OCD and dieting

I never thought that OCD had anything to do with my eating habits, until I started dieting recently. I then discovered that over the years apparently I have used eating sweets as a coping mechanism for my OCD when things are stressful. I start to feel anxious, I feel the need to eat, I eat and for a while I feel better. Much the same way as when i feel a compulsion to do other things i.e. put on a certain shirt or straighten a rug, for a while doing the behavior relieves my anxiety and makes me feel better. So needless to say lately my diet has not been going so well, I'll do very well in the morning and then in the late afternoon when I am the most stressed I think "well I feel really anxious/stressed so just this once I'll eat a cookie" so I do then I feel guilty for eating the cookie. It's a vicious cycle! I guess the bright side is I am learning a lot about myself and how my coping skills are not the best. I need to work on other ways to relieve my stress than just grabbing the nearest snack and eating. Losing weight=feeling better about myself=less stress=less OCD symptoms and that is helpful to everyone I love!! So i must find a way to beat this cycle.