iv put on so much weight this year mostly comfort eating and boredom that i now need to stop putting on weight and and turn things round and fit back in to the clothes i once wore

but with 3 stone to loose its not going to be easy any tips on how to get started on a healthy eating plan with out chocolate bingeing any advice welcome

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Hiya,

I know just how u feel - I also have put on about 1st in the past few months due to comfort and boredom eating.

I am only in my first week of my new "healthy eating". One thing is not to completely cut out anything you like. So if you do really like chocolate, don't deprive yourself from it. Just cut back the amount you eat. For example, if you would normally eat a whole bar of chocolate, cut it down to a couple of squares. Take baby steps with making changes, because if you try and change too much too soon, it will more than likely backfire with binges.

There's a thread here somewhere called Change One Thing (i think thats what its called). Every week, change one more thing regarding your eating habits. I'm starting off by increasing my water intake every week. I'm also allowing myself 2 small after-eights a day (only if I want them though), which I think is really helping!

So to sum up (lol) - just remember, baby steps. :)

Good luck! Keep us posted with your progress.

Stace x

thank you stacy i will try I'm not sure if i could just have a small bit of chocolate and not want more maybe i could just have a small treat of it on a certain night of the week that might help

what once gave me comfort has now made me sad with the weight i  put on so all your help is much appreciated and i will try really hard to change things one step at a time seams a good way so thank you

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Hi, and welcome!

Baby steps are the way to go, definitely. You see, if you change everything at once, you end up feeling confused and deprived, and the chances are you won't stick to it. But if you make slow, small changes, first addressing what you eat, and then working on your portion sizes (very slow decreases here so you don't get hungry!), you're much more likely to stick with it. It's about building new habits, and that does require a bit of concentration, but it can be done.

First thing is to keep a food diary. That way, you can see what you're looking at. Post it on here, in the folder below, if you'd like, but no obligation to do that. Do keep one, though - apparently, people who keep a food diary lose up to twice as much weight as those who don't. I can understand this - you keep a written record of what you eat, and you are aware of what you're eating; all too many of us eat mindlessly. Plus you can see how you like to eat - are you one who prefers four or five smaller meals during the day, or do you do better on three larger ones, with or without a small snack in between.

Once you're doing that, gradually make small changes - add in more fruit and vegetables, cut out more chocolate and crisps, that sort of thing.

Don't ban anything, though, for more than a few days or you'll crave it unbearably. If you _can_ have a bit of chocolate when things are rough, you may find you don't want it so much. If you're one of those who can't start a packet of chocolate without finishing it (my husband can't, either!), then buy fun-sizes, or two fingers of KitKat, or a few Jaffa cakes. Or, if you like hot chocolate, look into some of those Options, which are low calorie. My own preference is for very dark, high-cocoa-content chocolate, as it's quite difficult to eat more than 2 squares of it. Whatever, when you have it, really enjoy it - don't stuff it down feeling guilty for having it, but really focus on it!

And post on here, we're all here to support one another, 'cos we're all in the same boat!

Thank you annabel

I do just have 3 meals a day, but for a bit now iv been snacking or replacing my main meal with a huge bar of chocolate

Iv got in to some really bad habits

and now I'm worried im 5ft 4 and weigh 12, 10  im 45 years old so not so young lol

I really need to stop the bad habits and get back to the good ones i once had

I have a Christmas party with friends coming up on 21st of this month on a night out ,i know its a little late but I'm now scared i wont fit in to anything

I guess i should throw away what i call my fat pants jog bottoms that are comfy and start to put back on my jeans

this way i cant ignore the tight waist band at lest ,

anyway I'm going to try and i will post a food diary as i do thanks for your support as right now I'm a little lost with everything

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