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What to eat while you beat smoking

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Congratulations! By deciding to quit smoking you’ve made one of the most significant steps you can take towards good health. Every year 150,000 Australians quit smoking for good.

When smokers quit however, most get cravings, feel anxious, hungry and irritable. They also find it hard to focus and concentrate and many worry about the unwanted side effects of weight gain.

Here are some ways to best equip your mind and body along the road to being smoke free. And leave you feeling replenished and in great shape by the time your body loses those constant cravings.

Combat the weighty issue

It’s common for people to gain weight when they quit smoking. As nicotine tends to suppress hunger and speed up the metabolism, its removal can commonly cause around 3-5 kg of weight gain. Make sure you take time to increase your activity levels to help compensate for any additional kilojoule intake.

Go for hunger busters and distractors

As well as helping manage a new found hunger, quitters benefit from the much needed distraction of regular meals, snacks and nibbles. Stock up on a steady supply of low kilojoule nibbles like sugarless chewing gum and mints, strawberries, raw veggie sticks, chilled watermelon cubes and diet jelly.

Boost energy levels and metabolism

Combat those tired and irritable feelings, maximize concentration and help keep your energy levels up with sufficient nutritious carbohydrates and low glycemic index choices for a sustained energy supply. Follow a grazing style of eating and mini meals to also boost your metabolism. And go for plenty of pungent herbs and spices to get your taste buds tingling again and chili that contains the metabolism boosting component called capsaicin.

Reap the rewards from replenishers

In order to help counteract oxidative damage from smoking go for plenty of plant foods due to their special protective components called phytochemicals. The antioxidants will help protect your inner body cells.

Get by with a little help from your friends

Dealing with regular social situations, like Friday night drinks at the pub, can be risky business when you first quit smoking. Why not invite family or friends around for a meal instead and remove yourself from environments where you frequently light up.

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The Italian Romance

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Exclusive Extract from The Italian Romance by Joanne Carroll.

One thing I know for sure is that whoever she is, this woman who knows my family, I do not want to meet her in full view of a voracious pack of strangers. I get up. I must have lost my balance, for whatever-his-name-is has grabbed my arm to steady me. I pull away without a word and walk towards the gardenia bed. It’s a quiet spot, partly shaded by the overhang of the roof. The bed separates the flagged stone terrace from the miraculously green lawn. I could lie down on that greenness, and feel its dampness on my cheek.

“Lilian,” I hear Margaret say, “where are you running off to?” She is behind me. “I’ve got her,” she says. I turn slowly. Margaret is flushing from an infill of wine. I am trying to keep my gaze directly on her, to examine the left side of her neck which has caught the sun a little too much today, a little redness, a little rawness. I raise my sight so I can be abhorred by the tidal swim of her eyes, always her dead giveaway even as she manages to walk erect and in a straight line.

I can hear the other woman’s breathing. Her presence is so overpowering that I feel my own chest crushed by it. I now attempt to look at her. I can manage, with a laboured forcing of sinews in my neck, to take in the bodice of her dress and above it the pale honey skin married by a few, not many, large freckles. So terribly familiar. I know it. I know it in my bones. I feel a silence falling on me like rain. I am silenced, and sure, and standing in front of her as naked as Eve. There isn’t another thing I can do.

She says, “I am Francesca.”

And with her words, I am pinched into awareness. I realise that she is the scared one. Her voice tells me. I have such a desire to reach out and hold her, to say, “There, there” to her, to make the bad people go away and not hurt her any more.

And she says in a stronger voice, maybe a violent voice, “Bernard Malone’s daughter.”

“I know who you are,” I say. I don’t know how I sound to her, or to Margaret. Do I sound tender, or hard? How can Margaret not see?

I look to the chin raised against me, the clench of the jaw. She is everything at once to me, middle-aged woman as she undoubtedly is, rebellious youngster, frightened child on her first day at school. And my baby. My precious, precious.

“I am sorry not to have contacted you. I only knew it was Rome. I didn’t have an address, of course,” She sounds so like me. So bitter.

“Of course,” I reply. Is there something else I should have said? Yes, I think so, for she looks at me with acid in her gaze. I am burned by her. It is a long time since I have been so unsure of my footing. I am quite sedate usually, smooth as a swan.

