My Tricky Brain

Is your brain sly and tricky? Mine is. I learned this about 15 years ago when I first tried to quit smoking. Everything would be going along fine, and then my brain would say "This has been easy, why not have just one cigarette as a reward. It won't be any big deal." Next thing you know I was back to smoking a pack or two a day. Eventually I was able to get past using the patch. But even today when I see a pack of cigarettes laying around mine mind whispers "Just have one for old times sake, not to start up again or anything. Just see if it is like you remember." Sometimes it is harder than others, but so far I have not gone back to smoking cigarettes.

I am finding that fat is kind of addictive as well. My mind seems to miss the junk food and the sense of being full. Snacking on fruits and vegetables instead of chips, cookies, and hostess products is just not as fulfilling. No matter how much of it I eat, I do not feel full or satisfied. According to the books, it can take us much as 12 weeks to get past. There is no patch for this so while the urges are not as strong, they may end up being harder to get over. This past week I ended up with lots of junk from the vending machines at work. This week I am going to try and stop that. This is the first week that I am actually prepared to go the whole week without eating any fat laden foods for my main meals and I am hoping that will make it easier.

For this week I have found 3 different types of whole grain cereal with no added oil. I will use vanilla almond milk on the cereal and have a banana with it. Luckily I can still have my coffee, and I am going to have a glass of orange juice even though it is not recommended. For my lunch/dinner I have made up  a bunch of kidney bean and quinoa patties that I will have as sandwiches. I also made a patch of chop suey that I can have with the sandwiches. For snacks at work I will have vegetables, fruits and some air popped popcorn. I will let you know how the week goes.