Eating Paleo has not only solved a lot of health issues for me, but it also helped me kick bad habits. I have grown into a better, stronger version of myself and couldn’t be more grateful for such a simple act. Before Paleo I wasn’t healthy in a lot of ways. I ate a really bad diet consisting mostly of cheese, peanut butter crackers, pizza, chicken fingers (sometimes chicken fingers on pizza) and cheesy poofs (what I would give to eat a bag of those right now). As you can see I had an extremely unhealthy diet, but I also smoked cigarettes, and loved it. I remember one time I was asked to give 5 long term goals (5-10 years) and I was struggling answering the question. The person asked, “don’t you smoke?” and when I said yes, he said “so make quitting one of your goals” and I laughed at him (as in “yeah right, that’s not a goal”). That’s how much I loved smoking. It was such a disgusting and unhealthy habit that I never saw myself breaking. I was going to die a dirty smoker and I was okay with that.
A few months after I started the Paleo diet I started to notice my cigarettes not tasting as good, I know that may sound horrible to anyone who doesn’t smoke. But, for those who smoke you know exactly what I mean by this. I also started getting headaches and feeling nauseous from smoking an entire cigarette. The thought of quitting still wasn’t crossing my mind, I still enjoyed the act of smoking. One day I decided to not buy another pack just to see how long I could actually go without needing to smoke. Turns out it was easier to do than I thought. Mind you, it was the middle of winter so going outside to freeze for a cigarette was less appealing than if it was warm outside.
The hardest times to get through were the car rides. It was second nature to light up as soon as I was in the car. But, without the possession of them and my natural ability to be late for everything, meaning I never had time to stop and pick up a pack, allowed me to learn to drive without needing to smoke. After eating was another time when I used to crave cigarettes the most, but since switching my diet I felt so much better after eating, and since smoking cigarettes started to make me feel sick, that over powered my craving. The next thing I knew I hadn’t had a cigarette in 6 months and then a year and then 2. Time just kept passing and my bad habit stayed away. Full disclosure, I still crave cigarettes all the time, in the car and when I’m socially drinking around other smokers I find myself wanting to smoke more and more. I’m not sure it’s ever going to go away for me its been almost 3 years and I still think about them. Which is why I know if I didn’t switch to Paleo I would most definitely still be a smoker.
My words of advice for people wanting to quit smoking is to not only change your diet, but change your mindset too. Changing your lifestyle and sticking to it. If you are not happy with what you are doing and how you are doing it, change it. It’s really as simple as that. I don’t know about you but ever since I was a kid people have always told me I can do anything I want to do. As I got older I lost sight of that simple statement. But it has proven to be true time and time again for me. Not only with changing my diet, quitting smoking, but with every aspect of my life. Our bodies are capable of incredible things, learning how to adapt is half the fun. So if you want to change your habits, start with the change and don’t give up.
