Ice cream isn’t the answer, but I sure wish it was!

I love ice cream.

Especially when it’s melting on a brownie fresh from the oven and gooey, fudgey chocolate sauce is smothering the whole thing.  Perhaps whipped cream is also involved…it’s hard to be sure!

It’s a diabetic nightmare and my personal bliss.

Just looking at this, my eyes involuntarily close with absolute bliss.

There is no personal bliss when it comes to food these days.

I am a closet emotional eater.  I eat when I am happy.  I eat when I am sad.  I eat when I am apathetic.  I eat when I’m angry.

Let’s be honest, I just like cramming my emotions really far down and then covering them up with a good, old-fashioned helping of dessert.

While training for my Figure Competition, I haven’t allowed myself to be an emotional eater.  This may be the hardest part of training.

I always know when I’m really sad, angry, or upset because I find myself standing in front of my open refrigerator with a deeply furrowed brow.

The carrots, celery, red peppers, egg whites, cottage cheese, and grilled chicken mock me as I desperately try to find something bad to eat because I think it will make me feel better.  Nothing appears.

Next I go to the pantry.  The worst damage I can do there is to make some brown rice or quinoa, and neither of them do the trick.

I have eaten half a jar of mini dill pickles just to experience a satisfying crunch.  This was not my proudest moment.

By not having the luxury of covering up my emotions with food, I have had to deal with the issues that cause these feelings.  It’s not always pretty, but I am glad to have conquered a few of my internal monsters without chips, brownies, chocolate, or ice cream.

By the time I reach the stage on October the 16^th, I will not only be stronger physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.

Anyone else out there eating dill pickles as a comfort food?  Please tell me that I’m not the only one!