Maybe sometimes ....

[IrishSarahHB]

Maybe sometimes it takes you to look at someone else’s faults to realize your own.



My boyfriend is trying to quit smoking. He is doing very well but it is very hard for him at the same time. He definitely struggles with it. I feel for him. I hate to see him have to go through that. He tells me he gets these bad cravings sometimes that just WONT go away. He says its unreal how his mind will suddenly change focus to nothing but a cigarette. He said most of the time he can distract himself or ignore it and it will pass but sometimes its just not that easy. He gets emotional when we really talk about it and I understand that. He has smoked everyday for the past 10 years, during good times, during bad times, whenever he wanted one. There it was…. And now his cigarettes are slowly leaving his life



I always thought “I’m so glad ‘I’ don’t have an addictive personality like so many people I know” but who am I kidding. I’m realizing that I DO have an addictive personality! I start to think about some of the things I do and I know they are not healthy. I know that these are things I do out of addiction. I need to address this as a whole. Simply fixing one problem is only going to lead to another. Iv made myself a list of things I think that I am addicted to. Not little bad habits but things that I feel I NEED to let go of. Things that effect my daily life in a negative way and have long term effects on my body and health. I am going work on each of these things.



COFFEE: I am to the point where I can’t function in the morning without it. I can barely concentrate on my assignments at work. And I get nothing done at home on the weekends without it



SODA: I get ANGRY if I don’t have soda in the afternoon, I really do. I will also leave the house late at night to go buy some if I don’t have any. I need it everyday.



NAIL BITING: I bite my nails till they hurt. Then I cant get my nails done cause they are so short. I do it sub consciously and I do it way too much.



FOOD: I eat when I am bored. I am now almost 50 lbs overweight.



I wish I could be addicted to working out and drinking water haha ;-)



Anyway .. im just thinking out loud I guess… maybe some of you can relate?



Have a good day J

[Mothercooter]

Re: Maybe sometimes ....

I wish I could be addicted to working out and drinking water haha ;-)

Amen to that!!!

[spazzyhilo]

Re: Maybe sometimes ....

Wow this post hit right at home. I have some of the same addictions. Food mostly - if it caused any type of emotion in me (or none at all) I would eat. If I was bored, I'd eat. If I was cranky, I'd eat. If I was upset, I'd eat. If I was in a good mood, I'd eat. Food had become my source of entertainment, emotional support, and reward system.

Its good to see what our bad habits are so that we can create goals for ourselves to make it better. Excellent post sarah!

[APanthesilia]

Re: Maybe sometimes ....

Great post Sarah!

I think you are completely right about this. I think it is just as easy to have a food addiction as it is to be addicted to other things! And one of the things that makes it hard is that we can't just completely cut out food! No matter what we have to eat, we just have to make sure that we are having the right stuff in the right amounts rather than what we are addicted to (carbs, constantly eating). Good news is, just like your bf can quit smoking, we can control our addictions, too. It is something that I have been very mindful of lately. Today as I was waiting on the tube I was standing there having a very forceful argument in my head about discipline! I kept going back and forth about whether I was going to pig out on legal foods! For the most part now I am not so tempted by carbs but I am tempted by what my real addiction is- overeating.

If you'll forgive me a small digression...I think this WOE attracts people who are true overeaters, those of us who think about food constantly from the first thing in the morning to the last thing at night, those of us who would drive through restaurants and eat a meal on the way to dinner- because people think that you can just eat as much as you like as long as it is low carb! Of course that is not true but I think it is what a lot of people outside Atkins think! After reading the book and starting doing this for real I have really become more aware that I am a true overeater- even though it is painful to admit!

So now I'm battling my overeating addiction, and I think I'm winning! Like I said I often have real arguments in my head about what I'm going to eat and every time I say NO I feel myself get a little bit stronger and the addiction get a little bit weaker. Now I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about what to eat and what I want to eat and what I should be eating rather than just mindlessly shovelling it in. Maybe one day I will be able to think less about every bite and it will come naturally! For now though I am beating this one bite at a time. And I have already replaced my diet coke fixation with water! I'm sure others who start this WOE have the same experience. It is incredible to see here so many people who have overcome their bad habits to become healthy, energetic and happier individuals. I hope anyone new reading this takes some encouragement that it can be done and we are doing it together!

Thanks again for the post, Sarah, it is always good to be mindful of these things and I appreciate you bringing it up! Good luck to your bf! My mom, who is an amazingly strong woman, quit smoking thirty years ago and to this day she says that it was the hardest thing she ever did! And good luck to you beating your habits! We are in this together!!