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Quit Day 28 (Cigarettes):
Quit Day 6 (Nicotine):

It was a restless night but feel fine this morning.

Went to town yesterday to three different grocery stores; I am so tired of eating the same ole things: chicken and burger, chicken and burger, then more chicken and burger. Shrimp and yellow fin tuna steaks were marked down so dinner was shrimp. It was labeled "red Australia shrimp". Meh. It was okay; at least it wasn't chicken. My favorite is Gulf Brown Shrimp, best ever but not found here.

Also got some fresh beets for a beet soup recipe that is (or at least was) delish! Oh! And the local market had Meyer lemons! Haven't seen those here in years so I bought all three bags they had (six to a bag). I eat them like you would an orange.

Still having cravings for a cigarette but I am dealing with that by just saying No. It's like picking up a rattle snake. I grew up in south Texas where every kind of venomous snake in North America reside. I hate snakes! *shiver*
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 28 (Cigarettes):
Quit Day 6 (Nicotine):

It was a restless night but feel fine this morning.

Went to town yesterday to three different grocery stores; I am so tired of eating the same ole things: chicken and burger, chicken and burger, then more chicken and burger. Shrimp and yellow fin tuna steaks were marked down so dinner was shrimp. It was labeled "red Australia shrimp". Meh. It was okay; at least it wasn't chicken. My favorite is Gulf Brown Shrimp, best ever but not found here.

Also got some fresh beets for a beet soup recipe that is (or at least was) delish! Oh! And the local market had Meyer lemons! Haven't seen those here in years so I bought all three bags they had (six to a bag). I eat them like you would an orange.

Still having cravings for a cigarette but I am dealing with that by just saying No. It's like picking up a rattle snake. I grew up in south Texas where every kind of venomous snake in North America reside. I hate snakes! *shiver*
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At least you can eat and wear a rattler.
 

Quit Day 29 (Cigarettes):
Quit Day 7 (Nicotine):

Yesterday may have been a last withdrawal hoorah? Headache, confusion, not a lot but enough that I noticed. It was a little surprising; I thought we were past that but apparently not? Supposedly, nicotine clears your system anywhere from three days to several weeks. Quite a difference which makes me doubt the accuracy of that info. People report a misery factor months after quitting. I am managing those cravings.

I do not believe this is habit or behavior at this point. This is something brain related, perhaps chemical alterations that may be permanent? I wonder if there have been any actual studies of nicotine and human brains, physical studies, not just pictures from scans. Post Mortem, of course.

The Food Battle is definitely on, however. Gained a few pounds the first couple of weeks but have since taken that off and am holding steady. This is a war with which I am very familiar; I do wonder what no nicotine will do to metabolism long-term. I keep a detailed food diary. We shall see.

It snowed last night! Only about three inches, so far, more forecast. This has been a dry winter so I am happy to see some precip.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Quit Day 29 (Cigarettes):
Quit Day 7 (Nicotine):

Yesterday may have been a last withdrawal hoorah? Headache, confusion, not a lot but enough that I noticed. It was a little surprising; I thought we were past that but apparently not? Supposedly, nicotine clears your system anywhere from three days to several weeks. Quite a difference which makes me doubt the accuracy of that info. People report a misery factor months after quitting. I am managing those cravings.

I do not believe this is habit or behavior at this point. This is something brain related, perhaps chemical alterations that may be permanent? I wonder if there have been any actual studies of nicotine and human brains, physical studies, not just pictures from scans. Post Mortem, of course.

The Food Battle is definitely on, however. Gained a few pounds the first couple of weeks but have since taken that off and am holding steady. This is a war with which I am very familiar; I do wonder what no nicotine will do to metabolism long-term. I keep a detailed food diary. We shall see.

It snowed last night! Only about three inches, so far, more forecast. This has been a dry winter so I am happy to see some precip.
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There are endless studies on line. I cannot judge their quality. Please use Uncle Google and "nicotine and brain".

Do you feel like sharing your food diary?
 
Twostep said:
There are endless studies on line. I cannot judge their quality. Please use Uncle Google and "nicotine and brain".

Do you feel like sharing your food diary?
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Been searching online; most of the studies are just rehashes of others' rehashed studies. Nothing really solid, so far.

You wanna see the food diary? Sure...