Fairly fluent, too, on a good day. She is avoiding my eyes. I have the chance to indulge myself and I take it. I stare hard at her, the eyebrows which lack distinction in the same way as mine but which, for some reason, I find in her overwhelmingly and vulnerably lovely. She oozes sweat on the mound of her chin, tiny bubbles, and beside her nose are two moist wings. She is nervous.

And now she rubs her arm. Thank God I didn’t do it first. She is protecting herself, one arm across her chest. She is brave. Braver than I am. I am proud of her.

I smell a waft of Margaret’s need to swim in our private sea, not just ours of course but anyone’s, anyone’s apart from her husband’s and more cogently her own. She is growing agitated with the delay. I wish I had the balls to tell her what to do with herself.

Francesca also wakens to Margaret, and I watch her slide a disdainful glance towards the poor creature. I touch Francesca’s elbow. The slightest and most embarrassed, most aware of touches, and only with the tip of my finger. I don’t want to offend. But it is sufficient signal to her, and we both turn away from our unwelcome partner. I take one step, and so does she. We each walk another five or six paces. Margaret is cast adrift.

“I’ll give you my address,” I say. “Where are you staying?”

“Off the Via Veneto,” she says. I note she with-holds the name of the hotel.

“My card is in my bag.” I restrain an urge to point to it, lying somewhere under the tablecloth.

“You must give it to me before I leave,” she says. Now we have both spoken to each other as business contacts might, and I am appalled at my gaucheness, just as she, from the looks, is delighted with hers. One shot across the bow.

I feel so awkward, so off-balance that I want to walk away from her. That is my nature, I suppose.

She beats me to it. “I have to leave early, actually. I’ve got a busy evening,” she says and she doesn’t even bother to look at me before she simply wanders off.

She has retained her figure. Good for her. She sits down at Dora and Vincenzo’s table on the higher terrace. I think she knows I am staring at her. Her back is ramrod straight on the chair. She quickly lifts a glass of wine. She probably needs it.

It is only now that my legs shake. I don’t know how to make it back to my table. I even hope for Margaret to reappear, but it is not she who rescues me. My knight is the man originally and partly from the bush, who wanders up to me holding a plate of rare steak. The lump of meat is enormous. He has an appetite, this boy.

“You lost?” he says.

“Who are you?” I say. “Where am I?”

“Just follow me, you poor old thing.” As we walk, his arm bumps my shoulder, deliberately I presume, and I take hold of it. I like him. He doesn’t need to be explained to. How I’ve longed for that, for these ten less than funny years.

He doesn’t pry, either. He doesn’t ask, “Did you meet the woman from home? Who is she? Why do you look a hundred and ten suddenly?

I sit down silently. I’d like to say something smart, to put everyone off the scent. I can’t think of anything smart.

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Fred Bare boy/girl sweater

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MEASUREMENTS

These garments are designed to be a generous fit.

**MATERIALS

**

**BOY’S OR GIRL’S SWEATER

BACK**

Using 4.00mm Needles, cast on 82 (90-98) sts.

Knit 5 rows garter st (1st row is wrong side). **

Work in stocking st until work measures 27 (30-32) cm from beg, ending with a purl row.

SHAPE RAGLAN ARMHOLES – Cast off 2 (2-3) sts at beg of next 2 rows … 78 (86-92) sts.

Dec one st at each end of next row, then in every foll alt row until 28 (38-34) sts rem, then in every row until 26 (28-32) sts rem.

Leave rem sts on a stitch-holder.

FRONT

Work as for Back to **.

For Girl’s version – Work in stocking st until work measures 27 (30-32) cm from beg, ending with a purl row.

For Boy’s version – Work in stocking st until work measures 7 (8-9) cm from beg, ending with a purl row.

Beg feature hole patt – 1st row – K63 (71-79), K2tog, M1, sl 1, K1, psso, K15 …81 (89-97) sts.

2nd row – P15, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P63 (71-79).

3rd row – K62 (70-78), K2tog, K1, sl 1, K1, psso, K14 … 79 (87-95) sts.

4th row – P14, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P62 (70-78).

