Not knowing what kind of diet you are on makes it hard to make specific suggestions. How many calories are you eating? Are you eating enough to satisfy your hunger? If not, you're setting yourself up for a binge (and that's kind of what it sounds like from your post). Do you write down what you eat? If so, post it here so we can take a look and give you some suggestions. You might also look at some of the planning threads on the support forum--they have a new one ever day. It will give you an idea of what other dieters are eating.

I so know how you feel. I say the word diet and I gain 5 pounds. It is hard. There is no easy fix. What I do now is I have decided I'm changing the way I eat forever. I'm not dieting. I read on a post ealier today that the person said it's a lifestyle change. Don't restrict completely. Portion control. What helps me is if I get whatever I'm craving and I read the nutrition information and look at the calories and fat grams verses portion size and think of how far I would have to walk on the treadmill to work it off and that helps a bunch. I binge less and less nowadays. You are not alone. I know exactly how you feel.

There's nothing wrong inherently with food. I love food. I also was blessed with a huge appetite ... for food ... for life in general too. I'm doing calorie counting as my method. The trick is to find healthy things that taste good to you. Then, find heathly things that fill you up ... anything with fiber is a good place to start. I'm a math person so part of the fun to me is seeing what I can eat ... ie: if i have an apple, a yogurt, and a LUNA bar for breakfast it is around 400 calories ... well within my breakfast limit AND I get to feel like I'm eating a good amount. I've had oatmeal for lunch. I've eaten breakfast food for dinner. I try to average 400 calories for breakfast and lunch and 800 calories for dinner. I'm not a snacker so I'm kinda blessed in that regard. Also, healthy food generally has less calories than crap, but occasionally I might have a 280 calorie South beach entree + soup that equals to around 600 calories for dinner, so I can splurge and eat 1 oz of 70% cacao chocolate (170 calories) with my dinner and still be okay for calorie counts. The chocolate is purely for antioxidant properties, of course . I never skimp on breakfast!!! GOOD LUCK!!

Are you eating enough protein? Without it, you will easily be hungry most of the time - carbs alone do very little to keep you feeling full. Fruit is great as a snack, but try adding in something else, too - some almonds, yogurt, string cheese, etc. There are tons of healthy, low-cal food choices out there that are far more satisfying than just fruit.

I used to "diet" by restricting food, but I don't do that anymore. I'm a believer in eating - it's just *what* you eat that matters. If you're hungry, EAT, but make a solid, healthy choice. There's just no reason to starve.

It gets easier. Just persevere. Get through one more hour, one more day. It will get easier.

I don't know if this is what you are experiencing, but when I started on my "lifestyle change" (sounds better than diet) I had a problem telling the difference between hunger and thirst. I know it may sound silly, but try drinking a full glass of water when you feel hungry and if you are still hungry in 15 minutes then go ahead and eat something.

I have to agree with everyone that a little protein and fiber really do fill you up! My favorite snack is 3/4 ounce of low-fat cheddar and 2 rye crisp crackers. It's filling and only 100 calories total.

If I feel like I just have to have something, I have a list of low-calorie foods that I can eat. For example, half an apple and two slices of cheddar cheese. Or a yogurt cup. Or some crackers. But the thing is, we don't know what or how much you are eating. Fill us in on what you're doing. We can make some suggestions. The protein idea is a good one--always helps me.

Jay