I got to the grand old weight of nearly 19stone eating badly (particularly stressful 5 years that I was also very depressed).
As you can imagine my eating habits were shocking to get to that weight. I was eating UPF pretty much all the time (ready meals, pastries, icecream, crisps, sugary cereals, fizzy juice).
I honestly thought I would never be able to get away from the stuff as I was always looking for my next 'fix'
I'm 3 stone down now and still 4 stone to go.
It's slow going (no weight loss drugs, just doing it the old fashioned way) and the one thing that has really helped me is porridge and bananna.
I used Flahavan porridge which is very creamy and the best type of porridge that's good for you. I make it with milk. At the start when i was trying to wean myself of the junk food I would have porridge with honey, banana and pecan nuts. Lots of calories, but sweet and more wholesome. Then i cut out the honey once my taste buds adjusted and now I just have porridge and banana and I look forward to it all day as it feels like a 'pudding'
Other things I ate alot of to wean myself was healthier food that tastes good but was still high in calories. So for example hummus - tastes lovely, you can dip things in it like carrot sticks of peppers. It's good for you but quite calorific.
Once I had weaned myself from the bad food to the good food I started to pay more attention to portion sizes and calories as well (I didn't bother with that at the start as the aim was just to swap the UPF with as much good food as I needed).
It's been mostly not too bad. Yes I still have nights were I really, really want to order icecream and cream cakes and stuff them down my throat.
I try to stop myself and say 'what are you trying to achieve'. Yes it will make you feel better in the short term (sugar high) but it won't fix whatever is making you want it (usually lonely or scared or anxious or boredom).
I also have Lindt 90% chocolate in the cupboard at all times and when I started I was eating a 2 squares with a glass of milk several times a day. The chocolate tasted like crap at the start - bitter and not sweet but the milk softened the blow. Then I started to cut out the milk and just have 1 square of chocolate and now I only eat it occasionally and it tastes really sweet, creamy and chocolately so my taste buds have clearly changed.
I'm also treating myself not with food but with other things. So for example expensive face creams etc. Once you have paid out £90 for a tiny bottle of something you will be even more loathe to go back to eating shit as you can't look after your skin properly while eating junk.
The other thing I do is tell myself eating junk is 'not a treat'. Eating prawns and salmon and other foods with high nutrional value is 'a treat' as I am looking after myself and giving my body everything it needs. Eating junk is actually self loathing and addiction.
Make no mistake junk food is really addictive. I had some bad news last week and was crying and the urge to get junk food was overwhelming. It was then I realised I was like an alcoholic craving alcohol to soothe me and give me a fix.
I didn't cave. I forced myself to eat the salmon salad I had in the fridge and gave myself 2 pieces of salmon rather than 1 so I felt really full. I didn't even need the chocolate after as I was stuffed and I still had my creamy porridge to look forward to.
Anyway it is coming of slowly, last week 2 lbs, this week 1lb, some weeks nothing. Definately harder to lose in your fifties than when I was younger although I never got so heavy before.
So I'll keep going and for me it's a long term project as I know it's going to take me over a year but that is fine as my skin needs to adjust too.
I'm also working on my mental health quite seriously to help my understand my comfort eating among other things. I also drink a glass of water between each cup of tea and I don't touch fizzy juice (even diet stuff wrecks your teeth enamel)
Another tip is to think of all the junk food manufacturers laughing their heads off at selling complete shit that messes up your body, makes you ill and look terrible so they can make tons of money at the expense of your health. You will start to feel like a prize chump who has been made a fool of for falling for the advertisements, addictive chemicals and you will mentally stick your fingers up to them when you eat baked potato with prawns or venison and vegetables rather than a ready meal.
Good luck. It's not easy. Temptation is all around.