The munchies are my least favorite side effect from using marijuana. The year before I had lost 30 pounds and was really enjoying how that made me feel. When I started taking marijuana all the problems that had made me lose the weight were no longer a problem. I wasn’t nauseated so the thought of eating appealed to me for the first time in a long time. I realized the more I ate the better I felt and how everything just felt better. The downside, I was making horrible decisions on what food I ate and I gained all 30 of those pounds back. I was disappointed in myself but it doesn’t effect me as much as my weight has in the past. Instead it just makes me want to make a change and feel even better than before. I did it once and I can do it again. The first step is changing my diet and especially munchies choices to healthier ones. My main cravings were tastes and I have go to foods…
Salty = chips
Sweet= chocolate and candy
Frozen = ice cream
The first step is making easier healthy changes to something else that could provide what was missing. First with chips it was the salt and the multiple items I could essentially munch on. I have started to eat nuts instead. They were salty and I could eat them in multiples. It was a perfect substitute. The next easy one was the frozen. Instead of ice cream I made sure to buy frozen yogurt. Its half the calories and curved that cold craving for me. I also don’t get along well with dairy so it was a good idea to make the transition. It was actually odd that I was craving ice cream. I never really craved it often before because of the damage it would do to my stomach. There would be five different flavors of ice cream in our house at any one time. The reason because it really didn’t get eaten much. I rarely ate it and my husband didn’t eat sugar often but he usually preferred ice cream. So when the munchies hit and I was eating all the ice cream in the house, I couldn’t figure out why. I was being satisfied when I switched to frozen yogurt do it wasn’t really a craving for the ice cream. I started to get frozen chocolate bananas. I’d go through a box a night. I was craving things that were cold and soft. I started freezing bananas and covering them in chocolate. My husband joked if anyone ever said I was deficient on potassium that I needed to find a new doctor. I also started to freeze other fruits strawberries, grapes and anything else on sale at the fruit market. An awesome side effect, my kids love these treats. My youngest would look at me, put her hand to her forehead and say,” I’m hot. I need something cold.” The award for most dramatic actress goes to Kenzie! Of course she always wins a trip to the freezer to grab whatever frozen treat she wants.
The sugary craving has been the hardest for me. I really love sweet things; chocolate, taffy, marshmallows, baked good, cherry slices, cinnamon bears and anything else I can find. How do you combat that? Especially when the more you eat the better you feel. I’m still working on this one. However, it needs to start with moderation. My main problems in my diet are over eating the bad and not eating enough of the good. The thought of eating 20 carrots seems like a huge undertaking but eating 20 M&M’s seems like the smallest serving in the world. So I have started to eat more of the good stuff and really focus on super small portions of the bad. I just need to satisfy the craving. If you tell me no I’d get annoyed or upset and start to binge eat. So instead of that normal size brownie I’d have one bite. Then if I went back for another bite I’d still be eating less than I had been. However, as I continue to redirect and fill up on other things I tend to not look at those bad choices as much.
So let’s be honest and see how theses simple changes are going to make a difference in my diet. I’ll record my weight today and as I write future posts I can update you on any changes. Cause let’s be honest, no one wants to gain a ton of weight because the medicine they are taking to feel better makes them clean out their houses pantry. Unless you do, then by all means do the opposite of what I’m telling you. I’ll include the healthy and unhealthy version of each choice. Trust me I know a lot of yummy foods that are not even close to being healthy. We’ll see if I can satisfy that craving with a healthier version.
My real problem, my main addiction is mountain dew, it always has been. I’ve been drinking it for as long as I can remember. I actually don’t really remember what I used to drink that wasn’t soda. I hated milk and didn’t enjoy water. I love soda. I’ve switched through the varieties but I always go back to mountain dew. Every now and then I have stopped drinking it all together but that doesn’t last very long either. I always crave it and the energy it gives me. I never feel alive or awake till I have my soda in the morning. I hate coffee and tea isn’t much better. It isn’t even the caffeine I need I don’t think. It’s the cold feeling as it slides down my dry mouth especially when it’s ice cold and it always just instantly calms my stomach and my anxiety. I have no idea how to replace that or have something else duplicate that feeling. So the only option is to work on moderation. Can I limit my soda and get my munchies under control with my suggestions above? I have no idea you’ll have to check back in to see what the results are. At time of writing this I am at 247 lbs. I was down to 218 lbs before I started taking marijuana. I weighed more than that at the time of my marriage in 2004. It’s a constant struggle but the first step is always being honest with yourself.