@[email protected] had a great reply, so consider this merely an add-on too it:

I do have quite a few thoughts about this. But first of all, kudos for you for wanting to get healthy; that’s great. And we’re absolutely all here for you!

I do think there is an aspect that is similar to other addictions, where there’s a bit of a hump that you kind of have to force yourself over, and that part sucks (and it sucks again when you fall off the horse–because nobody gets it first try–and have to get over the hump again.) I personally think it’s important to sort of face that head on and just recognize “I’m forcing myself to do something hard, and it’s not going to feel good. But I will feel better later.” When you’re feeling down and are craving food, denying yourself that will absolutely make you feel cranky and even physically uncomfortable. Just like if you were quitting smoking. But, you can also try and take pride in that discomfort. The more uncomfortable you feel (within reason–don’t starve yourself!!), the more that means you’re accomplishing something impressive in terms of self-discipline and getting healthy.

I think it can be helpful to do something to “cut yourself off”, like brush your teeth at 8pm and tell yourself “no food after 8. I already brushed my teeth for the night and I’m already in my pj’s and ready for bed and everything. I’m not going to start eating now and do that all over again.”

You can try relaxing supplements like CBD (I think that one on its own doesn’t tend to give munchies??), chamomile, ashwaganda, etc. Heck, you can even go masturbate or something if that’s your thing. Take a bubble bath. Whatever! But doing something else will both take your mind off food and directly address the anxiety that’s making you want to stress eat.

Wean yourself off of comfort eating with healthier snacks. rice cakes, plain popcorn, apple slices… Also, eat plenty of fiber and drink plenty of water throughout the day. On that same note, there are some foods you can more or less eat as much of as you want without consequences, including watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, cucumber, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots.

Finally, diet alone is a really, really hard way to lose weight. Exercise is pretty much essential. But it doesn’t have to be hard! Just getting steps in is enough. Move around during the day, or go for a walk after work. etc etc. The other nice thing is that the two go hand in hand–when you exercise, you’ll feel better and better about yourself. And dieting will make the exercise easier, which will make you feel better about dieting and make you feel even better!