Wow, scally with the useful response.
If acknowledging the occasions where your self-control falters on this site is helpful to you, chasers, then go ahead and do so, it's not an imposition. Obviously people like scally are welcome not to read this thread if it seems to them like an imposition.
I'm working with a friend of mine who is overweight, and she recently had some important realizations regarding the reasons she has trouble losing weight. Turns out -- no surprise, I suppose -- that it's not just a lack of self-control and massive food cravings that were doing her in, but rather image problems, residual feelings of guilt and a sense that she didn't "deserve" to be healthy.
At first it was discouraging to her that losing fat was such a challenge, but I think sometimes the only way to get at those neuroses and really figure out what's making it so difficult is just to storm in and try. You don't cultivate mindfulness by not paying attention, right?
Your noticing the correlation between a rough day at work and overeating is valuable. Contemplate that more. One practice I suggested to my friend that she found helpful was this: when you notice that you feel the urge to overeat, use that as a signal to first stop for 5 minutes and do a simple little meditation. Just close your eyes, and scan through your body from your feet to your head, and see how everything feels. Any particular tension or tightness? Examine your emotional state. Examine your thoughts. Any patterns?
Over time it might help to shed more light on the subtle reasons for these triggers, and if it turns out they are deeper things than just simple hunger urges, dealing with them at that level may be an effective way to curb the binges in a more permanent fashion.
If it's really just a tough work day or stress or exhaustion, maybe it's something as simple as finding a different, healthier habit for dealing with that. Going for a walk. Taking a nap. Hell, head to a firing range and burn off some stress. Whatever works.
