Hello! I have been addicted to food all my life but it didn't seem to affect me until I actually became fat after I had my first child at the age of 19. I am 30 now and I am up to 330lbs. I have dieted in the past and the most I have lost is maybe 30 pounds. I think my problem is that dieting is not going to work until I improve my unhealthy relationship with food and learn to improve the triggers that make me want to eat.

The positives are that I don't eat alone or in secret and I would not call myself a binge eater necessarily. However, I do eat larger portions than my friends, I find that I am still annoyingly hungry after a normal sized portion of food. The first thing I want to do when I have had a bad day is eat something, same if I have had a really good day I want to celebrate by eating, and I am having a hard time finding alternatives.

The reason why I am feeling the itch to change now is because I am in my second year of college and I have not met a single friend there. I know it is probably not because of my weight but it is the first thing I want to point fingers at.

The thing I am afraid of the most is never being able to enjoy my favorite foods again.

Welcome to 3fc!

I feel ya- I LOVE LOVE LOVE to eat. But I had to learn that while food is great I don't need that much. I look back now in awe of how much I used to eat.

I read "conquer your food addiction" by Caryl Elrich and learned so much from that book about how a lot of my overeating is habit and that I'm filling other voids with eating.

I think for you starting out small might help, don't try to make too many changes at once if that may overwhelm you. If you choose to calorie count I'd probably start eating around 2000-2400 calories a day. Are you going to use a counter? That can help you to see just how much you are eating a day. There are many out there like sparkpeople.com, dailyplate.com(I think that's the name), my fitness pal, etc. Those programs usually give you a rough estimate of how much to eat as well for your weight Maybe once you start doing well on the food intake then you can add in exercise

Also a food scale would be a big help- I bought one a few months ago and am so glad I did- that thing is wonderful

Good luck!

First off -- GLAD YOU ARE HERE!

Yes, I had the same fears as you until I finally got to the point where I realized I was not enjoying the effects of my favorite food as much as I was enjoying the food itself.

Portion control was the hardest thing I had to overcome. I'd be able to eat 2,000 calories in one sitting and then all of a sudden it's that many calories A DAY? I thought it was impossible. But you know what? I learned some tricks of the trade from this site.

I drink a LOT of water. I eat VERY slowly. I eat the good things first like veggies and then eat the higher calorie foods last. And what's funny is that when I got to the higher calorie foods, I didn't crave them as much because I wasn't as hungry. Once I got the physical eating under control, I did suffer from the emotional piece. So I started working out to get my mind off of whatever was wrong. I took my frustrations out on the treadmill as opposed to the 20 piece chicken McNugget.

The thing is...what works for one person may not work for another. I am low calorie, low carb but not quite Atkins. But perhaps Weight Watchers is more your style? Or maybe you need more structure such as South Beach? Whatever you choose, just make sure it is sustainable for YOU. It is pointless to begin a diet that will be impossible to maintain long term. But the good news is is that there is something out there perfect for you!

What are you leaning toward? What type of foods do you crave? Sweet? Fried?

Welcome!!!

I think you do know where to start - and that you already have by noticing your habits and emotions towards foods.

many of us struggle and work on this all the time.

I wish you lots of success!

Thanks guys,

Structure and I have not gotten along well in the past. I am kind of a go with the flow person which is good in many situations except this one. I have not been successful in keeping up with anything that requires me to do it every day such as calorie counting and keeping a journal (food related or personal related). I do keep trying though! The taste of water makes me gag, but I am getting better about drinking it and getting used to it.

As far as what I crave, it depends. When I am upset it's all about chocolate, especially chocolate baked goods or ice cream. I like fast food but I don't eat fast food all the time however I love Starbucks white chocolate mocha a little too much. When I am socializing I really like snack foods like cheese puffs or cookies. I could probably solve that by portioning out my snack items in baggies rather than eat out of the bag.

I do kind of know where I want to start. I definatly want to deal with my emotional attachment to food before I start dieting. I think this is why diets ultimately fail for me.