Dear Food - Why Can't I Quit You?

The obvious answer is: "Duh, you'd die with me".
I get it, food.  Without you, my body would eventually die.

What I have always struggled with, is my relationship with food.

As a pre-teen, I turned to food for comfort when I was teased relentlessly in 5th grade.  I turned to food when I was happy.  When I was mad.  Sad.  And so on ...

Now, since having children, I find myself more of a stress eater than I ever was before.  This could also be a direct coralation between quitting smoking and replacing one bad habit with another.

This is another problem I face: I KNOW what I'm doing wrong.  I know what I should be eating (1500 calories a day, since I work out, made up of complex carbs ... healthy fats ... protein ... etc.).  I know I should avoid sugar, empty foods, etc.  I preach this to everyone I know.  People come to me for advice about it.  It's not to say I'm losing weight, it's just slow as frack thanks to my constant set-backs.

I had a light bulb go off the other day ...

It doesn't take a scientist to figure it out - but our bodies are like machines.
We feed it crap - it runs like crap.
With this mentality, I need to view FUELING my body versus just EATING my feelings.

Again, not rocket science here.  Yet, it felt like my "aha" moment I needed.
Have I magically turned things around since this moment.  NO.  However, before anything goes into my mouth, I ask "Food or Fuel?"

Sometimes my emotions/stress still wins ... but the battle is getting easier.

I really can't wait until after my Vegas vacation in two weeks.  I plan on jolting my body with the jump-start it needs (no serious fasting or anything crazy like that - just a restricted diet for a few days to get the crap out that I'm sure will be floating around from Vegas!)

What struggles do you have with your eating and diet?  Are you an emotional eater or a stress eater?
I have also promised not to beat myself as hard anymore when I do slip ... this helps me not become so emotional, and thus restart the cycle of bad food decision making.


I look forward to hearing from you, my lovely readers, your thoughts.

~ Be The Thermostat, Not The Thermometer ~

Nikki