When Life Gives You Lemons, Don't Eat Them!!!

And by lemons I mean feelings. It seems to be a problem that I, among many people I encounter on MFP, have when the going gets tough. Food is comfort, and an escape from our issues (albeit briefly), and can even be celebration or reward. But it's a dangerous habit to tie food and your feelings together.

I'm not much of an emotional eater 90% of the time, but even when it gets rough for me (like last night), I find myself wandering into the kitchen and picking up a snack. It's only a saving grace (and smart move on my part) that I don't keep junk food in my apartment with very few exceptions. So last night after I found myself upset, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a Fiber One brownie. 90 calories of damage but it's no pint of Ben and Jerry's.

This still shows a greater issue... food shouldn't be a way to solve my problems. I had the same issue in California on my business trip and the damage was WAY more than a 90 calorie brownie. Sometimes it's a few beers. But lately I've noticed that sometimes my first reaction isn't to find food. It's to go for a run, or do a workout DVD. Something to get the stress out that ISN'T FOOD! This is a much better habit to have and I would have done something if it wasn't 11pm last night and I just went to bed. It's something I'm going to have to keep working on because it can only lead me back down a path that I've worked really had to get away from in the last year and a half.

So, when life hands you lemons, don't drink the lemonade. Don't eat the lemons. Juggle with them or something. I don't know, something that gets the stress out that isn't digging you back into the hole that emotional eating may have gotten you into in the first place. I started texting my boyfriend and we talked about what was bothering me. And it really helped. So maybe talking to the lemons is the way to go... or about them... you don't want to come off crazy for talking to lemons. But lemons represent our feelings, our problems, and our demons. I'm making an effort today to eat as well as I would any other day. Just because I'm in a crappy mood doesn't mean I need to blow my calories out the window.

So instead I'm plugging in my headphones, putting on some Led Zeppelin, and not eating the lemons! But I am going to lunch at Wegmans with my boyfriend for a salad or sushi. I can still eat, but my feelings are not on the menu!