When I first "re-joined" 3FC a few weeks ago, I read something (I think in the chicks in control section) about the parallels between food obsession and hunger and alcoholism. I always scoffed at the notion that dieting was easier than quitting booze, because I figured an alcoholic can quit booze entirely. I still have to eat - but I have to do it while still trying to actively "starve" myself.
The point someone made about alcoholics was this - they still "drink", they just don't drink
alcohol. As simple as that statement is, it was huge breakthrough for me. I realized, I could still EAT and enjoy - there were just foods that were wrong for my body, like alcohol is wrong for the alcoholic. This simple realization gave me license to go out into the world and find whole foods - things that would still give me the pleasure of eating, but would not trigger the unhealthy binger that I once was.
Once I had that license, and began to fill myself up with whole foods I realized that a lot of the "hunger" that I had been feeling before was being artificially created for me. For example, the evil that is high fructose corn syrup! The more of that you take in, the more of everything else you want!
So, now when I feel REAL hunger I know that by eating more whole foods, I am not only satisfying true body hunger, I am continuing to do good things for myself and my future child.