This philosophy worked very well for me with quitting smoking. It took me 4 VERY SERIOUS attempts to actually kick the smoking monkey off my back and (let me actually put this in writing) I LOVED SMOKING. I "officially" quit smoking in June 2004, but had a slip up in October of 2004 where I had 3 cigarettes while at a party (the alcohol effect...). So I guess to be completely truthful - in October it will be 5 years since I've had a cigarette (though I often cite my "quit date" as June 2004).
The main take-away I have from my smoking battle is that the "win" for some events in life aren't momentary - they are continuous and despite the fact that you like or love something - it's not always good for you and you have to sacrifice for the long term.
See, I didn't celebrate my smoking cessation in June or October of 2004. I celebrate it every day. It is an on-going organic experience that I work at and acknowledge daily. I STILL struggle with not smoking on occasion (usually involving alcohol). I miss it. I miss that awful, expensive, deadly bad habit; go figure. Another thing I've learned is that the occasional super-strong urge to pick up a cigarette WILL PASS. I just have to leave it alone and acknowledge my success every single day. It's a heck of an accomplishment and I have every right to be proud of it. There are MILLIONS of other smokers out there who still have the monkey on their back and will attest to how hard that monkey clings onto you. I kicked the monkey to the curb (even though I loved the little guy).
I'm also finally realizing that my daily diet is going to be a similar experience. My "quit date" for my battle of the bulge may have been 20 days ago, but it will be a daily experience that I must embrace. Decisions will need to be made numerous times a day that will have consequences - fruit cup or bacon & eggs? Side salad or french fries? Fried or grilled? Wine? Beer? After dinner drink? The calories are accumulative. That glass of wine (a real glass of only 5 oz, not the monster glasses most of us actually drink) is about 120 calories. If you have 2 a night that's 240 calories x 7 days = 1680 calories weekly x 52 weeks = 87360 extra calories a year ÷ 3500 (calories per lb) = 24.96 lbs That's how much you gain if you do nothing different in life except add 2 SMALL glasses of wine a day to your daily diet. 25 lbs. Wow. How's that for an eye-opener?
Similar to my strong urge to smoke on occasion, the desire for french fries (or wine) will go away after I've eaten a sandwich and a side salad and my belly is full. The major upside of the "good" decision is that I'll feel much more satisfied with myself and my effort for eating the salad than I will for the fries. Momentary pleasures and gratifications can often have overwhelmingly negative consequences that are overreachingly destructive. The damage is often not perceptible until it has accumulated into a very big mess (in my case a nearly 20 lb mess since last summer).
Bottom line: Keep trying. Persevere. Be a rock. You CAN and WILL succeed.
I guess even I can learn new tricks if I get shown them enough times or just keep TRYING! Speaking of trying and tricks, check out todays stats:
DAY 03 - 165.0 lbs
DAY 04 - ? - I was away and couldn't weigh in
DAY 05 - ? - I was away and couldn't weigh in
DAY 06 - 162.8 lbs
WEEK TWO
Day 14 - 157.6 lbs
Day 16 - 158.2 lbs
FOOD
handful of walnuts
Lunch
DAY 18
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