5th row – K61 (69-77), K2tog, K1, sl 1, K1, psso, K13 … 77 (85-93) sts.

6th row – P13, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P61 (69-77).

7th row – K60 (68-76), K2tog, K1, sl 1, K1, psso, K12 … 75 (83-91) sts.

8th row – P12, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P60 (68-76).

9th row – K59 (67-75), K2tog, M1, K1, M1, sl 1, K1, psso, K11 … 75 (83-91) sts.

10th row – P11, P1tbl, P3, P1tbl, P59 (67-75).

11th row – K59 (67-75), K1tbl, K3, K1tbl, K11.

12th row – P11, P1tbl, P3, P1tbl, P59 (67-75).

Rep 11th and 12th rows once.

15th row – K59 (67-75), M1, K1tbl, drop next st on left hand needle off needle and leave, K1, drop next st on left hand needle off needle and leave, K1tbl, M1, K11.

16th row – P12, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P60 (68-76).

17th row – K60 (68-76), M1, K1tbl, K1, K1tbl, M1, K12 … 77 (85-93) sts.

18th row – P13, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P61 (69-77).

19th row – K61 (69-77), M1, K1tbl, K1, K1tbl, M1, K13 … 79 (87-95) sts.

20th row – P14, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P62 (70-78).

21st row – K62 (70-78), M1, K1tbl, K1, K1tbl, M1, K14 … 81 (89-97) sts.

22nd row – P15, P1tbl, P1, P1tbl, P63 (71-79).

23rd row – K63 (71-79), M1, K1tbl, drop next st on left hand needle off needle and leave, K1tbl, M1, K15 … 82 (90-98) sts.

24th row – P16, P2tbl, P64 (72-80) … thus completing feature hole patt.

NOTE – With your fingers, gently unravel the sts dropped off needle, these sts will stop unravelling at the original point that they were introduced (at the M1).

Cont in stocking st for rem, until work measures 27 (30-32) cm from beg, ending with a purl row.

SHAPE RAGLAN ARMHOLES (for both versions) – Cast off 2 (2-3) sts at beg of next 2 rows … 78 (86-92) sts.

Dec one st at each end of next row, then in every foll alt row until 44 (52-54) sts rem.

Work 1 row.

DIVIDE FOR FRONT OPENING – 1st row – K2tog, K17 (21-22), yfwd, K2tog,

K1 (eyelet hole), turn.

Cont on these 21 (25-26) sts.

2nd row – K2, purl to end.

3rd row – K2tog, knit to end … 20 (24-25) sts.

4th row – As 2nd row.

5th row – K2tog, knit to last 3 sts, yfwd, K2tog, K1 (eyelet hole) … 19 (23-24) sts.

6th row – As 2nd row.

7th row – K2tog, knit to end … 18 (22-23) sts.

  • SHAPE NECK – Next row – Cast off 6 (7-8) sts, purl to end … 12 (15-15) sts.

Next row – K2tog, knit to end … 11 (14-14) sts.

* Dec one st at armhole edge in alt rows 3 (2-5) times, then in every row 1 (5-1) time/s, AT SAME TIME dec one st at neck edge in every row 5 (5**-6) times … 2 sts.

Next row – K2tog. Fasten off. ***

Join yarn to rem sts, K1, K2tog, yfwd (eyelet hole), knit to last 2 sts, K2tog … 21 (25-26) sts.

Cont on these 21 (25-26) sts.

1st row – Purl to last 2 sts, K2.

2nd row – Knit to last 2 sts, K2tog … 20 (24-25) sts

3rd row – As 1st row.

4th row – K1, K2tog, yfwd (eyelet hole), knit to last 2 sts, K2tog … 19 (23-24) sts.

5th row – As 1st row.

6th row – As 2nd row … 18 (22-23) sts.

7th row – As 1st row.

SHAPE NECK – Cast off 6 (7-8) sts at beg of next row, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog … 11 (14-14) sts.

Rep from to .

SLEEVES

Using 4.00mm Needles, cast on 45 sts.

1st row – P6, (K1, P1) 3 times, K1, P6, rep from to end.

2nd row – K6, (P1, K1) 3 times, P1, K6, rep from to end.

Rep 1st and 2nd rows 8 times … 18 rows rib in all.

