healing your heart 75
The man responded by summarizing how he had a loving
mother, father, brother, and sister. He elaborated on how every-
one was pretty busy, ate on different schedules, but always came
together at one o ’ clock on Sunday afternoons in a Chinese restau-
rant down the street from their house. When he shared the latter
half of this last sentence, his voice cracked and his eyes teared up.
He was unable to mask the emotions he didn ’ t even know he had
about how precious and few the hours were with his entire family
together.
He then gradually admitted that even while he was on the pro-
gram here, every Sunday afternoon he found himself at the Chinese
restaurant on Guess Road. He had no idea why he was there — that
he was looking for more time and love with his family. The whole
group was quiet for a while, taking in just how simple and pro-
foundly emotional our relationships with food can be. Usually,
the underlying feelings we associate with certain types of foods
or meals are so obvious, we don ’ t even pay attention to their likely
signifi cance — until a situation like this.
You, too, may enjoy an aha moment on doing the following exer-
cise, which can help you explore your emotion and food connec-
tions. You may also benefi t from participating in an Overeater ’ s
Anonymous group or an Adult Children of Alcoholics group; there
is nothing quite like an honest, supportive community in which
everyone is seeking his or her truth.
Day 4: An Inventory of Food Flashbacks
Examining your favorite foods and your history and association
with eating can be very revealing. We often eat particular foods at
certain times or in specifi c places because we are unconsciously
seeking the feelings that we have associated with them in the past.
Think of your favorite foods, and respond to the following list of
items in your journal. This exploration of your emotional history
with certain foods, locations, and situations can be done in con-
fi dential support groups at the Rice Diet Program or alone with
your journal at home. Give yourself ten to fi fteen minutes of quiet,
uninterrupted time with your journal. In chapter 2 , you began to