Reddit reviews The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss

My background: 8 years ago, weighed 225lbs down to 180lbs in the first year. This was through going from no workouts to working out 5x week (mainly cardio) and radically changing my diet. Since then, I've lost more and maintained, never regressing.

I had great success using South Beach as a guide line. Cutting out carbs initially really helped me to get on track.

Personally, I think the biggest mental block (which South Beach talks about) is that it is not just a diet, but a lifestyle change. I highly suggest picking up that book and reading through it. It helped me because it laid out how and why my body did what it did. How it breaks down the different compounds into energy, how efficient each energy source is, and when you want to eat each one.

And as you said above,

>The bingeing itself obviously stems from boredom and often times comfort eating

I used to have binge eating episodes too. It's a terrible feeling and I'm not sure why people feel the urge to do that, but it is a common experience among many. I coped with this through picking up a hobby (guitar). Hobbies are essential to keeping your mind and body occupied to the point where you don't have to think about eating all the time. Playing music helps me stay centered. Think of things you like (or would like) to do, and pick them up! It will help you and you won't even realize it! I hope this helps, good luck!