Thursday, April 5, 2012

2 Months - The Temptations

You would think that after 2 months of being tobacco-free, the temptation to smoke cigarettes would go away. It doesn't. They happen less often as time goes by, but they do still happen. The past two weeks were the most difficult since I quit 2 months ago. I was at a conference in NYC and, surprisingly, I found myself surrounded by smokers most of the week. The e-cig really saved me. But, the most surprising temptation came from a Scotch whiskey pairing dinner in Phoenix. Cigars were never a big part of my tobacco intake, but for some reason they now smelled great in combination with the aromas of the Scotch. E-cig calmed those cravings, also.

The reinforcement that I needed came this week from my doctor. Three months ago I had high cholesterol, high triglycerides and high blood pressure.  As of today, I am well into the normal range for all of them. The cholesterol was the most serious with a reading exceeding 320 last year (normal is under 200). Yesterday my score was 159. Oh, and I have also lost 17 pounds. The moral of the story-Give up tobacco, exercise a little and modify your diet. Amazing things can happen!

For any of you that are also struggling with these kinds of health problems, I will share with you how I started on the road to recovery. This was many months before giving up tobacco. I bought a pedometer(less than $10 at most stores with sports equipment) and a lot of Active Lifestyle instant oatmeal( less than .25 per serving). Every morning, I had oatmeal instead of my normal breakfast. Then, I went for a walk. The pedometer would record the amount of steps that I took. I tried to hit 10,000 steps every day, but I did not beat myself up on the days that I didn't get there. After 8 months of doing this, my cholesterol levels had dropped 100 points. Still high, but now manageable. The last 60 points came off in the 2 months since purchasing e-cig.

Until next time- Good luck and good health

12 comments:

  1. Amazing story, especially about the cholesterol! I may have to try oatmeal everyday!!

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  2. Unfortunately, quitting smoking doesn't ever become easy. I've been tobacco-free for two years and use nicotine replacement, and I still feel the urge to smoke every time I watch an older movie and see someone light up.

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  3. Electronic cigarette is the best option to leave smoking .
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  4. How’s it going now, John? Quitting cigarette isn’t a one-time, big-time act; it is slow and gradual instead. But you know what, you’re dedication to renew your self will definitely lead you to the right path – the road to a better well-being. =)

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  5. I am still tobacco-free Bailey. It is hard to believe that 9 months have gone by already. I find myself using the electronic cigarette less often and have now switched to the no-nicotine version. The e-cigarette is now just to keep me from relapsing to tobacco.

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