I've been doing a lot of soul searching since I started my latest attempt to lose weight and get my life under control.

I realized that I have never had a meal without feeling guilty about it. I mean always thinking "I shouldn't be eating this" I've never just enjoyed a meal without worrying about getting fat (fatter) or feeling guilty that I ate something enjoyable.

Can you guys relate? I really want to stop doing this. I really want to figure out a way to stop obsessing with food enjoyment.

Also, I was thinking back over my life and realized I went on my first diet when I was about 10 years old. 10! i've been on and off diets for 40 years straight. I'm really exhausted.

Yes, I can relate. I think a lot of us on this forum just have an unhealthy relationship with food overall. It's like a love/hate relationship. I do find that when I have been on point with my eating and exercise and the weight is going down, a little slip-up or a cheat meal doesn't make me feel too guilty. When I eat something "bad" when I know I haven't been doing well with everything else, it can send me into a downward spiral of shame and guilt. Then I want to just keep eating. That's why I have yo-yo'd so much.

I hear you about the "diet" issue. It is true what they say that ultimately "diets" just for the sake of losing weight will fail at some point. I am trying a new approach to weight loss - NO calorie counting, just mindful eating, clean foods, exercise as much as I can. I have dieted enough I know when my eating is on point, and as long as the scale goes down I'm doing good. I am just trying to do everything totally different to just get out of the "diet" mentality. Hopefully, my relationship with food will improve as well.

I have an "all-or-nothing" personality, so for YEARS, I felt guilty about what I ate. I was always on a diet, always calorie counting, and I just couldn't stick to it so I'd fall off the wagon (all in or not at all!) and beat myself up about it. It wasn't until I started the diet I am on now a couple of years ago that I stopped feeling guilty. This plan has a day, every single week, of what I would have considered cheating, as part of the plan! It's an actual, recommended part of the plan! The fact that I can eat anything I want, as much as I want, on that day and I'm not breaking the diet in any way, but following it (all in!), has taken my guilt away, finally! Of course, this plan, like any plan, is not for everyone. I certainly would not recommend it for people who have a problem with binge-eating. And I'm not sure it would work well for people who don't crave quick-burning carbs, such as sweets, pasta, potatoes, and bread, etc., but I DO normally crave those foods and I DON'T have a binge disorder, so it's been amazing for me and has freed me from diet-related food guilt!