Hi there, this is a first for me. i've come to a point where i admit to myself that i have an eating problem and i really need some help in the way of support to stop my habits. I love chocolate and can eat a bag of it instead of a meal. I love comfort food. I eat until I'm feeling full and satisfied. I think about eating and what i'm going to eat while on my way home from work. i think of the quickest most filling and fullfilling thing i can. I'm 5'3 and weigh 157 and gaining. Too much for my little frame. I feel lost. Can anyone help me? . . .

Hi iam also new here iam 5'4 and 140 and shrinking (i hope).I love to eat also and my vice is pasta i love me some good pasta.
I dont know if i can help but i would love to try if you will try to keep me on track to.

First of all, you can't eat chocolate and other comfort foods if you don't have them sitting around in the first place. Don't buy them! If you don't have easy access to thiese things, it will not be easy to stuff yourself with them! Instead, buy some fresh fruit and veggies to snack on, maybe some nuts, if you like them. Start journaling your food intake and counting calories, so you can see how much you are eating.
Second...get moving. Start by taking a walk each day. Then start going farther and farther, until it becomes a habit.

Read the stickies for specific info on both eating and working out...they helped my bunches!

I was almost the same size as you when I started my journey...only 5'2", and weighed 156. Now I weigh around 115 and am maintaining that weight by eating healthy and exercising daily.
Good luck and come back often. There is a lot of support on this site!
Di

Hi and welcome!

I will step riht in and agree with Di - don't buy things that you can't stop eating. I know for myself that I cannot stop eating chips. I will sit and eat an entire bag of potato chips even though I know I dn't want them and I'll be sick after. So I don't buy them. If I am really craving and want to treat myself, I'll buy a single serving bag and eat that. But even then, I do that VERY rarely. Because I have no self control around chips.

So for those things you can't walk away from once you start - make sure that you're never in a place where you *can* start.

Another thing I'd suggest is registering for a free account with either fitday.com or thedailyplate.com and start logging your food. For some people the simple fact of seeing what they eat in cold hard figures can be really eyeopening. And the idea that you have to write down or enter something can sometimes stop you from eating it.

If the drive home is your problem time for thinking - then do something else. GEt out and walk. Go to the gym. Get moving - anything that stops you from obsessing about food.

It's all baby steps, but you can do it. Many of us have!

I completely understand. I am always thinking about what I am going to eat next. I am going to stop this. Best of luck with everything.If I could help you in anyway let me know!!

I have to say that I agree with Kara and Di. Both have given good advice - so follow it.

The only other thing that I would add is that if you really cannot resist wanting something sweet on the way home - see if you can find sugar free sweets that you could substitute that would do your diet no harm.

I chew sugar free gum every day and I have some sugar free sweets every day too. Pop a piece of sugar free gum in your mouth as you finish up at work and chew it all the way home. You can even keep on chewing it while you prepare dinner. That sounds like two problems solved for about 5 calories to me!!!

Indeed you may be able to find a flavour that satisfy those cravings too. I often have chocolate mint flavour gum. Now I am not saying that it tastes like those After 8 chocolate mints that are yummy - but it is reminiscent of the flavour - and so much better than nothing...

I also happen to love sugar free butterscotch - but that is another story.

I would also add that it isnt just from a calorie perspective that it is not good for you to eat chocolate instead of a meal. The fact is that our food provides us with the different nutrients that we need to keep our body healthy. Things like protein, fibre, healthy fats, calcium, different vitamins... Tools like FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal dont just count the calories - but they also break down the food into the different nutrient components. After studying the nutrition section you can set nutrient targets for yourself and check on fitday that you are hitting them. It is perfectly possible to eat twice as many calories as you should have to maintain your weight and still be malnourished. I firmly believe that I was malnourished when I was a big person. I now eat a lot more food (which always hit my nutritional targets) than I did when I was big - but it is healthy stuff so works out to be a lot less calories...

Good luck with your project.

Gosh! I'm overwhelmed with those of you who took the time to write to me! Thank you so much. Very important is that I don't feel alone anymore and you've given me great advice. Now I feel like I can get started! Please keep in touch with me. I so admire you all!