This Blog doesn’t have to do with my weight, but it does have to do with something I feel very strongly about. I am very anti-smoking. I was watching Oprah today and she had a special with Dr. Oz where he is trying to help a couple quit smoking. The wife recently quit, but her husband still smokes in the house. She made some demands for him – like to smoke 100 yards away from the house, change his clothes when he comes into the house, etc. He seemed very willing to do these things, which I was delighted to hear.
Smoking doesn’t just hurt you, it hurts those around you, too. Second-hand smoke is just as bad, if not worse. Plus, it just smells awful. And it’s something unhealthy that a person can’t share with you. I mean, it’s great for folks to have their own hobbies, but if someone’s hobby is to smoke, that’s not fun for your partner or friend to be around.
So what made my addiction to food different? I never got mad at anyone for telling me I should lose weight. I guess I finally realized by weight was affecting those around me, too. For instance, things like sex and hiking with a partner would be so much more fun when I was more fit! I hope I never got mad at anyone for holding me accountable. If I did, I am sorry. I know you were just trying to look out for me. I still HAVE to eat. Smokers don’t HAVE to smoke. Alcoholics don’t HAVE to go to bars. So, that’s the tricky part. You literally have to learn how to LIVE with what you struggle with. You can’t just sweep it under the rug. Sometimes, I wish I was a smoker and then I could just get on the patch and not have to deal with it at all. But on most days, I am grateful that I still have to face food day to day. I have to think to myself, “am I really hungry or am I just bored.” I feel like it makes me respect food and I work on not giving too much power to it.
Dr. Oz said that in order to quit smoking, you need a quit date. This is something I’ve always believed strongly in for any addiction. My quit date was the date of my surgery. Putting moments in time are the only way to make them “real.” If you just say, “one day…” that day may never come. And you can never really get rid of an addiction, you just have to transfer it to something healthy.
And finally, you have to believe that you are WORTHY of living a (insert your addiction here) free life! You really, really have to believe that. And know you are strong enough to succeed. And have a great support system of friends and family.
Smoking causes sinus infections. Who knew? It’s from the constant sucking on the cigarette. I am anti-smoking, but I am not above seeing that I have my own stuff to work on. But I am proud to say that I am working on it…and pretty darn successfully thus far 
I hope to my friends who struggle with addiction will see that addiction affects those around you, too. Because, simply put, you are so loved.
*This post was brought to you in part by JAS – Julie Against Smoking*
Interesting reflection! I am anti-smoking as well. I especially hate when I see parents smoking in public with their kids around.
You “HAVE to eat?” Yes but do you have to eat to excess? No. Smokers don’t have to smoke, and you don’t have to carry on eating after you’re full up. Who says you get to decide that obesity is superior to smoking or alcoholism?
Also, if you’re a smoker, it is nowhere near as simple as just getting on the patch and not having to deal with it. Get off your high horse and stop belittling things you know nothing about just to make yourself feel better about your own flaws.
There are far too many moronic bloggers around thinking that because they have the internet as a stage, people want to hear their stupid ramblings. If you want to feel better, stop preaching narrow-minded crap, get up off your chair, and lose the weight.
To Eliot above, I couldn’t agree more. Quitting smoking has been said to be harder than quitting heroin (check it out if you don’t believe me: http://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/29/magazine/nicotine-harder-to-kickthan-heroin.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm). Your addiction to food may be psychological, but nicotine addiction is psychological and chemical. If you think smoking cessation is as easy as buying the patch, maybe you should grab some diet pills and tell me how well that works for you. You have absolutely no right to judge someone else’s addiction.
I see someone doesn’t know the difference between a hobby and a habit. I smoke, and when someone asks me what I do for fun I don’t say “Swimming, hiking and smoking.” When you were overeating did you sit there with a smile on your face as you did something you knew was horrible for your body and could very likely be the cause of your death in the future? I’d hope not. It isn’t ‘cool’ to me anymore, it’s just part of life now, I do it with about the same enthusiasm you would have putting on your shoes every day. Yeah starting was my own terrible decision but, wouldn’t it be your own decision to buy, say, a box of doughnuts? And, mind you, that doughnuts aren’t required to stay alive. Don’t put yourself somewhere you’ve never been and expect it to be how you picture it to be.
I LOVE how passionate people are about this post! I wrote it over 4 years ago and people are still leaving thoughts, comments and opinions. It’s proof that nobody likes their weaknesses, but we all have them – be it smoking, alcohol, food, etc. Since writing this post I have lost almost 80 pounds. Weight will always be a struggle, but I am tackling it each and every day, and showing myself that I don’t HAVE to live life as an overweight person! I wish you the same success with whatever it is you struggle with.