Need help have a question

[Br****]

I've only meditated for a few months and I have a very important question to ask but here's my backstory first.
52 year old male. Hyper sensitive to everything; emotions, pain, other people's feelings, food...
I was doing calorie restriction for weight loss the same time that I started meditating. After a few months I was meditating very deeply. But still being very uncomfortable with experiencing anxiety. I tried an experiment. Since food makes me feel good I would try eating what I wanted when I wanted. All the feel-good chemicals from that reduced my anxiety to almost nothing. Anxiety free for 4 months now but 2 negatives have happened. Gaining lots of weight and the worst of all things ( and the weirdest) is I can't meditate deeply anymore. I'm always amped up from all the food. I can't penetrate into those deeper states anymore.  I've tried calorie restricting again but the anxiety returns. 

My question is

How can I find the strength and the courage to do what needs to be done. I need to loose weight and I really miss experiencing those deeper states. But I hate feeling anxious all the time.

[su****]

Exercising / working out might help. Working out reduces stress while training and helps you relax after, because you are exhausted and it burn calories...

[Ja****]

I am new here. I could try  intermediate fasting which could allow you to eat what you want without over doing it. But also exercising helps your body and your brain to feel better.