Finally admitting I need your help :-(

Roughly three months ago I had reached my goal weight. I was really proud of myself and felt terrific. For the first time in my life I loved my body. I had endless energy, great skin and exuded happiness in my day-to-day life. I maintained this for three or four weeks and then figured I could re-introduce a little of my favourite food, chocolate, into my diet. Initially I had some as a treat when I went to the movies. And then I did the same thing the following week when I went and saw another movie, except I ate a lot more of it. Since then it has become a habit every Saturday and Sunday to the point where I can say I have absolutely no control over what I'm eating on weekends. Lots and lots of chocolate, candy, chips, etc.

I know I've already put some fat back on, but I don't know exactly how much because I'm too scared to weigh myself. My clothes are tighter, and some of my new clothes don't fit me anymore :-(

I need help in regaining control but I can't find anything that leaves me motivated and focused throughout the weekends when I'm at my most vulnerable to letting myself go. I'm so mentally weak that I only have to see a TV commercial for a chocolate bar and I won't be able to stop thinking about it until I satisfy the desire.

I don't know what to do :-( Please help me.

When you lost all your weight, I bet you were very strict with what you ate. You probably never ate any junk food, especially no chocolate bars. This is why so many diets eventually fail. People get obsessed about what they are doing and eat in such a way that would be impossible to maintain for a lifetime. We should be looking past the word "diet" and towards something more maintainable.

It's too late to go back an change the way you ate when you were dieting. You need to be able to satisfy your chocolate cravings without over indulging. You should be allowing yourself a treat once or twice a week. Something small, obviously, but something none the less. If you can eat this small piece of chocolate, knowing that it is not going to skyrocket your weight, you will be less inclined to binge on it during your "weak moments".

I hope this helps.

You deprived yourself of something you wanted for a lwhile, and so it's hard to keep control when you reintroduce it.

Don't completely deny yourself chocolate, just find a way to portion it. I would recommend buying bags of 'fun-size' chocolate bars. When you go to a movie, instead of buying the giant things of chocolate there, put two or three small bars in your purse, and eat those.

Also, find slightly healthier substitutions THAT YOU LIKE. Raisinets, for instance, are still high in calories (so get a small box), but they have nutritional value, as well as fiber. Dark chocolate has fewer calories than milk chocolate. My favorite indulgence is York Peppermint patties, which have lower fat and calories than many other chocolate bars. Same with chips; I find that I like the baked varieties just as much as the regular, so why get regular? Or, when I eat tortilla chips, I try to load eat bite up with a huge dollop of fresh salsa from the deli, so I end up eayting more tomato than anything else.

In the end, you have to find something you feel like you can live with forever. It depends on your personal tastes.

I recommend checking out the 'Eat This, Not That' series of  books. They can be very helpful in identifying healthier choices that don't feel like sacrifices.

Maybe you need to stop going to the movies for a while.  Go dancing, or for a walk instead.  Find something else to keep you busy.  Movies seem to be your trigger.  It's dark and nobody can see how much you eat.  As for being addicted to chocolate, I know how you feel.  I'm addicted to some foods and I feel completely helpless when I'm eating them.  I can't stop until it's gone.  So I don't have it in my house.  If I want some, I have to physically go to the store and buy it.  And then I'm not allowed to eat it until I'm far away from the store, so it's a pain in the butt to get more.  I don't think you should deny yourself all the time, it's more a matter of not letting it control you.  Good luck.

I have a large spot in my heart for chocolate too but I find that Jello's Dark Chocolate Fat free pudding and Skinny Cow's Chocolate with fudge cones (almost like the drumsticks, without the nuts) seems to satiate these urges. I have recently seen a new candy bar out there called Fling here in Safeway that has peaked my interest. It seemed a little expensive for 10 tiny candy bars though ($5.00) so I passed on it yesterday, but I know I am going to give in sometime in the near future. I figure it is better to eat one of those at 90 calories then a snickers bar (mmmmm, snickers, seems I have blocked that out of my mind until now!)

