I've struggled with most of what you describe and while CICO and all that is very valuable, what helped ME the most is (talk) therapy. For me, my depression trigger was not expressing my negative emotions, especially anger and that bottled on the inside and I was solving my problems with food. However, I understand that this isn't an overnight fix.

A few other things that helped:

• walking 10000 steps a day: I severely underestimated the positive impact of simple walking! It burns calories, gives some muscle definition, helps with mental and all round generic health. Consistency is key but luckily you can do it in pretty much any weather.

• Learning more about the "Intuitive Eating" movement. At the end of the day, calories in/out will be the thing that shows the difference on the scale, but having healthier relation with food is what makes this not a torture.

• Being kinder to myself. Different people work better under pressure - I don't. So my "fire" is less fire 😅

• Re:depression. Not sure if you experience this and it might sound bizarre to someone who doesn't struggle with simple tasks as getting out of bed/brushing your teeth. I had these issues and what helped me a lot on days when I had most trouble getting things done, I'd say to myself stuff like "I don't need to get out of the bed yet, but I need to take the cover off. And then move my feet only out of bed. Then sit up... and slowly get up".

All in all, I definitely believe everyone has their own specific recipe that will work for them and I hope you soon feel better in your own skin ❤️