I have hit the 2 week mark of my experiment and I feel great. I didn’t realise at the
time just how big a difference all of these changes were going to make to my
sense of general well being...but I have to tell you I am feeling gooood...
I was scared that if I ever were to stop smoking I would
gain a lot of weight, because to fill the gap left by smoking it is said that
you stuff your face. I couldn’t stuff my face because I also eliminated all
food groups that are normally associated with face stuffing. So my weight seems stable, in fact I am losing a little bit. I have never had much of a sweet tooth so I believed getting rid of sugar would not be the hardest thing to do, I was wrong. Sugar is hidden everywhere and I was more addicted than I realised, and I often find myself craving something sweet. But a whole new world has opened up to me, there are ways of satisfying your cravings without consuming the white stuff, I have even managed to bake and enjoy a sugar free, gluten free, grain free cheesecake and it was delicious. I am saving so much money by not buying cigarettes and alcohol that I can splurge on other things, so I bought myself “I Quit Sugar” by Sarah Wilson, and also her recipe book on sugar free cooking. It may be a combination of all the things I have removed from my life, but my body somehow feels lighter, my digestion seems to be working a treat, and I am starting to feel like a well oiled machine, and something is telling me it is mostly because I got rid of sugars and refined carbohydrates. If you want to learn more about the effects of sugar watch “That Sugar Film” a documentary by Damon Gameau. It really is an eye opener. Even if you are all “Ah what do they know”, it is always good to learn as much as you can in life, educate yourself.
I am not going to pretend like I don’t miss cigarettes, I was a smoker for 17 years, half of my life so it did form part of my identity, and there are moments when I want to grab one so badly that I almost feel slightly aggressive, but it gets a little easier every day. I think 17 years is enough, I have proven I can smoke, and I can smoke like a champion, now is the time to be a little healthier.
My mind is so much clearer. I have always been prone to mood
swings and feeling sorry for myself. I could sit and wallow in my own self pity
for hours, but it seems to be occurring less and less. I can feel joy slowly
growing inside me, replacing all the melancholy.
I still go out, and I still try to be the last man standing.
I just don’t drink anymore, and I have come to realise that I drank a lot. A
standard unit of wine for me was a bottle, and I felt proud of myself if I only
drank one bottle an evening. I didn’t play around. It has come as a shock but
in my sobriety I have deducted that other people don’t drink that much, it is a
glass here and there, but mostly they behave themselves. People have commented
that I am a much quieter, and I don’t bring the party like I used to, but I am
turning 35 perhaps it is time for me to grow the hell up. Two weeks isn’t a lifetime, and I will be silly to claim that my life has changed completely and that I will never drink or slip up again...I am waaay to gloriously human to ever claim that, but I genuinely feel better than I used to, and it is amazing to see just how much things can change in two weeks
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