Now that I have talked about all this, I have to run to the fridge and grab a pudding! Here's to will power and Congratulations on hitting your goal.

just a few words: i do not have an exact advice for you, just wanted to say how i admire your willpower and hope that, with the help of sthis site, you can again find strength to battle the overeating

I prefer coffee and cookies over chocolate.  I find it much easier to handle my "addictions" by not completely depriving myself.  I have make a life long choice to become a healthier person.  I weighed 188-lbs, ate only once a day (if I remembered), did no exercise and my ONLY beverage was coffee.  I drank several pots of it per day.  :(  I am young, but had a stroke last year which landed me in the hospital for a little while.

My coffee used to be LOADED with sugar and light cream.  First, I switched to whole milk and kept the sugar.  Then I replaced the sugar with Splenda.  I noticed that I was beginning to feel better and started losing weight.  Then I switched to 2% milk.  I tried to quit it "cold turkey" but failed.  Now I allow myself 2-cups of 1% milk per day.  If I choose to use it in coffee, then so be it.  This allows me to enjoy a max of 4-cups of coffee per day.  I can live with that.

Cookies are still a major weakness for me, especially homemade (warm and gooey from the oven).  I am dying just writing this (lol).  I allow myself to have a "cookie day" once per month.  I look forward to this day and since I don't have to give them up forever, I am just fine having one serving.  :)

Maybe you can look for sugar-free/milk-free alternatives so you may enjoy your chocolate on the weekends--or maybe allow yourself one scrumptious, creamy, full-fat/sugar candy bar once per month.  Hopefully one of these ideas will work for you as they did for me.  I weighed myself an hour ago and I am at 147.5-lbs (28 more pounds to go). 

I wish you the best.  Please let me know how you are doing--it's so wonderful you did reach your goal weight!!!  You accomplished it before and will again! :D 

If you were limiting your sugar intake while dieting, your body probably adjusted and I assume the cravings weren't as much as a problem. If this is the case, you've just reintroduced your body to the 'sugar high,' and like a little kid all it wants is candy : )

I agree that reintroducing it in a more controlled way might be best. I personally eat two squares of chocolate every night.

Not everyone works as well with 'moderation.' Try switching to darker chocolate. The more bitter, the less likely you'll be to want a lot of it (it still tastes great, without the addictive sweet taste). If you can't effectively avoid eating chocolate in large quantities, try and find healthier ways to enjoy it (careful of the sugar free lot - too much has a laxative effect).

Just like dieting, be extra tough for a week (whats a week? thats nothing), and then it may get easier.

Congrats on reaching your goal!

Thank you very much guys for your support and suggestions. I didn't realise how confronting writing this would be for me. Your kind words are providing me with renewed strength!

As many of you have speculated, I was very strict with my diet previously, completely cutting out ALL the foods I love. My diet was very low salt and sugar. Because I had done so well on it and didn't have any cravings for these kinds of foods, I thought I would re-introduce to treat myself (because I love the taste of them), and because I didn't want to lose anymore weight. But...you know the rest.

I will certainly try your suggestions, and make sure I don't completely cut out chocolate this time around.

Thank you again for your feedback and support.

You may already do this, but attempt to let the chocolate actually melt in your mouth completely, before taking more.  Chocolate after all, melts at our exact body temperature, so it's made for this and you get more of the flavor.  This slows down my consumption and I find I reach satiety faster.  Since I am so weak in this department, I also ensure I never eat chocolate when I am hungry!  Portion control is key for me, as mentioned in prevous posts.  As well, I buy the best chocolate I can afford, because it does taste better and so I will be less likely to eat so much as it is a luxury for me.

Congratulations on reaching your goal - you did it once, so you can get over this speed bump and do it again!

I'm so proud of you for reaching your goal!! Don't beat up on yourself too much. It's so hard when you completely deprive yourself, you are strong and I have not one doubt that you will see continued success. Everyone has made so may good points about moderation, avoiding triggers and such so the only thing I'll add is to ask if you are still logging every morsel you eat? (I don't know if you'd done so before). This has been the one thing that keeps me in line and/or gets me back in line. Nothing like seeing the facts in black and white showing me how many calories I've eaten to get me back on track. Good luck!