Food: Fuel or pleasure?

I have a confession: I, Monica, am an emotional eater.

I know this may come as a shock to some, especially to those who have had to work for or with me when I am stressed, frustrated, or have been with me when I have experienced some form of personal injustice. This may also be a shock to those who have grown up with me, listen to me when I am having a pity party, or otherwise have had the unfortunate pleasure of putting up with me when I am in an unmotivated state of positive being.

Eating for pleasure if usually just wrong--not always, but usually. The "usually" wrong is when I get myself into trouble. I eat when I am bored and not hungry, or when I am too lazy to do something else...or when it is just right there in my face screaming "eat me!"

This is why I am re-focusing the role of food in my life. Food is fuel for our bodies. I think if I viewed food this way I would think differently about the way that I eat and would make better choices. I am doing just that now.

For the month of September I am veggie/vegan/ish. I am not eating meat for a few reasons. The main reason is because I want to be healthier and every now and again I need to get back on track about what and why I am eating. Being a vegetarian, or really a wannabe vegan, is an attempt to focus on giving my body the fuel that it needs and focusing less on the pleasure aspect of eating. My husband doesn't help this because he eats so much grease, fat, and other junk and is still really thin.

I am also focusing on what I eat because I have yet to get back into the routine of working out consistently. I am definitely feeling it and am on the cusp of getting back into it, but balancing everything else I have going on is making it difficult. I am just still making excuses (I visited a local gym and will be joining it within the next week. I just can't do the gym here where I live. It is not motivating enough for me).

Which brings me to this question: when you eat, are you eating because your body needs fuel or are you eating for some other purpose?