Hi all, so It’s been almost a week since my last cigarette. I used Alan Carr’s EasyWay method, in which he convinces you over the course of 200 pages that you don’t enjoy smoking, it adds nothing to your life, and quitting can be an enjoyable experience. I can almost buy all of that except that my “trigger” for smoking was always feeling fat.
I’m going scorched earth on this dual project. Using quitting smoking as the perfect jumping off point to get back into the gym, finally, and celebrate the things my body can do when I’m not choking it 20x/day.
I’m watching my food intake as well. I don’t intend to be anal about calories or macros. I’ve been playing around with MyFitnessPal to compare different meals and scenarios, but I’m staying with general guidelines like trying to eat more plants and lean proteins. My favorite approach (and one that has worked really really well for me in the past) was the You: the Owner’s Manual approach. Literally just common sense and trying to add more good foods and make as many healthy swaps as possible, rather than freaking out about every little “bad” food that exists. I feel it’s quite reasonable and sustainable long term. (I know from looking at past patterns that I have to make sure I don’t slack on exercise for any significant length of time, which means switching it up when I get bored; and I have to avoid freaking out and giving up if I gain a few pounds. It comes and goes, unless I just give up. Then it comes and comes and comes.)
This is all perfect timing, as I’m out of excuses. I’ve put on 20 pounds in the last year of grad school (during which time I also had a full time job - teaching - and a pretty demanding internship.) exercise went out the window for the past year, and boy is it showing.
Now that I’m about to graduate, I’m determined to make these positive changes to mark the next chapter in my life. I’m trying to fall back in love with exercise again, and it’s going pretty well so far. Whatever minor ways cigarettes contributed to weight control (metabolism boost, appetite control) are a) obviously not fucking worth it, and b) ineffective anyhow when balanced with the sedentary lifestyle they encourage, not to mention the inflammation.
I’m amazed at how much more energy, free time, and mental clarity I already have in this short time. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
Oh yes, and:
5’3” F, 34 SW/ CW: 160 GW#1: 140
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from loseit - Lose the Fat https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/bjcx4s/quit_smoking_and_i_will_lose_weight_rather_than/
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