Learning to self-soothe in ways not involving food needs to be, I think, a vital part of any weight loss or weight maintenance plan.   Many women who begin weight loss plans have spent many years using food for comfort or to block out emotional pain or any kind of ‘feelings’.   In order to first allow feelings to come up without blocking them with food may require the help of a professional counsellor/therapist (you can search for UK professionals here: http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/therapists/).  In fact many women who first attempt to look at feelings or do ‘feelings work’ find that they have no words for certain emotions such as anger, frustration, sadness, jealousy, resentment, joy, gratitude etc there is just a sense of ‘emotion’ or ‘feeling fat’ or overwhelm.   Once feelings can be named and allowed learning to self-soothe without food is an important way to prevent and/or manage binges or over-eating.  Each individual will find their own personal recipe for self-soothing and managing their feelings.  Take time to experiment and investigate what makes you feel better or calmer when things start to feel overwhelming.  Some ideas might include: *Going for a walk in nature, alone or with a friend *Putting on soothing music and relaxing, or energetic music and dancing *Going to visit your favourite art gallery or museum *Looking at photographs that you treasure *Lying on the grass watching the clouds *Stroking a cat or dog *Taking a special, relaxing bath with candles and oils *Sitting all cuddled up on….