One of my very worst fears about quitting smoking has come true, but not for the normal reason.
Putting down cigarettes is the best thing I have done for myself since - well, let me think here... Okay, so I can't think of anything truly better for myself I have ever done. Hands down, quitting smoking is truly the best way I have acknowledged my need for a healthier environment.
I have always heard/read that one of the worst side effects from quitting is weight gain. From what I understand, the majority of the weight gain comes from the hand-to-mouth habit, or from a nervous habit of needing something in the mouth. Okay, I get that. Fine. I don't do that. I have my PV at hand 24/7 for whenever I need that hand-to-mouth fix. So what is the problem?
I've said it before and I will say it again. I can TASTE MY FOOD.
Food has become a completely new experience. Everything seems to taste completely different to me now. I have found that I truly dislike some things I used to like, and I like some things I used to truly dislike. Item most eaten? Bacon. Lots and lots of bacon. It's like a new addiction all its own. I have even started to think of it as the Devil's own breakfast of choice, cause anything that tasty and that full of fat with a siren call so strong you dream about it has got to be directly from Ol' Scratch himself.
I won't tell you anything about my current weight, except the last time I weighed this much, I was pregnant with my youngest (and last) daughter. I stepped on the scales the other day and had to laugh to keep myself from bawling like a baby. It's NOT quitting smoking that did this. It's the devil's own fault. (That, and a healthy dosage of weak willpower.)
I find myself completely avoiding the bacon/sausage/breakfast meat section of the super market. I have stopped buying my favorite brand of bacon and started buying seasoning bacon, which has a far different flavor. It tastes good used to season things, but has no siren call at all on its own. I have considered joining - or starting - a Baconholics Anonymous just for people like me. I have a feeling the member list would be a bit more interesting than I first contemplated.
So this morning (and every morning for the past week), my breakfast has come in a bottle. Special K Strawberry Protein Shakes. I joined the gym last week much to the chagrin of my unused, aching muscles. I have started eating weird combinations of fruits and veggies, and actually find them somewhat tasty, too.
For people like me, I think it is more weak will power and the rediscovery of what food REALLY tastes like that sends us over the edge, but I will say it yet again... Bacon is the devil's own. Beware. You may think you are biting it, while all the while it is sinking its teeth into you.
Putting down cigarettes is the best thing I have done for myself since - well, let me think here... Okay, so I can't think of anything truly better for myself I have ever done. Hands down, quitting smoking is truly the best way I have acknowledged my need for a healthier environment.
I have always heard/read that one of the worst side effects from quitting is weight gain. From what I understand, the majority of the weight gain comes from the hand-to-mouth habit, or from a nervous habit of needing something in the mouth. Okay, I get that. Fine. I don't do that. I have my PV at hand 24/7 for whenever I need that hand-to-mouth fix. So what is the problem?
I've said it before and I will say it again. I can TASTE MY FOOD.
Food has become a completely new experience. Everything seems to taste completely different to me now. I have found that I truly dislike some things I used to like, and I like some things I used to truly dislike. Item most eaten? Bacon. Lots and lots of bacon. It's like a new addiction all its own. I have even started to think of it as the Devil's own breakfast of choice, cause anything that tasty and that full of fat with a siren call so strong you dream about it has got to be directly from Ol' Scratch himself.
I won't tell you anything about my current weight, except the last time I weighed this much, I was pregnant with my youngest (and last) daughter. I stepped on the scales the other day and had to laugh to keep myself from bawling like a baby. It's NOT quitting smoking that did this. It's the devil's own fault. (That, and a healthy dosage of weak willpower.)
I find myself completely avoiding the bacon/sausage/breakfast meat section of the super market. I have stopped buying my favorite brand of bacon and started buying seasoning bacon, which has a far different flavor. It tastes good used to season things, but has no siren call at all on its own. I have considered joining - or starting - a Baconholics Anonymous just for people like me. I have a feeling the member list would be a bit more interesting than I first contemplated.
So this morning (and every morning for the past week), my breakfast has come in a bottle. Special K Strawberry Protein Shakes. I joined the gym last week much to the chagrin of my unused, aching muscles. I have started eating weird combinations of fruits and veggies, and actually find them somewhat tasty, too.
For people like me, I think it is more weak will power and the rediscovery of what food REALLY tastes like that sends us over the edge, but I will say it yet again... Bacon is the devil's own. Beware. You may think you are biting it, while all the while it is sinking its teeth into you.