Work 6 rows stocking st.

25th row – K2, M1, knit to last 2 sts, M1, K2 … 47 sts.

Cont in stocking st (beg with a purl row), inc one st (as before) at each end of every foll 8th (8th-10th) row until there are 53 (49-59) sts, then in foll 10th (10th-12th) row/s until there are 57 (59-61) sts.

Cont without shaping until work measures 28 (33-38) cm (or length desired) from beg, ending with a purl row.

SHAPE RAGLAN – Cast off 2 (2-3) sts at beg of next 2 rows … 53 (55-55) sts. Dec one st at each end of next row, then in every foll 4th row until 45 (45-37) sts rem, then in alt rows until 9 (11-13) sts rem.

Work 1 row.

Leave rem sts on stitch-holder.

NECKBAND

Using wool needle and back-stitch, join raglan seams noting that tops of sleeves form part of neckline. With right side facing and using 3.25mm Needles, knit up 14 (17-20) sts evenly along right side of neck, knit across sts from right sleeve stitch-holder, knit across sts from back stitch-holder, knit across sts from left sleeve stitch-holder, then knit up 14 (17-20) sts evenly along left side of neck … 72 (84-98) sts.

1st row – Knit.

2nd row – K1, K2tog, yfwd (eyelet hole), knit to last 3 sts, yfwd, K2tog (eyelet hole), K1 … 6 eyelet holes in all.

Knit 3 rows garter st.

Cast off loosely knitways.

MAKE UP

With a slightly damp cloth and warm iron, press lightly on wrong side. Using wool needle, sew in all ends. Using wool needle and back-stitch, join side and sleeve seams. For Boy’s version – Using 2 strands of yarn, make a twisted cord 75 cm long and thread through eyelet holes on front opening. For Girl’s version – Thread leather thonging through eyelet holes on front opening. For both versions – Using wool needle, work blanket stitch around lower edge of Back, Front and Sleeves as pictured. Press seams.

Pattern supplied by Patons, freecall 1800 333 642.

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Pulling dogs

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Question:

After training dogs and horses for 25 years, it seems to me the most common complaint is dogs pulling against the lead. If you don’t want your dog to pull, then don’t you pull! It’s as easy as that. A dog cannot pull against resistance that isn’t there! Short, firm tugs are a far better way of training a dog not to pull. That way, they do not have the time to lean against the lead and learn the futility of pulling. Throw away all those silly and cruel devices (choke chains and halties).

Answer:

It may take some time for dogs that have learnt the habit of pulling to change, but it will work. Consistency is the key here. They only pull because, believe it or not, that is exactly what they think you want. Gentle and constant correction will break this habit.

Sarah James

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I broke up my daughter’s relationship

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When my daughter was 19 she met a charming guy named Jeff. He took her out every Friday night and spoke to her on the telephone every other day. They spent hours on the phone because he lived too far away to just drop in. She was glowing with happiness. She said he was “the one” and told me she had lost her virginity to him. She spoke of marriage and kids. We all liked Jeff and should have been happy for Emily. But I wasn’t. I was worried for them. He was wonderful in every way … except he wasn’t Australian.

My good friend at school had an immigrant father and I knew how difficult it was for her growing up with racist taunts and snide comments. I didn’t want my future grandchildren to be subjected to the same cruel treatment. I didn’t want my daughter and her family to be sneered at in a racist world.

Then one night when he rang while Emily was not at home I told him that she was out with another guy and that she didn’t want to hear from him again. He sounded shocked and upset but I figured he’d get over it. I was doing them a favour. So I convinced myself.

When Emily asked if Jeff had called, I said he hadn’t. “Oh well,” she said. “I’ll see him on Friday anyway.”

But he didn’t turn up. And he didn’t call. And after a few days Emily realised he wasn’t going to. But she was too proud to ring him, especially with me saying, “It’s up to the man, don’t you do the chasing.”

Emily closed herself off from the world for over six months. I tried to persuade her to go out with her friends but she wouldn’t leave the house. She didn’t eat properly and lost too much weight. I worried about what I’d done.

When she did finally go out one night, I was thrilled. She met and married the first guy that came along and even I was blind to his faults. Peter wasn’t half the man Jeff was and they divorced after a few years.

