Food for thought...

In most cases, before you dump a friend you try to resolve your issues with them, place boundaries, negotiate, and if there is no other choice but to let your friend go, it's best to figure out what you can do about the things you used to do together before leaving them to make transition easier.

You can use one or more of these strategies to help you. Try to resolve your issues with comfort food. The issue is overeating. Is there a way you could eat it but not overeat it? Are you leaving foods you overeat where you can see them and they keep tempting you? Do you buy some items in bulk and then find yourself going through them within days? See if buying only one portion of these foods, or hiding them in an inconvenient cupboard can help with that.

Place boundaries. Allow yourself comfort food only when planned. If you haven't planned it, you can't eat it. You can plan it for tomorrow, but you can't eat it today because it's not planned. Another way to set boundaries is to have certain rules. For example, if you hit your vegetable and protein goals for the day and have calories left, you can have any food you want, or, if you're going to a social event the rule is to choose the 2-3 items you like the most and stop there. This is the route I chose for the hardest food to moderate for me, nuts. I made it a rule that I can only have them in certain situations and settings, and not a single one outside of these situations and settings.

Negotiate. Are there lower calorie alternatives that would satisfy your craving? If not, what is the smallest portion of that food that feels satisfying? If the smallest portion is still too large, how do you feel about saving up calories for a few days in order to have it?

Make arrangements. If you decide to give up comfort foods anyway (although I strongly suggest you try everything else before you do) make arrangements and plans first. Put your diet on hold if need be and focus on learning other coping mechanisms and stress management techniques. Plan what you would do in challenging situations that involve the foods you're trying to give up. Starting a diet in the right mental space and with the right plan will likely be more successful.

I think a huge part of my success so far is that I still eat the foods I love. The only thing I gave up was gumdrops and that's not even a food. 😝

It's so easy to overthink this whole thing. I fill out my food diary a few days in advance (unless I have to go grocery shopping). Doing this makes my days flow smoothly. It's a no brainer as to what I'm going to eat because it's already written down.

Take a deep breath. Think about which positive patterns you can begin that will remove stress from your journey here. I know you can do this. 💟