Hello-I am new here and posted over in the Introductions. I am really hoping to gain my insight and support here. My problem is that I overeat way too much. I used to have self-control but slowly food has taken over my life. How do I get past this problem? I am 70 pounds overweight and think this problem is only going to get worse. What I do is eat every hour during the day that I am awake. I sneak food around my family so they don't see how much I am eating. I wake up to eat in the middle of the night. Now here I am with a goal of losing close to 70 pounds by the end of this year. I don't want to do anything drastic, but eat sensibly and be healthy. Any ideas on how to start?

HI! Glad you came and jonied the online group! first thing to do is something you did already.. admit what you want/ need to change. Decide how are you going to change it? Get rid of things that will sabatoge your weight loss.. it will never hurt to eat a few extra veggies. Start a food journal and log every single lick you take. Decide what you are going to eat the day beofre and eat plety of lean protein, fresh fruits and veggies and everything else in moderation. Drink plenty of water and find someone to be accountable to. Be honest with yourself and really want it BAD!.. Find a plan that works for you and stick with it. I wish you the best and hope to see you here often!

I definitely second the idea of the food journal - try to write down WHAT you eat, WHEN you eat and WHY you eat. This can be very helpful later to help manage why you eat.

For me, keeping a detailed emotional food journal helped me pinpoint that I was a boredom eater - most of my overeating was done during the afternoons (I trace this back to being a latchkey kid as a child -nothing to do after school but watch TV and eat, I wasn't allowed outside before my parents got home). Recognizing that the afternoons were a munchie time helped me manage that behavior - keeping my afternoons busier, sipping tea, planning 3 small, healthy snacks to get me through the afternoon!

You did the best thing to decide to change your life! Welcome, you will find all the support you need on this site! Don't overwhelm yourself when changing your eating habits. Start slowly, you are more likely to stay with it that way. Don't just start out saying "i'm going to eat only veggies, fruit, whole grain.. etc". Start slow. If you normally drink 3 sodas a day or eat 1/2 bag chips, cookies, etc say "this week, everyday I will eat NO MORE than 1 soda a day, 2 cookies, etc" You get the idea. This is a very big change, so take it slow and you will more likely stick with it! You will do great! And number one thing is never deny yourself any food. As soon as you say a food is "off limits" you will crave it until you give in and binge. Eat only in moderation!

Definitely a food journal.

Also, don't feel like you have to change everything at once. Small steps are easier ot maintain over the long run. So pick ONE thing ... something that you want to change or think you can succeed at ... and do that first. A small success will motivate you towards bigger successes.

So maybe for a first step, try not eating for just one hour. Look at the clock and tell yourself "at 4:30 (or whatever time an hour from now is) I can have a snack" and then stick with it. And keep reminding yourself that you're not forbidding yourself to eat, you're just delaying it. Anyone can go an hour ... or two.

Also think about what you're eating. Ok, if you have to have something in your mouth at all times, make yourself eat something healthy. Even if it's a small change like a pice of whole wheat pita instead of a handful of chips. Small, little, baby steps ... and you'll find that you've suddenly changed your life.

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