My grandchild didn’t have to cope with a racist world. She had to survive a messy divorce. Counsellors helped. They did what they could with a fragile six-year-old. She is 17 now and still badly affected.

I’m sorry I interfered now. The world is a constantly changing place, a more accepting place. Emily and Jeff would have been perfect together.

But I can never divulge to her what I did.

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Under-eye concealers

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Question:

I have dark circles — not bags — under my eyes. Regarding make-up, what is the best way to conceal them? Which concealer should I use?

Marie

Answer:

You need to invest in a pink-based concealer. Lancôme have a wonderful compact that you should look at. Also, any eye cream that contains Vitamin K is ideal for daily use.

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Licking Dog

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Question:

I have a ten-year-old Maltese terrier. He is constantly licking things. He licks carpet, cement, clothes, blankets — everything. If he sits down next to me he will just start licking my clothes. Why does he do this?

Rebecca Muir

Answer:

There could be a few possible causes for this behaviour so it’s probably not a bad idea to get your vet to check him over to rule different things in or out. Certainly licking constantly (and strange things) has been linked to epilepsy or altered brain activity. Sometimes before an animal has a fit (just like people), they experience an “aura” where they feel a bit strange (due to electrical changes occurring in the brain) and this can cause some strange behaviour. A fit doesn’t need to be thrashing around either; they can have tiny ones which can almost go unnoticed.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is another possibility. Usually related to an anxiety disorder (which is not unusual in these smaller dogs), they can use these repetitive behaviours to make themselves feel more relaxed and it becomes a bit of a habit. Your vet should consider a behavioural assessment as this can be managed with medication and behavioural modification training. Submissive dogs will lick other fellow dogs as an appeasement behaviour, so the dominance hierarchy in the family also needs to be considered.

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I put glass in my own food!

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When I got married more than 20 years ago, I had a good career in the city and just assumed my life would continue that way. My husband Brian had grown up in the country and was overjoyed when he received a transfer in his job to a small country town near his home town.

I wasn’t so sure, but I loved Brian and was happy to make the effort. It was at this time that I realised I was pregnant. Brian was thrilled.

I found it hard to make friends in the new community, especially without a job to smooth my way. Two of Brian’s sisters, Wendy and Kate, lived close by and they made motherhood look like a breeze. Their kids were always well dressed and perfectly behaved. The more time I spent with the girls, the more inadequate I felt about becoming a mother. Brian tried to reassure me, but as my due date came closer I became more and more nervous.

When Frances was born, I fell in love at first sight when I looked down at her dark hair and screwed up face. When she was five weeks old, Kate’s son Will had his twelfth birthday. The size of the town meant there was only one place large enough to accommodate Brian’s family celebrations and that was the local hotel.

I’d never so much as set foot in the place before, but Brian felt it would be good for me to get out. Not to mention the fact that he wanted to show off his new daughter!

Nervously, I agreed. To make it worse, the dining room was packed to the brim. It was hard to believe that a year earlier I had taken control of board meetings and overseen a staff of seven. I struggled along with my pram, determined to hide in a corner somewhere.

Soon Frances had had enough of being handed around and was starving. Breastfeeding was still new to me and I self-consciously settled into a chair against the wall and discreetly lifted my shirt. Imagine my embarrassment when a few minutes later a man approached me from behind the lounge bar. He leaned over the table.

“You can’t do that in here, love,” he said loudly.

I was dumbfounded and felt my cheeks flame red as the table went silent and everyone looked at me. The man, who I later found out was the manager, obviously mistook my silence for lack of understanding.

“Feeding the baby. You can’t do that in here where everyone’s watching. Duck out the back to the beer garden, will you?”

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. I let the manager direct me out into the freezing night. The title of beer garden was very generous – there wasn’t even a shelter to keep the chill off the night air. A brick wall was all that separated the area from the kitchen.

As I sat there pulling the blanket close around Frances’s cold cheeks, 10 months of frustration came bubbling to a head. The old me would never have meekly accepted the prehistoric attitude of the manager. I had been full of confidence in my old job and at that moment, sitting on the rickety white chair feeding my baby, I realised I had to find that same confidence in my new job as a mother.

