talkhealth Blog

It’s been a tough day for Mr WLB. My day has been fine, if a little strained…

He is in the process of becoming a non-smoker!

I caught him this morning trying to sneak out of the house to buy cigarettes after getting rid of all of his smoking paraphernalia last night – his tobacco, his rolling tin, his filters, his papers, his ‘normal’ cigarettes, his collection of e-cigarettes, his vapour material…honestly – I thought I had problems with my collection of lotions and potions! He was told in no uncertain terms to get back into the bloody office!

In order to help distract him I have taken him with me everywhere…when I was planning a day on my own.

He came to the gym with me, he came to see the horses with me, he came with me to the tack shop whilst I sat on saddles and pretended to be horse riding, and then we bought horse feed and unloaded that back at the yard. A trip to a farm shop for some nice goodies was followed by a quick pit-stop at Asda for the forgotten loo rolls, and then we finally arrived back home. He has instructed me to keep him busy this evening…what a fantastic offer – I am off to plan his tasks and will hand over to him…he wanted to distract himself and offered to write tonight’s blog post for you!

‘Hi,

It’s Mr WLB here. I’ve not frequented WLB’s blog for a while. The reason for this is because I’ve been poorly. I think I have some kind of acid reflux. I think that my old eating habits may have played a part in this. For the last month it feels like I’ve drank a bottle of vinegar or sucked on a lemon for too long. This is a constant sensation and it’s horrible.

I’m currently eating a very bland diet which consists pretty much of baked chicken and potatoes with some green vegetables as well as numerous cups of chamomile tea and manuka honey! It’s rubbish and I feel rubbish! Going into the supermarket and not being able to eat things likes onions, red meat, tomatoes, gravy or my old favourites including chocolate and cake is rubbish. I could eat it but I’d feel horrendous after eating it. I guess it’s all about choice. Maybe it’s similar to Slimming World in thatat the time you enjoy eating things that are not so good for your body but afterwards it makes you think?

Today has been a rather interesting one in the Weight Loss Bitch household.

I’ve decided to give up smoking for good. It’s not good for me! I use it as a coping mechanism in a similar way Weight Loss Bitch did with her junk food binges. At the time you think it makes you feel better but in the long run it doesn’t do anything for you.

Today has been tough for me. I got up early and couldn’t relax. I paced the house craving that first cigarette of the morning. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’ve been feeling really poorly due to the acid taste in my mouth so my stress levels have been off the charts recently, so not having my first cigarette of the day exacerbated it further.

I remember all the attempts that WLB has had at trying to lose her weight. There would be the ‘one last super night’ every night before she said she would be back on plan. In many cases of people trying to lose weight, or in my case of quitting smoking, tomorrow never comes!

Admittedly this morning after about 2 hours of being awake I said to WLB, ‘Sod it I’m off to the shops to buy some smokes!’ Her reply was, ‘If you go to the shops and buy some cigarettes I’m not letting you back in the house.’ She twirled my set of house keys in her hands and gave me a wink.

I hate confrontation but I wanted to punch WLB. Of course I never would ever go that far. The feeling was there because I knew WLB was right. I knew that going to the shop wouldn’t solve anything. It would make the problem worse. I remember after WLB was diagnosed with diabetes, I saw a change in her mind set. It was time to take action for her as health issues were piling up. I think what a lot of people forget is that once they start to feel better or lose weight they think, ‘Wow, I’ve done so well!’, and go back to their old ways and either in the case of the smoker light up again or the serial dieter treat themselves to a weekend off plan. It’s a slippery slope.

Cravings have been hard for me today. I just have had about 20 of them. I used to smoke 20 plus a day if not more when I’ve felt stressed. Here is how I have got through the day:

– Cried. Yep this morning was very hard for me. I think you have to show your emotions and let things out if you are finding it tough.
– Not thought about failure. I’ve focused on the positives after my meltdown and as soon as I have thought about smoking I’ve got up and done a different task.
– Stayed busy! Writing tonight’s blog post has curbed a good few cravings.
– Didn’t avoid situations. Went into the shops and deliberately walked up to the cigarette counter. Spoke to the usual lady who serves me and asked for a Euro Millions ticket for tonight’s lottery. I mentioned to the lady that it was my first day smoke free and told her that I wouldn’t be seeing her again to buy cigarettes. I spent £2 and saved £8 on a pack of cigarettes so I’m £6 up today!

I guess that’s enough from me. You can probably tell that I’ve rambled a bit but I’m trying to distract myself. If you have quit smoking, leave a reply in the comments below with some tips on how to distract yourself from lighting up or how you take the edge off acid reflux.

I’m off to eat some vegetable soup WLB has kindly prepared for me!

Best,

Mr WLB’

Bless him! It’s horrid to see him going through this – both the reflux and the smoking – but I guess the giving up smoking thing has to happen at some point. Both he and I have read that it contributes to the acidity levels in the stomach and it seems crazy to be trying all sorts of options to solve this…whilst continuing to smoke! So we will persevere and see how we manage this weekend.

That’s it for today then…a tough day for him…and a bit of a tough day for me as I am not a sympathy queen but am trying my hardest to be understanding. Never having been a smoker though, I have no clue – just as he has no clue when it comes to my food issues!

Breakfast: Boiled eggs and a banana.

Lunch: Rice salad with Linda Mc sausages.

Dinner: Cheesy chips and mushroom ratatouille (2 x HEA and 1 x HEB).

Snacks: Donut peaches, nuts (1 x HEB), Nakd bars (13.5 syns).

A gorgeous food day. My usual brekkie was followed by a packed lunch to eat after the gym. I cooked up some rice, chopped up some salad bits – cucumber and cherry tomatoes – threw in some roasted peppers and red onion from last nights dinner, and added some spinach and garlic. Dinner was good – I made a ratatouille sauce with tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, herbs, chilli, courgette, peppers…I think that was it! Then I cooked my syn free chips and added loads of cheese. My snacks were lovely too today – I adore those little donut peaches and grabbed a few from the farm shop.

Exercise: 5 minutes treadmill, 60 minutes weights, 5 minutes treadmill, and stretching.

Thank you for reading,

Weight Loss Bitch xxx

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WeightLossBitch

On a health and fitness driven journey to lose over 32st / 448lbs / 203kgs – yes, it is a considerable amount – I am committed to losing my excess weight without the aid of weight loss surgery, diet pills, or quick fixes…as there aren’t any! Changing my eating habits and building up my fitness levels, along with addressing the ‘head issues’ will be crucial in order for me to achieve my goal. Living in England as a 31 year old super morbidly obese woman can be challenging to say the least. I have been shouted at in the street and verbally abused far too many times to mention; hence the name ‘Weight Loss Bitch’…the day I am just called a ‘bitch’ instead of a ‘fat bitch’ will be the day that I know I have cracked my weight loss! With many reasons to lose this weight I am documenting my journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, I would like to keep a record of the ups and downs, the highs and lows, and the challenges I face with such an enormous task to tackle. Secondly, I would also like to inspire and encourage other people who are in a similar situation and to show them that significant amounts of weight can be lost naturally…with a bit of motivation, hard work, dedication and will power. Thirdly, all of the blogging, Facebook-ing, Tweet-ing, Pinterest-ing and YouTube-ing keeps me occupied and keeps my fingers out of the fridge!