7 Rules To Stop Emotional Eating At Night

By Jackie Wicks, PEERtrainer co-founder


5.    Food is a luxury, treat it like a luxury. 

Remember the movie American Beauty?  Kevin Spacey and his wife (Annette Bening) had little love and emotion left in their marriage but one day, they start to reminisce about their younger years and when they were dating.  They start to emotionally connect and began to kiss on the couch while Kevin is holding a beer.  Suddenly, Annette notices the beer and says, "STOP! Don’t spill the beer on the sofa." Kevin replies, "But its just stuff.  These are just things".  And she replies that it is a $4000 dollar hand made Italian couch and she’s incredulous that he could be calling it just “stuff”.   And he answers, “but it’s just stuff”. 

The reality is that it is just stuff.  The stuff in your home might be luxurious and beautiful, but it is just stuff. But it’s not the smile on your partner's face.  It’s not the love you feel when your child comes home from school and shouts “mommy” and runs to you with delight.  It’s not your dog that’s always there for you, right next to you when you’re alone.  It’s just stuff.  You might treasure it.  And that’s ok.  But having the perspective that it’s just stuff and you’re lucky to have it is an important one. 

Food is the same way.  I don’t have to go into details about starvation throughout the world.  You know it and it’s an ugly thing and you may choose to block it out of your mind.  But we are a very lucky culture to have so much food readily available at the grocery store and easily procured and brought into your home.  It is a true luxury to be able to have the vegetables. 

I remember once reading about a Russian woman who came to this country and couldn’t believe that restaurants put all of the garnishes of tomato and lettuce and onions on the side.  Many of us just ignore it and she ate it hungrily.  She explained how hard and expensive and rare it was, a complete delicacy to have extra vegetables on her plate.   

I also recently read a response from Olivia Palermo, a socialite, on how she stays thin.  She answered something to the effect of what a luxury it is to have food. 

Treat the food you have with kindness and respect and have a full understanding that it is just ‘stuff'.  You are lucky to have it.  If I’m making you depressed because this “stuff” is the love of your life, meaning food is the love of your life, I don’t mean too.  It can still be the love of your life but treasure it and understand how lucky you are.

Next Page: Rule #6

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