Hi bluedonna92! I've been a vegetarian for almost 25 years, and I know it's just as easy to eat unhealthy without animal products as with them.

I wonder if you wouldn't gain some benefits from seeing a therapist regarding your eating habits. Have you done so? Willing oneself to not eat a box of cookies isn't easy to do without support and the trappings of old habits. If they make you feel better - even temporarily - you likely tend to go back to them, even if in the end, you feel worse about eating them. From what you said about your college experience, there may be something you can discuss in therapy that, if addressed, might assist in lessening your need for eating comforting, yet unhealthy, foods.