Quitting Smoking

Weigh in 218.

Day 2 not smoking.

Symptoms- Nervoussness, Hunger, Ravenous Hunger, shortness of breath, and Anxiety. 

So today is day 2. Im not sure if I can take it much longer but Im not giving up if I have any strength left at all. Not only do I know about it but everyone knows Im quitting. Im tired of cigarettes dictating my breaks and pauses in my daily life.  I smell, i cough, my lungs are black. Not anymore. So I thought why not list all the reasons. With weightloss we are taught to list reasons why we want it. We are told to visualize why being healthy will improve our lives. So why would quitting improve my life?

my list:

1. I dont want cancer!

2. I dont want to wake up coughing anymore.

3. I dont want to waste $150 a month on cigarettes.

4. I dont want to be a smoker.

5. I want to be healthy.

6. I dont want my future kids to see mommy smoking.

7. I dont want to smell like cigarettes or have that nasty taste.

8. Id like to keep my lungs, my jaw, my throat, oh and my voice.

9. Whats the point of getting healthy when im constantly doing more damage then good?

10. Most of all I dont want to shed years off of an already short life. In other words: I DONT WANT TO KILL MYSELF

So with all of these reasons already inside my head and those who smoke. Why is this time different? Today Im facing it. No longer will i pretend.

     Ive also learned that when I post articles on my blog. It forces me to truly look at them. I have tried to quit smoking loads of times.  Only this time im truly wrapping my head around. Why do I feel like I must smoke. Why do I like smoking? I hate it so much but, why keep doing it? 

 According to some research that most already know about.  Its basically mind over matter. Smoking makes us beleive like many "addictions" that we cant live without it.  Really with smoking it means form a new "habit".  When you go to sit in that chair outside the nightclub or restauraunt with your friends and realize, "this is my cue."  Start a new habit.  Twirl your hair, put some chapstick on, or pop a hard candy in your mouth.  When sitting with family outside talking.  Know that its ok to not have something in your hands.  Even while typing it these things seem ridiculous. Yet they are all true.  Nervous thoughts and fidgeting is what got you in the habit in the first place now lets knock it! Heres some great reasons why to...

"Cigarettes alone kill more than 400,000 Americans each year–more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicides, illegal drugs, and fires combined. And smoking can harm not just the smoker, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and other experts, but also family members and others who breathe “secondhand smoke.” "---Surgeon General C. Everett Coop

Over 50% of adults who continue to smoke will end up dieing due to a smoking related sickness or disease. Tabacco is considered the "single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S." 

Check this out-

20 Minutes After Quitting
Your heart rate drops.
12 hours After Quitting
Carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
2 Weeks to 3 Months After Quitting
Your heart attack risk begins to drop.
Your lung function begins to improve.
1 to 9 Months After Quitting
Your coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
1 Year After Quitting
Your added risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.
5 Years After Quitting
Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker’s 5-15 years after quitting.
10 Years After Quitting
Your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker’s.
Your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas decreases.
15 Years After Quitting
Your risk of coronary heart disease is back to that of a nonsmoker’s