How do you stick to a diet?

Kate Thompson2 said:Dieting? Please. No. Look, I’m young enough to have an opinion on this, but I won't be recommending diets to anyone. Just stick to sports, get some steps in, stay active, and eat right. Don't starve yourself—that's just a recipe for disaster. Learn to actually like yourself instead of obsessing over calorie counts. 😁

That's Benjamin Grant6 for you! 👍👍 🙏🙏
Seriously, she's so young, yet she's clearly got her head on straight. We definitely need more people thinking like this in the world. 🙏 🙏

analogdriver52 said:Look, the main thing is to stay away from those quick fixes. They might help temporarily, but they're just Band-Aids over the actual issue; they don't fix the root cause. You probably just want us to tell you how to get back to being your "old self," but that’s not how life works. Everything takes effort, period. You've gotta treat those bad habits like an enemy and stop letting them run your life. Honestly? It feels like you aren't ready to let go of anything that feels good right now because, hey, you only live once. But once you actually make that sacrifice, you'll find joy in totally different things, or you'll find a new kind of strength. You can totally do this.

Trust me, I wouldn't start a thread asking for support just to keep doing what I've been doing. That makes zero sense. I don't know why people post here, but this is serious stuff. It's not just my problem; it's a struggle many people face. I'm being upfront about it... and I'm asking anyone with similar experiences how you finally beat it.

So you got hit with a ton of ideas and suggestions... how much of that stuff actually works for you?

Benjamin Grant6 said:I would also suggest adding hormone therapy to that list, as it acts as a significant saboteur to any attempts at progress...

Why exactly are you feeling so despondent? You are welcome to send me a private message if you wish. There is always some way to mitigate such unpleasant feelings...

There are plenty of reasons... a rough childhood or whatever. Most people have their own traumas they deal with, and food just happens to be my vice.
There was this one guy I worked with once. Just thinking about him now makes me feel like the pain is going to kill me.

Betty Harris15 said:There are plenty of reasons... a rough childhood or whatever. Most people have their own traumas they deal with, and food just happens to be my vice.
There was this one guy I worked with once. Just thinking about him now makes me feel like the pain is going to kill me.

So you found your salvation in snacks? Seriously? What century are you living in? You’re probably still stuck in the 1900s! Instead of just sitting there eating, maybe try flashing a smile and finding a new guy to chase!! Oh yeah!! It’s like some of you just don't know how to actually enjoy life, right? 🤷
🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂

There’s really no need for comments like this.

James Ramirez10 said:There’s really no need for comments like this.

Yeah, honestly—it would be much better to just spoil her and give her some chocolate. That's always the smarter move. 🙄

Betty Harris15 said:There are plenty of reasons... a rough childhood or whatever. Most people have their own traumas they deal with, and food just happens to be my vice.
There was this one guy I worked with once. Just thinking about him now makes me feel like the pain is going to kill me.

I am uncertain how much comfort this offers, but it seems we are cut from the same cloth...

My own childhood was fraught with enough sorrow to bleed directly into a rather bleak reality today. As for daily traumas, I won't even begin to go there... and romantic complications? I consistently find myself trapped in some sort of triangle, only realizing the truth long after the damage is done, leaving me perpetually on the outside looking in...

I am currently aching in solitude, yet I am attempting to summon enough courage to simply endure...

Aaron Howard27 said:So you found your salvation in snacks? Seriously? What century are you living in? You’re probably still stuck in the 1900s! Instead of just sitting there eating, maybe try flashing a smile and finding a new guy to chase!! Oh yeah!! It’s like some of you just don't know how to actually enjoy life, right? 🤷
🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂

Yeah, there’s really no need for comments like that. Eating disorders didn't just disappear after the last century; they're still very much a thing in America today, and I assume they'll stick around as long as there are people around.

Aaron Howard27 said:So you found your salvation in snacks? Seriously? What century are you living in? You’re probably still stuck in the 1900s! Instead of just sitting there eating, maybe try flashing a smile and finding a new guy to chase!! Oh yeah!! It’s like some of you just don't know how to actually enjoy life, right? 🤷
🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂

It's pretty funny coming from someone who treats women like nothing more than sexual objects 😢—because clearly, guys like that have zero actual life. I highly doubt they've ever had a deep connection with a woman, which is a massive, massive loss in itself. 👎

Yeah, there's really no point in making comments like that. Eating disorders didn't just pop up out of nowhere; they were around in the 1900s and they're still here in the 2000s. Honestly, I doubt they'll ever go away as long as humans exist.

They’ve always been around. But I think the issue goes way deeper than whatever that comment was getting at...

redharbor9 said:So? 🙄

Why bother explaining something that’s already obvious just to keep a thread moving? I don't have that much free time on my hands. ☕

Keith Jones76 said:Why bother explaining something that’s already obvious just to keep a thread moving? I don't have that much free time on my hands. ☕

It’s not about keeping the debate alive, it's about making sure I actually get it. Or do you think you can just read my mind? :P Because no matter how much I look at it, your comment makes zero sense...

Either we approach this with some empathy. Or, you can try proving me wrong with a pointed question.

