Deprivation Only Makes Food Cravings Stronger. Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution to stick to your diet and change your lifestyle once and for all? And only weeks or days later, have you broken those resolutions – and maybe felt that you’ve failed yet again? If so, don’t beat yourself up. The problem isn’t that you lack willpower. It’s that dieting simply doesn’t work.

I don't know of anyone who hasn't experienced more than the usual amount of stress in their lives over the past year. Whether you've been stressed about your health, suffered losses, had financial stressors, working long hours or had a relationship breakup, stress has become a constant irritant for many of us. If you're struggling with binge eating, emotional eating or food addiction, your eating behaviors may be the first sign that you are stressed to the max.

Body image is the picture you hold in your mind of your body. When you hold a negative picture or are dissatisfied with your body, it can be a significant predictor of compulsive overeating, binge eating, emotional distress, depression and problems in your relationships. Having positive feelings about your body if you are in a bigger body may be difficult in a culture filled with images of the thin "ideal," but it’s not impossible.