The desire to consume

I’m having a hard time resisting the urge to snack since quitting smoking. It’s like a replacement behavior for smoking. I really can’t afford to snack at night because it raises blood sugar and throws me out of wack both during the night and for some time during the next day. I take my diabetes medication when I wake up and at supper and you can really see the difference in the meds activity at late night/early morning after not taking them for awhile and closer to the time of popping them. Supposedly, they are supposed to work all day, I think, but I call “hogwash” on that one. If I eat at night I see very little reduction of blood sugar level overnight.

Anyway…to be honest, I’m just ranting about this because I am currently resisting the urge to snack, so just take this topic for what you will. It’s just me occupying my time to resist a compulsion.

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try snacking virtually on sugar free gums and minor sugar free candies. Especially cinnamon candies that will also help with the old smoke craving/ so I have been told.

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When I go into the kitchen, my dog and two cats typically follow me. They gaze up at me with imploring eyes as my hand reaches to open the refrigerator door…

I can haz snackies? – The dog, two cats, and I think in unison. Then I break free from the temptation and go back to the living room empty handed to continue watching TV. The dog and two cats follow me back to the living room, their disappointment evident. :grimacing:

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Haha, yeah, more often than not my dog will follow me if I get something from the fridge as well. Also she will almost always wake up if she’s sleeping nearby. THey appear to have a sixth sense about when you are getting food. :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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I am starting to get food cravings more often now.
The diabetes - diet drug Ozempic is losing its effectiveness and my appetite has been increasing.
I really can’t afford to gain any more weight.

I will be discussing this with my Bariatric doctor next week.

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I hear ya @Wave . I really can’t afford to gain weight either. This is another concern besides blood sugar. I’ve been trying to cut out most snacks, even during the day, but I am not losing weight. I was going to try drastically cutting calories to this end, and I started to, but almost everybody said I was doing too much at once with quitting smoking and weight loss and whatnot, so I abandoned it. THey are probably right, too much at once is likely to lead to failure in one if not many areas.

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I would focus more on the smoking side of things first @Bowens.

Yeah focusing on following a strict weight loss diet and trying to quit smoking at the same time might be too much of a shock to your system.

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It might also be worth noting that you could gain some weight the first smoke free month, while your metabolism and gut microbes stabilise.
Smoking changes those things, so quitting does too

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I’m so glad you came to your senses. Just take it a day at a time.

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Snack on things with a low glycemic index. Nuts are one thing that comes to mind. Beef jerky.

Something with 15 carbs or less is ok.

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I only snack on apples. Sometimes a bag of almonds.

It’s giving up a lot of good food but now an Apple tastes like a treat. Almonds are decadent when I have them.

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Another suggestion would be to have cinnamon sticks in the fridge and chew on one of them at a time to help curb the munch festivals.

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