I asked what you meant by that comment since it made zero sense. Clearly, it’s just some defensive mechanism because you don't own a monopoly on good advice and haven't managed to turn your little concept into the only game in town. So, if you actually want to keep arguing about food outside the scope of this thread, hit my PMs. 🙂

Anyway, I'm getting back to the main topic. I'll wait for the author to actually weigh in and tell us what she thinks about the ideas laid out so far. 🙂

gle, I have a super similar issue. Honestly, chocolate has been my emotional support for as long as I can remember... whenever I’m feeling down, stressed out, or even just bored, my brain immediately goes straight to grabbing a whole bar of chocolate. It was just my go-to. Lately, though—and I’m kind of proud of this—I actually managed to cut my chocolate intake down to almost nothing, and I didn't even need therapy or anything fancy to do it. I always knew it was an issue, because let's be real, eating like 100 grams of chocolate plus a bunch of other random sweets every single day isn't exactly healthy.
For me, the big breakthrough was just becoming aware of what I was doing. How? Well, I grabbed a notebook and started logging every single sugary thing I ate. I mean everything—from a tiny Tic Tac to those pints of Ben & Jerry's that I used to demolish in like, two hours flat. That helped so much, mostly because of the sheer shock factor. You look at that silly little notebook and you're just like, "Wow, I actually ate all that junk?" After that, I tried to pinpoint the actual *feeling* behind why I was reaching for food. Most of the time, it was just boredom or stress, and honestly, bingeing is such a stupid way to deal with those things. So, whenever that freaking, overwhelming urge to eat something sweet would hit, I started doing this routine instead. I’d shove my AirPods in, blast some really high-energy, loud music—definitely not any slow ballads—and just walk a few laps around the neighborhood (making sure to steer clear of gas stations, convenience stores, or bakeries). If I still felt the craving after the walk, I'd allow myself a Kit Kat or some other small treat, but I think it only happened maybe twice where the craving actually stuck around.
I was out for coffee with a friend today and we both ordered these massive ice cream sundaes. I couldn't even finish a third of mine! A year ago, I wouldn't have just finished mine, I would've polished off hers too.
It seems to me that your struggle might be about more than just sweets, but try using a similar approach. This habit of writing everything down is amazing and it really worked for me.

Yeah, that’s a solid tactic. You could even pull that off in certain types of psychotherapy. Keeping a food journal might work, though you gotta be careful it doesn't spiral into an eating disorder 😍. It wouldn't hurt to set up a chart—one column for what you ate, and another for the situation, feelings, or thoughts that triggered it...

Once you actually catch those patterns and realize why you're eating, you can start swapping them out for something else. Like, once you spot the pattern where "if X happens, I eat Y," then next time you hit X, you shut down Y before it starts by doing something else instead—like going for a walk, grabbing an apple, or jumping on a video game...

redharbor9 said:I asked what you meant by that comment since it made zero sense. Clearly, it’s just some defensive mechanism because you don't own a monopoly on good advice and haven't managed to turn your little concept into the only game in town. So, if you actually want to keep arguing about food outside the scope of this thread, hit my PMs. 🙂

Anyway, I'm getting back to the main topic. I'll wait for the author to actually weigh in and tell us what she thinks about the ideas laid out so far. 🙂

haha... glad you guys started a discussion, thanks for the suggestions. Maybe this topic went deeper than just diet, which obviously becomes an issue when everything else in life is falling apart. My real question was actually how to build character—specifically, how to face the life struggles that have been hitting me hard lately. Seriously, I won't dump all this on you, but these last few days have been the worst of my life. And now... once everything peaked, you know what happened... I can't even take a bite of food. That Emotional Freedom Technique method sounds tempting, but honestly, when you think about it, it's a double-edged sword.

wearycobra252 said:gle, I have a super similar issue. Honestly, chocolate has been my emotional support for as long as I can remember... whenever I’m feeling down, stressed out, or even just bored, my brain immediately goes straight to grabbing a whole bar of chocolate. It was just my go-to. Lately, though—and I’m kind of proud of this—I actually managed to cut my chocolate intake down to almost nothing, and I didn't even need therapy or anything fancy to do it. I always knew it was an issue, because let's be real, eating like 100 grams of chocolate plus a bunch of other random sweets every single day isn't exactly healthy.
For me, the big breakthrough was just becoming aware of what I was doing. How? Well, I grabbed a notebook and started logging every single sugary thing I ate. I mean everything—from a tiny Tic Tac to those pints of Ben & Jerry's that I used to demolish in like, two hours flat. That helped so much, mostly because of the sheer shock factor. You look at that silly little notebook and you're just like, "Wow, I actually ate all that junk?" After that, I tried to pinpoint the actual *feeling* behind why I was reaching for food. Most of the time, it was just boredom or stress, and honestly, bingeing is such a stupid way to deal with those things. So, whenever that freaking, overwhelming urge to eat something sweet would hit, I started doing this routine instead. I’d shove my AirPods in, blast some really high-energy, loud music—definitely not any slow ballads—and just walk a few laps around the neighborhood (making sure to steer clear of gas stations, convenience stores, or bakeries). If I still felt the craving after the walk, I'd allow myself a Kit Kat or some other small treat, but I think it only happened maybe twice where the craving actually stuck around.
I was out for coffee with a friend today and we both ordered these massive ice cream sundaes. I couldn't even finish a third of mine! A year ago, I wouldn't have just finished mine, I would've polished off hers too.
It seems to me that your struggle might be about more than just sweets, but try using a similar approach. This habit of writing everything down is amazing and it really worked for me.

The problem is mostly the sugar. And that's a solid idea, the tracking part. Though by the end of the day, I feel like I've failed my diet if I've eaten anything more than a light breakfast and lunch.