Hallmark Food Moments

One of the fascinating things that I discovered is that I couldn't resist a Hallmark Food Moment. I would wonder, "Why did I just eat when I wasn't at all hungry?" or "Why didn't I just tell my friend that called to go out to lunch and that I had already eaten?" Well, it came down to not wanting to miss out on a Hallmark Food Moment. Picture a cheesy Lifetime drama - the people are always in the perfect circumstance to find each other & find true love - their car breaks down, they find themselves in a rain storm, they get into the same elevator - you know. Well, I made eating food into the same cheesy drama. For example, I had already eaten lunch but when I ran an errand, I had locked my keys in the car. While I had to wait for the guy, there was a deli right across from the parking lot - "Hallmark Food Moment" - had to go in, get something to eat & wait for the guy. The more experienced counselor would recognize this as emotional eating - eating to escape boredom and stress. But at the time I coined the phrase, "Hallmark Food Moment". Another example, I had already eaten and a friend calls to see what I'm doing for lunch, "Nothing, where do you want to go?". I'm not going to turn down going out with a friend & I don't want her to eat alone . . . I still find it hard to tell someone that I have already eaten or that I can't join them. I still find it hard to wait in my car without something to eat when there's a Starbucks right over there (you know, they are ALWAYS right over there). But now at least I recognize why I'm so tempted and can pigeon hole the thought instead of feeling compelled to act on it.