Candy and Ice Cream are Screaming to You at the Boardwalk

Now I'm an emotional eater (no doubt about it). It's that Board Walk time of the year. What would I do if I were at the boardwalk and candy or ice cream were screaming my name?
Would I take a deep breadth? maybe but not for any particular reason.
Would I put on my tennis shoes and run on the boardwalk instead? Are you kidding?
Would I go to a bench on the boardwalk and mediate? Let's get real.
Would I call a friend and discuss options? Isn't amazing what you can do with cell phones? Answer: my friend would most likely be with me with her name being called by candy too.
Would I talk myself out of it? I doubt it unless I visited the boardwalk often.

It's amazing how many articles and books that I read giving the above options to eating--basically ridiculous advice. Sure it may work once or twice, but in the long run...

No, I'd eat it--I'd buy no more than a quarter pound though and I'd feel good about myself because most likely I would have planned on being at the boardwalk and skipped breakfast and lunch for the day if the additional candy or ice cream were unaffordable--I could write a chapter about this topic.

Now if going to the boardwalk were a spontaneous thing and I had not skipped breakfast or lunch, I'd still eat the candy or ice cream and skip a meal the next day--again if the candy or ice cream were unaffordable.

But isn't that recycled advice, Richard? And what does it have to do with dealing with emotional eating?

Answer: It's about my relationship with the candy and my ability to fill up on flavor and taste. The quarter pound would be for both my friend and me, but I must admit the ice cream even though small would be for me alone. And I'd know that it looks like candy or ice cream, tastes like candy or ice cream, but actually has nothing to do with candy, ice cream or eating. No guilt involved. I am choosing the candy or ice cream as opposed to the candy or ice cream choosing me. That's a big difference.

Emotionally I am choosing to dilute the feeling of happiness and when I can choose to dilute the emotion I can also choose to stop diluting it, but although it seems to have everything to do with food, it has nothing to do with food.

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