Wed, 2/5/25 (A low kcal day, wt 121#)
Half n Half in coffee (4 cups) @ 40cal/cup = 160 cals
2 scr eggs @ 100cal/ea = 200 cals
2 sl ww toast @ 45 cal/ea = 90 cals
1 tsp butter = 35 cals
1 tsp jam = 20 cals
20 green grapes @ 4cal/ea (snack) = 80 cals
585 cals sub total

Cheese (mozarella) 1.25 oz @ 80 cal/oz 100 cals
Saltines 4 ea. @ 15 cal/ea 60 cals
HnH (more coffee) (20 cal/Tbs) 40 cals
200 cals sub total

HnH (more coffee) (20 cal/Tbs) 40 cals
Zucchini dinner* 210 cals *Beans, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, etc. with cheese/yogurt garnish
cheese garnish 150 cals
yogurt garnish 35 cals
425 cals sub total

TOTAL FOR THE DAY 1,210 cals

The next day wt was 119.5 so I increased total calorie count to 1421, which included whole wheat bread, peanut butter, banana, grapes, popcorn, olives, sumo orange, black beans, yellow squash, poblanos, carrots, onion, saltines, low fat cheese. Decided that was too much fruit and also cut back on coffee with cream.

Did fish one night in the last week, shrimp another. Tonight will be a spinach/tomato/butter bean dish.

NOTE: Hot sauce does not count.

Edit: That's not how I typed it. Oh, well.
 
It looks like you are on a very good track! Please keep it up. I need condiments. Mustard in any shape or form. Dress up yoghurt with dill, a bit of salt, horseradish and let it sit for an hour.
 
Twostep said:
It looks like you are on a very good track! Please keep it up. I need condiments. Mustard in any shape or form. Dress up yoghurt with dill, a bit of salt, horseradish and let it sit for an hour.
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Dill and horseradish in the yogurt? That sounds good! May try that this evening.

This is pretty much how I eat most of the time, although every few months I will do a pasta or rice. It's just with the quit, I am measuring etc. It's surprising how fast it adds up.
 
How about more meat? Pork is very versatile. Fajita with or without tortilla but extra vegetables. Leftovers turn into an omelet for breakfast. Egg drop soup with paper thin sliced raw celery in the bottom of the soup bowl. Canned water chestnuts and bamboo shots to add to stir fry.
 
Quit Day 30 (Cigarettes):
Quit Day 8 (Nicotine):

Went overboard with eating yesterday, all healthy foods but just too much and not in good control. That is what broke the last quit of 70 days over a year ago: lost control of eating and made the conscious decision to start smoking again. This time is different (recent health diagnosis). I am not sure what I will do if that happens again.

Overeating has been a lifelong battle, which I have won for the past 16 years. Truthfully, it scares the hell out of me to go back to that. I know and do all the things that help me stay in control but food is something you must have and face several times a day every day. I know that just one slip can send me back down that deep dark hole. Food and/or cigarettes. Some choice.

Meanwhile, the good news is that I have been working off some of that extra food because winter has finally decided to make itself known here! So far, in the past 24-36 hours, we have had about 14-16" ? new snow. Of course, my plow guy is out of town this weekend so it is up to me and my shovel. The hard part is when the snow plow/grader goes by, it banks up about a two foot bank at the end of the driveway that is hard to shovel. And now the issue becomes where to put it?

The dogs love it; they come in covered in snow balls. It's funny because they stop to be toweled off, then go into the kitchen and stand there for their turn on the counter with the hair dryer.

I am feeding/watering the neighbor's chickens while they are gone, which means slogging my way through the deep snow to get to his chicken house. It's good exercise, that's for sure. ***Just looked out the window. Holy Crap! And it's still coming down.***
 
Twostep said:
How about more meat? Pork is very versatile. Fajita with or without tortilla but extra vegetables. Leftovers turn into an omelet for breakfast. Egg drop soup with paper thin sliced raw celery in the bottom of the soup bowl. Canned water chestnuts and bamboo shots to add to stir fry.
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I never have been much of a meat eater. The past couple of years or so, I have been getting away from meat, not for any particular reason other than it's just more work and cooking is just not my thing. In fact, tonight is going to be something with 96/4 ground beef.
 
