What comes first...the mood or the food? (Part 3)

Read from Part 1

So I was all set to write about how I now have a canister of chocolate in my freezer, and how I can have a single piece with my coffee and enjoy it and not have it constantly, lovingly calling me to it from that dark cold place...wait...what was I saying?

OK, so I might not have this thing completely figured out. But here's what I do know is true, for sure, for me:

1. When I eat carbs late at night, I have trouble sleeping.
2. When I have had a bad night's sleep, I tend to overeat, especially carbs and sugar.
3. When I eat carbs and don't burn them off with exercise, all I want is more carbs to eat.
4. When I drink a lot of diet pop, I crave sugar.
5. When I do overeat, it is not because I am weak or lazy or bad or a failure.
6. Food affects my mood.

There is absolutely no doubt that my emotional state has improved dramatically since I started exercising and eating better. Situations that used to set me off are no big deal (most of the time). People who annoy me still annoy me, but I can take things in stride (most of the time). And while I do eat well most of the time, when I don't - like today when one piece of chocolate from my stash turned into many - I don't beat myself up about it. I do what I can to slow the tide, wait to eat until I get physically hungry again, and move forward.

Right now I've got healthy chicken breasts baking in the oven, I am drinking my water and my gear is already laid out for my early morning workout. That's moving forward.

Let's face it...food is pleasurable. It is meant to fuel our bodies and be enjoyed in moderation. Decades of dieting had turned my relationship with food into a perpetual battleground. It doesn't really matter what comes first - the mood or the food. What matters is breaking the cycle so food once again becomes what it was intended to be.

Keep trying until you figure out what works for you.