Eating my Emotions

Usually I eat my emotions. If I'm happy I want to celebrate with food, if I do something good I want a food "reward", if I had a hard day I "deserve" a treat, if I'm depressed I think it will make me happier... pretty much ANY emotion I have I think I deserve a treat, or that food will make it all better. This is one thing that has been really hard for me to overcome, my thinking about food. It's a constant struggle. I have started to try and think of food as FUEL. Does that pint of ice cream really make me feel better? Not really. Maybe for a minute but then I feel a lot worse for giving in, and physically my body feels yucky with all that sugar and fat. If I do something good, don't I deserve something to make me feel good and healthy? I realized that my emotional well-being is actually very closely tied to my physical well-being. This is a subject I feel strongly about and will explore the connection between the mind and body in further posts.
Here's the challenge for me now. Instead of reaching for the chocolate when I'm stressed (which is REALLY what I usually want to do) I should go for a walk, paint my nails, eat a piece of fruit, drink a glass of water, stretch, listen to good music, treat myself to reading time, movie time, or something else I enjoy. When I've had a hard day, I should treat myself to a bubble bath. I jsut want to make good choices, do something to make my body and mind feel good- something lasting that I won't regret doing later.
I actually put this into practice this week. I have been really stressed at work so instead of chowing down, I took a walk on my 30 minute lunch break. The next day I did the same thing and yesterday was so stressful I put on my tennis shoes and ran out my stress. Try it- it really helps and makes you feel good about yourself!
I would love more ideas on beating the urge to eat my emotions!