LOL the dogs!

food is something you must have and face several times a day every day.
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Ain't that the sorry truth? I notice you divide your food into three meals and most people do prefer that, but I find it's best for me to only eat lunch and dinner because, 1. I do my housework and exercise in the morning and prefer doing those things while fasting, 2. the other two meals get to have more calories and be more satisfying, and 3. I only have to face food twice per day.

I've recently learned I can't eat any fruit these days without getting stomach problems (probably a fructose intolerance) and that's been good for my brain, because any sort of sugar sends my insulin/hunger into overdrive. Those grapes would have made me painfully hungry.

I was very depressed for a while after quitting smoking, but I remembered that smoking itself is linked to causing depression, so it was just a matter of waiting out the withdrawal;

From Dr. Google: "Nicotine has a complex relationship with depression. While it may provide temporary relief from depressive symptoms, chronic nicotine use can increase the risk of developing depression."
 
Della said:
Ain't that the sorry truth? I notice you divide your food into three meals and most people do prefer that, but I find it's best for me to only eat lunch and dinner because, 1. I do my housework and exercise in the morning and prefer doing those things while fasting, 2. the other two meals get to have more calories and be more satisfying, and 3. I only have to face food twice per day.

I've recently learned I can't eat any fruit these days without getting stomach problems (probably a fructose intolerance) and that's been good for my brain, because any sort of sugar sends my insulin/hunger into overdrive. Those grapes would have made me painfully hungry.

I was very depressed for a while after quitting smoking, but I remembered that smoking itself is linked to causing depression, so it was just a matter of waiting out the withdrawal;

From Dr. Google: "Nicotine has a complex relationship with depression. While it may provide temporary relief from depressive symptoms, chronic nicotine use can increase the risk of developing depression."
Click to expand...

Yes! Usually, I do eat only two "meals" with a snack here and there, and first meal usually between 10/11:00 am. And you are right about fruit. Been eating too much of it lately; it is just sugar and it does make me more hungry. It is oh-so-good, though. To me, it is a treat, like candy. But it's Fruit so that makes it Okay! It will be all gone soon and with this snow storm, I will not go out for more.

Smoking, alcohol, and drugs of all kinds are linked to mental illnesses; studies themselves admit to confusion as to how and why. I believe people who suffer from mental illnesses, great stress, whatever, self-medicate with whatever they can find to make them feel better. And often times FOOD is included in that list. There is so much about the brain that we do not know and maybe never will.

Now I'm gonna dress up and head over to feed the chickens. Kinda fun, lol.
 
One chicken is "missing" but owner said it sleeps near the main house so who knows where it is. I didn't see any animal tracks around the chicken yard/house(s) and with new snow, it would be easy to spot.

Shoveling is done, again. It wasn't too bad. Stupid me, I left the roof rake on the ground next to the house and it was buried in snow that was about hip deep. I found it, sorta had to swim my way to it. Glad I remembered where I had left it. The good news is that I wouldn't even try driving into town, not even for cigarettes! HAHAHAHA!!!!! I do prep for this kind of thing so lots of food, water, heat and light sources. It would be like camping, woo hoo.

Scale this morning said 123, up 2# from yesterday. Yes, mostly fluids but no more bingeing. Argh!
 
GoodEnuff said:
One chicken is "missing" but owner said it sleeps near the main house so who knows where it is. I didn't see any animal tracks around the chicken yard/house(s) and with new snow, it would be easy to spot.

Shoveling is done, again. It wasn't too bad. Stupid me, I left the roof rake on the ground next to the house and it was buried in snow that was about hip deep. I found it, sorta had to swim my way to it. Glad I remembered where I had left it. The good news is that I wouldn't even try driving into town, not even for cigarettes! HAHAHAHA!!!!! I do prep for this kind of thing so lots of food, water, heat and light sources. It would be like camping, woo hoo.

Scale this morning said 123, up 2# from yesterday. Yes, mostly fluids but no more bingeing. Argh!
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Have you checked your stock pot? Duck!!!
 
Quit Day 32 (Cigarettes):
Quit Day 10 (Nicotine):

Did you know that suicidal ideation is common amongst those who quit nicotine? People say those thoughts last about one to three weeks; many started smoking/vaping again because of them. Apparently, it is part of the withdrawal process.
 
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