Don't Pull that Trigger!
Most everyone has at least one, and for some of us, they're the biggest obstacles when it comes to weight loss. I'm talking about trigger foods — the things you just can't resist, and tend to overeat when they're available. Cookies are one of my trigger foods. They're a particularly bad trigger because they usually come in a pack, and the ones that don't are often the size of a hockey puck and contain 500 calories or more.
What's the best way to deal with trigger foods? Acknowledge them, and then avoid them. Not even a bite, or you'll be a goner. Keep them out of your house and out of your line of sight when you shop. Most trigger foods contain unhealthy ingredients like butter, sugar, and white flour (so it's not like your nutritional status will suffer if you cut them out completely!). In fact, in addition to losing weight, you may even get healthier overall when you toss the triggers. Once you hit your weight-loss goal, you can try experimenting with trigger foods, but if you find yourself slipping into old patterns, it's back to cold turkey.

Many overweight people tell me they eat much of the time because of stress, boredom, anger, or other feelings and emotions than because of true stomach hunger. In other words, they turn to food to help them deal with immediate or long-standing problems that are too difficult or painful to address head-on. A lot of these people recognize the futility of using food as a cure-all, but because they feel incapable of changing things, they numb themselves with food.
The first thing to do is to try to get at the root cause of your  negative feelings. Forcing yourself to think about problems instead of brushing them under the rug sometimes does work. If the problems are just too complicated to resolve immediately, and you can't afford another bout of emotional eating, the following interventions can help:
• Write about the emotion you're experiencing. It's often incredibly cathartic to jot things down on paper.
• Find alternatives to eating that are pleasurable and convenient. Options include calling a friend, reading a fun magazine, watching TV, or engaging in a hobby. If you want to be virtuous, you can always clean your house, pay bills, or organize your closet.
• Choose three "interference" foods. These are healthy, low-cal items you've committed to eating before you launch into something calorific.  Perhaps two handfuls of baby carrots with salsa, one red bell pepper, and an apple will do the trick.
• Go for a run. Or take a walk. Or do any other type of physical activity you like. Exercise boosts endorphins (feel-good chemicals produced by your body) and relieves stress.