I must admit that I only discovered this thread now - and further that I did not read all the posts. Just wondered whether there were others who would relate to this crazy self-sabotage...

Before I go on, I'd like to quote can't-remember-who, who said "When we are happy, we are always good; but when we are good, we are not always happy."
I agree with those earlier statements about all aspects of one's life having to be in balance for one to also have this 'food thing' in balance. Even though I believe that I have a very good life, I know that I am not truly fulfilled in my marriage. Being overweight has, however, become a kind of self-defence mechanism. I don't want to be attractive to men, because I am scared that I will fall for the first guy out there who gives me attention. And my good old Calvinist guilt complexes simply will not allow that! The 'solution', therefore? As soon as I lose a significant amount of weight and notice any kind of male attention, I run for the supermarket and buy THE most fattening thing I can find! Not only does that fatten me up back to the point of safety, but I am comforted while eating it

Knowing why I do it and stopping are, unfortunately, two very different things.
Man oh man, it does sound rather crazy black on white... my only consolation is that I know two other people who are overweight and identify with such craziness!

On a more positive note. I think we can all help our children to avoid the trap of comfort eating. When my children are hurt/sad or must drink medicine, I never offer sweets as a 'reward' or comfort - I'd rather leave my office (I work from home) and go and play with them/give them a hug/distract them/help them draw a picture.