My Dirty Little Secret
April 25, 2011My dirty little secret is that after not smoking since college, I started smoking this past summer. At first just a few cigarettes every couple of days, then up to about 7 or 8 a day. I don’t want to be a lifelong smoker, so yesterday I quit. Woke up in the morning, ran 11 miles, fought off the cravings. Went to Easter. I was so wiped from the run it was hard to focus too much on the cravings. Then this morning nicotine withdrawal hit like a Mac truck. All morning I was DYING for a cigarette. The idea that the craving “only lasts 3 minutes” — LIES, ALL LIES! Try, four hours. But even thought it sucked, I didn’t mind it as I knew it was just my body ridding itself of nicotine and it would get better soon.
A little better in the afternoon, then hit me again hard in the evening. Then I went for a 4 mile run, which, surprisingly,…..didn’t help much. ARRRGGGHHH!
Eating is good today despite the cravings. I may allow myself to go up to 1800 calories today just as I fight off the nicotine monster.
Oh, and weight for today: 190. Down 0.6 from last week. Weight loss has been slowing down, but I’ll worry about that later. The next day or so I am focused on: not smoking, working out, drinking tons of water, eating fruits and veggies, and making sure my calories are down enough to keep losing some weight. Still 11 pounds to half marathon goal.
Kudos to you for quitting smoking as you work on the weight. I always hear quitting makes you gain but I think that’s only cause of the cravings after. I can’t say for sure since I’ve never smoked but good luck to you on both!