I then heard a stack of dishes smash to the kitchen floor. The broken pieces were deposited in to the outside bin just as I got up from feeding Frances.

My meal was waiting for me when I got back inside. Brian was distracted by burping Francis when I got to my feet and yelled at the top of my voice.

“Oh my God, there’s a piece of glass in my food.”

The packed dining room fell silent and looked my way as I lifted the offending gravy-covered piece of glass from my schnitzel. As I expected, Brian and his sisters joined my outrage.

“I think the health department needs to know about this,” I said dramatically. “I could have died from eating that.”

I’d made sure I’d picked a particularly large and jagged piece from the rubbish bin outside and held it high enough for the whole dining room to see it. By now other customers were eying their own food suspiciously and out of the corner of my eye I could see the manager heading in my direction once again.

I made such a fuss that to calm me down, the manager wouldn’t let any of our table pay for their food. I didn’t feel at all guilty. It was the price he had to pay for being so archaic.

The very next day, with renewed confidence I put Frances in the pram and headed to the local shop for the first time. I got chatting with the girl behind the counter and she offered to take me to the local mother’s group the next night. I really enjoyed myself and over time I made friends and genuinely enjoyed country life.

I kept that piece of glass in my dressing table drawer for a long time. It was like a symbol of a new me. Brian and I went on to have three more children and eventually moved to a new area.

About two years ago, we were visiting Brian’s family and went back for a meal at that very hotel. I had to chuckle as I walked out into the beer garden for old times’ sake. But as I sat at the dining table and watched our niece breastfeed her new baby boy, I was glad to know some things have changed for the better!

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Small eyes

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Question:

How do I apply eyeliner on the bottom of my eyelash line without putting eyeliner in my eye? I have small eyes and can never seem to make the bottom part of my eyes look bigger. Help!

Carol

Answer:

If you want your eyes to look bigger, avoid applying eyeshadow and eyeliner to the bottom of your eyes. This will only make your eyes look smaller. Instead, apply eyeliner very close to top lashes, blend the edges and then apply lashings of mascara to top lashes only.

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Arthritis

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Arthritis

By Annette Campbell

Julie Pike is, unfortunately, well qualified to talk about living with the pain of arthritis. First diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at only 13, the 36-year-old mother of two and part-time primary school teacher from Adelaide has come to terms with the condition and is living the healthiest life she can.

“It’s a day-to-day thing and I struggle sometimes with two young children,” she says. “But today I feel pretty good. Life with arthritis is painful and not always easy, but it’s not the end of the world.”

When Julie first learned she had rheumatoid arthritis, she and her specialist were hopeful it was something she’d grow out of. “I had pain all the time, in all my joints,” she says. “Sometimes it was a dull, nagging ache, other times it was intense pain.”

It seemed their wish was granted when Julie was in remission from the age of 20 to 30. “During that time I was very active and played netball, indoor cricket, I swam and ran. I thought it had gone forever.”

But at the age of 30, following a period of illness due to a virus, the pain she knew so well returned. “I woke up one morning and my whole body was aching,” she recalls. “At first I thought maybe it was the flu, but as the day went on, I knew it had come back. Only 48 hours later I could barely walk. So I went back to my specialist and back onto medication.”

However, when the time came that Julie and her husband Martin, 38, wanted to start a family, Julie decided to explore more holistic ways of controlling her pain.

“I went to a naturopath and did a major detox — no yeast or sugar for six weeks,” she says. “This allowed me to ease off the medication. We have two gorgeous girls now — Madeline, four, and Ruby, one — and I chose to be on no medication while pregnant with both of them because, despite doctors’ reassurances, I was worried about any possible side effects.”

Julie also now runs a playgroup for parents with arthritis. “A few of us started it about three years ago,” she says. “The kids have a wonderful time playing, while we share the highs and lows and difficulties of our situation.” She also swims a few times a week to keep her weight down and increase joint mobility.

“I believe it’s important to keep healthy,” Julie says. “And the arthritis motto is ‘use it or lose it’!”

Arthritis Australia operates a free national telephone information service. The number is 1800 011 041. Or visit their website: www.arthritisaustralia.com.au

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