wow

22 days. That is how long I've been quit. It seems strange that I am already having large periods of time without even thinking about one and when I do I find myself surprised as in "why would I be thinking about smoking when I'm a non-smoker?"

I am in the process of reading Allen Carr's book. I'll let you know my thoughts on it when I'm done but so far I believe I'm getting it. It relates to my question above. I believe he is basically saying quitting smoking is easy because you just make the decision to be a non-smoker and as a non-smoker why would you even want to smoke?

Please leave a message and let me know how your quit is doing. This isn't my first so I could give some advice if you're having trouble.

If you'd like you may also check out my photography at naturesthumbprint.com

The Weekend

I had work on Friday. I started craving as soon as I walked in and saw everyone outside smoking. Then I just told myself it didn't matter what they did because I don't smoke. It worked. It really didn't matter that they were smoking, why would it when it's not something I do? It is so nice to not have to worry about it or think I need to make sure I have one before I do this or that.

I also got some 5-HTP on Friday so even with my back hurting the last two nights, I did get some sleep and I feel better because of that.

I have also been doing my yoga and eating good. I did have french fries on Friday but instead of the fried chicken strips I wanted I had a ham sandwich. Yesterday I had bacon and a fruit mix of apple, orange, and banana for breakfast. For lunch I did have taco bell but I made up for it by having baked chicken, salad and a small baked potato for dinner.

Its not about cigarettes, It's about addiction

If you have an addiction, chances are you have an addiction to something else too. It is common for ex-smokers to gain large amounts of weight. They replace one addiction with another. I started to do this. Last weekend I ate literally everything I could get my hands on. I've heard that you have to gain 75 pounds for the health risks to be the same as the health risks of smoking. I get that. But I'm quitting in order to be healthier. I don't want to wait until I've gained all the weight and then have to struggle again through another ordeal to lose weight. I would rather do all of this at once.

I have become very down this week. I am trying to pull myself up out of this hole I seem to find myself in. I have still been doing my yoga and this morning I had an apple and a banana for breakfast. For lunch I had baked fish with mushroom, broccoli, butter and lemon. I also had a few meatballs because I wanted something unhealthy too. They weren't that good. I bought a ton of fruits and veggies yesterday. I won't have much of a choice but to eat healthy because that is basically all that is in the house! I am hoping that my diet and yoga will pull me up out of this hole naturally. I am also getting some 5-HTP from the health food store this weekend. It is an herb that helps you sleep without the aftereffects of pills such as Tylenol PM and it does something to help with raising your seretonin. Seretonin is basically the chemical in your body that makes you feel happy.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my quit or let me know about your quit!

Tomorrow

See? Tomorrow can always be better. Very good non-smoking day. There have been times today where I realize it hasn't even run across my mind. My back is killing me though so I must do my yoga today!

I have to say that my mood is not top notch though. This week (week three)is called weak weak on quitnet.com. They call it that because they say you are dazed and confused from the last two weeks of withdrawal. I definitely feel dazed and confused and exhausted. Deep thoughts do not seem to come easy today.

I guess all I can tell those of you who are trying to quit is keep going. It is so worth it, you just have to realize that your brain will not work for a bit. Seriously, though, I would rather be dazed and confused this week than coughing or sick because I didn't quit!

KTQ (Keep the Quit)

And then not as good

So today isn't as good as yesterday. I've actually had a few cravings and I have no energy. Nothing to worry about just not in the best mood. It's also very overcast today which could be adding to my mood. So . . . what to do about it. Well, hmmm. I haven't done much about it. I had homemade taquitos for lunch, homemade or not they weren't healthy, and for dinner I made hamburger helper because I didn't feel like really cooking. It was gross. Both meals weren't satisfying. And I haven't done yoga.

Tomorrow or Thursday I am going to the grocery store and the health food store. I am going to get a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies. I'm going to get some 5-HTP to help me sleep. I'm going to keep taking all those vitamins and herbs. I'm going to continue to not drink but one soda a day and drink water or tea the rest of the day.

I am going to do all of this.

Tomorrow.

Better and better

Today I have done very well with my healthy eating! I had one soda this morning then water and tea. For lunch I had baked bass with lemon and pepper over a bed of stir fry veggies and long grain rice. mmmmmmm. It was so good. I am holding off eating anything else until dinner. It's not that easy, I'm kind of wanting a snack.

I am also taking Lysine for my cold sore, a multivitamin, vitamin C, and adrenamine to cleanse and balance out my body. I have not yet done any yoga or pilates today but I do plan on it sometime today.

Being an ex-smoker seems to be very easy today. I spent less time on quitnet.com today, the online forum that has been such a help for me through these first few weeks, than I have since I quit. A post really stuck with me today and I would like to share it with you:

This post was first published by Comqueen on quitnet.com

**What if TOMORROW is the day that it starts to get easier...

**What if TOMORROW is the day you have your big `no smoking` breakthrough...

**What if TOMORROW is the day you discover something new and wonderful about yourself that you never would have discovered while smoking...

**What if TOMORROW is the day you truly begin to understand that quitting smoking is the best gift you have ever given yourself...

Wouldn`t it be a shame if you smoked TODAY and didn`t wait to see what might happen TOMORROW??

********************

This stuck with me so much today. I am working so hard on this quit that I would hate to just throw it all away. Today has been better than yesterday, what if I had smoked and missed today? What if I smoked tomorrow and had to go through today and yesterday all over again? No, I would rather keep going and look for what tomorrow will bring. After all, I knew what most tomorrow's would bring while smoking. It would bring coughing, and being sick quite often, and being nauseated, and not feeling good about myself. Now that I have quit smoking I'm not sure how I will feel tomorrow which is actually a pretty good thing because I do know I won't be hacking, I won't be nauseated, and I will feel good about myself that I am on the right track.

12 days and eating everything in sight

Wow. 12 days. I am so proud of that I can't hardly stand myself. I am doing so good it's scary and I have to keep reminding myself not to get overconfident because I am by no means in the clear. I'm not really having extreme cravings today. Occassionaly the thought of having a smoke walks across my brain but I just ignore it and it keeps on walking.

The only bad thing is that I am eating every single thing I can find. And I mean absolutely everything. I'm not hungry but it is as if I cannot get satisfied. Nothing really sounds like I want to eat it but I keep eating anyway. This has got to stop. I cannot be happy with my quit if I gain a bunch of weight with it. I quit smoking to get healthy and realize that I will have to have more control. I do not want to replace smoking with food. I do not want to replace one addiction with another.

Once again I am allowing my body to control me. Tomorrow I will work on my well-being and being in control of myself.