating sweets or junk food ever again, allow yourself one day, or even just one meal, where you can eat some of those foods. Because this is a lifestyle change, not a quick-fix diet. If you plan on eating chocolate after you lose weight, you can eat a little while you're losing if you're able to keep it under control.

Great advice MissAnjy

The first thing you need to do is ... remove all the crap food from your house. When you don't have it available to you, you can't eat it, right? Secondly, take it 10 minutes at a time and build up from there. Resist temptations 10 minutes at a time, and before you know it, you've done it all day. It's extremely hard to start, but once you get the ball rolling, it begins to get easier. Push yourself to start, make yourself resist, take it however slow you need to take it in order to do that. you can do this, you need to give yourself the credit. When you feel hungry, sit down & really ask yourself WHY you're hungry. Is it actual hunger? or is it because you're bored, watching tv, sad, happy, upset, etc. If you really are hungry, eat a small snack with a glass of water. It will fill you up between meals. Goodluck, you can do it. Stay tough.

MissAnjy & NoAdditives both give excellent advice. I found the best way for me to replace unhealthy snacks with healthy ones (other than making sure that there aren't a lot of unhealthy options in the house) was to keep ziploc bags of pre cut veggies in the fridge at all times. If I have to cut & wash the veggies for a snack, I probably won't bother. I'll likely reach for something less healthy instead but if they're already there ready to eat, they're an easier choice. I've also started putting a plate of assorted fresh veggies on the table with most meals. I cut, wash & bag the veggies a couple of times a week.

OK... Cleaning out the cubboard is a great idea... but for someone just starting... That's hard to do because you don't want to waste the money that's been spent on the food right? Yeah, I know I've been there. I'll just finish this box off and I won't buy anymore. But then you do. And then your watching TV and you're just going to have one little treat... and then you have eight... or just one scoop of ice cream and before you know it your scraping the bottom of the quart container.

The bottom line is... you've got to find a reason to want to stop. And, to be blunt, you've got to find a reason you want to live. And that's all I'm going to say because really, you watch the medical shows and you watch the biggest loser and you know what all that crap is doing to your body.

There are hundreds of people on this site and many others like it that are willing to chime in to your life and send you a supportive text from time to time and remind you that "Yes, You Can"... but the truth is you've got to make the choice to put the cookie down for yourself. I can sit here and type all day long about how empowered you're going to be to lose weight and to stop overeating and to set goals and achieve them and all the other really fantastic spiritual stuff that comes along with accomplishing goals for yourself that you never thought possible. But that comes after you make the decision for yourself to stop after one cookie... or stop after one cracker... or stop at one can of soda... or get up and go for a walk...

Btw the way... 2011 has 365 days in it... today was the first. You already know what happened... but there are 364 more to make the right decisions and choices for yourself.

Keep moving forward.

Steph, this is your NEW Mom talking! Stay out of the kitchen! Just don't go in there unless you absolutely have to. Let your family know why you are avoiding the kitchen. Now go to the store and get small snack baggies a small cooler and some healthy snacks. Nuts, veggies, etc. No processed snacks, they are not healthy nomatter what they say. Portion out your snacks into the little baggies and put then in your cooler with an ice pack. Not real ice because your stuff will be swimming in water and then it gets gross. When you think you are hungry or bored or just want to eat, take a hot shower or bath, excersise, dance, go out with your friends. Anything to get your mind off food. If you are still hungry after that, you can eat a snack pack. Wait 30 minutes and if you are still hungry have another. The thing is to get your mind off food!

Not to sound repeatitive but get rid of all of the tempting foods and replace them with good snacks. I suggest you take the time to prepare snack foods like cut up carrots and celery ready to be eaten when you get the hurge to bing. The other suggestions is take the 10sec rule. when you get the feeling that your hungry count to 10 then if you still feel hungry drink a glass of water (8oz) then wait 10 minutes. Nine times out of ten you body is really craving water and not food. Hope this helps. Take it one step at a time. Good luck

Stephoebe -- I'm glad that you still checked in even with a relapse. I also know how hard it can be when none of the usual tricks (go for a walk, chew a piece of gum, brush your teeth, etc) are worthless when that voice is telling you to eat eat eat. Stay strong and try for 10 minutes at a time. Read this thread, and copy down anyone's advice that resonates with you. Little victories lead to big victories. Thinking of you.