You’re not alone with this challenge. Food can prove to be therapeutic and comforting but as you said; it doesn’t last. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Before you put anything in your mouth, take a minute and ask yourself this question “do I want it, or do I need it?” That might give you some perspective and help you make better decisions around food.

2. Be mindful of the consequences (emotional, psychological and physical) of “stuffing yourself with food” and remember that ‘nothing tastes as good as being in shape feels’.

3. Weigh up the cost of not changing and picture yourself in five or ten years from now if you continue to over-eat and mistreat your body. Recall that mental picture every time you feel like “stuffing yourself with food”. 

4. For a period of time (maybe a few months), keep a food diary and make your daily eating a logical, structured and accountable process – as opposed to a reactive, destructive, emotional one.

Craig Harper