Mind over matter

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Mind over matter
14
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 8:48pm
Well today looks like it was a slow day so I thought I would share something with you guys. Tomorrow morning...I will be one week smoke-free :) Do you know how many times I have talked about quitting and how many times I have tried? The longest I was successful was maybe 5 hours. Sad eh? But honestly, I dont think I was ready and I wasnt mentally strong enough.

For a while now, I have thought that although eating can be an addiction, in the end I think it really revolves around how strong you are mentally. Your mind and heart has to be strong enough to acheive what you want done. I know that I am more successful when I have siked myself up and told myself that I can do it. That is what I did with smoking this time. It took me a few weeks to convince myself that I was ready and that I COULD DO IT. For once, I didnt allow myself any negative thinking and for once, I was successful. I even managed to lose a pound earlier in the week but I gained that back lol

So remember guys...just because overeating is an addiction, that doesnt mean that you dont have some control. I seriously hope that I am forever a nonsmoker and forver below the 200 pound mark, but no one's fate is sealed. So dont tell yourself that you cant do....you CAN do it and you need to know you can do it :)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 9:58pm
Congrats on your first smoke free week! I am so proud of you. I wish I had your strength. Hugs, Brenda

Hugs, Brenda 

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-27-2004
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 10:19pm

(((((Pickle Puss))))), that's absolutely fantastic!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 10:27pm


You do have my strength Brenda, just have to find it and work on it :) Seriously...as many times as I have tried and failed, I never ever ever thought I could go this long and it has been *pretty* easy. I have had my break downs, I have locked myself in the bathroom, I tried to rationlize going to get a pack of cigs and then blaming it on Rich....well, why not. He made me mad right? And he shouldnt have pushed me in my delicate situation (blech). But in the end, I was the one in control of it all and I decided that locking myself in the bathroom for 10 mins and crying it out was best for ME. My brother and pretend sister in law actually smoked in front of me today...for the first time, I sat there and watched someone light up in front of me. It felt good to walk away from it unscathed too.

So keep the faith Brenda :) If you really want to quit, you will kick it when your ready. Your mind is much stronger than you think. I thought all this time that quitting smoking would be much harder than losing weight....well now I have found out that once I was *really ready* it just snapped (for my weight loss and smoking). Now Im just waiting on that second snap for the rest of my weight loss LOL

So until you are ready (if you ever are), I accept you as you are *wink*

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2003
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 11:20pm
That is great, Shawna. Maybe you can work on my fiance...he needs to quit too. He is not really a heavy smoker...he really only smokes when he's stressed out or when he's drinking, but lately he's been quite stressed. He's going back to school, and he hasn't been to school for a LONG time, so he's been quite anxious about it. I don't smoke, never have, and it didn't bother me too much when he smoked, except when I have to smell him later, or kiss him...blech! But he's really good about that too...he'll go brush his teeth and wash his hands after he smokes if I'm around. I'm just a little worried because his mom had cancer, and I'm worried about the smoking catching up with him. He has promised to quit before we get married and definately when we have kids, but I want him to quit now. It's hard for me to understand the need for a smoke, though, since I have never been addicted to nicotine. Of course, if someone told me I'd have to give up my coffee, I'd smack 'em upside the head... lol! ~Sabrina
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Mon, 09-13-2004 - 11:29pm
Ya know...I dont know Sabrina. When he is ready, he will quit. No one can talk him into it, its just something he has to do for himself. Everyone wanted my dad to quit smoking and for years, he snuck around and smoked lol A grown man sneaking around! When I quit this week, I was smoking 1.5 packs per day. So try not to hound him too much over it or he might start doing what Dad did. But yes, let him know that you care about his heath and you want him around for years to come!
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2003
Tue, 09-14-2004 - 12:59am
That is really inspirational Shawna, thank you. I keep telling myself, after gaining back about 12 lbs of the 30 I had lost, that it was hopeless, but I do see light at the end of the tunnel, and I am starting over.....tomorrow...Hey, I had a grilled chicken salad w/ fat-free dressing for lunch today! That was a start back on the right path! Now smoking, on the other hand....*scratches chin* gimme another 5 years to think it over...lol

Sara

~Sayruhb02
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Tue, 09-14-2004 - 7:01am
Shawna, I am so proud of you! Congratulations on quitting! You're right, it is mind over matter. It's just hard to get the mind in the right place lol! I've never smoked, but my husband did. I remember he tried so many times to quit. He would even go for a few days and then give in and have a smoke. I would be so disappointed, but I understood how hard it must have been. But he wanted to quit so bad and about eight years ago, he just stopped smoking (with the help of nicotine gum) and now he never even thinks about it. One of the first things I noticed after he quit (besides the mood swings lol) was how GOOD he smelled! I never realized it before because he always smelled like smoke. I guess I was just used to it. But when he quit, I realized that he just smelled good. Of course, I didn't go around sniffing him the way Amy sniffs baby's cows heads, but you get the idea. I'm really happy for you, Shawna, and hopefully I can get that mind over matter thing going with the weight loss. I seem to be in a stall again *sigh*.

~~Linda

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2003
Tue, 09-14-2004 - 11:50am

Shawna, that is fantastic!



Come visit my page and say hi!

   

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Tue, 09-14-2004 - 12:37pm
No, I havent heard of that Joyce. Do you know the name of it or something? If its a program that will start up when I reboot my computer, then I will have to pass because Rich already gets mad at how long it takes my computer to boot up. I have like 4-5 things that loads on start up! HAHA
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-03-2004
Tue, 09-14-2004 - 3:28pm
Congrats Shawna! I'm really proud of you! I truly believe in the mind over matter thing, I just haven't quite mastered it myself...lol. I do think you're right, as well, in the fact that it will come to you when you're truly ready. So, for right now, my weight loss is purely a struggle of willpower and "how good does a Snickers bar sound right now?" <---That's my addiction right there! Snickers. If they could come up with a Snickers patch, then I would be on top of the world, but for now...reality dictates I eat an apple or a peach, so I do it, albeit begrudgingly! Maybe that really is mind over matter.

Keep up the Great work, I have total faith in you...

Critter

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