Blogger Notes

I am proud to be able to state that I have been smoke-free for 65 days. Go me! This is great news for several reasons:

A) My health – I’ve been told (repeatedly and for several years) that smoking is bad for one’s health. Now, I have a bit more energy, can breath a bit easier, don’t get as winded during physical activity as usual and am thinking my immune system might be a bit stronger. Since I’m a coffee drinker, I haven’t seen much improvement in the color of my teeth yet, but I’m still working on that.

B) My wallet – Cigarettes in Cook County are bordering $8 a pack. Calculating a pack a day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year… that’s roughly $2700 a year spent on smoking. Wow.

C) My appearance – I no longer carry the lingering odor of smoke wherever I go. When I wear clean clothes now, I can actually smell the laundry detergent’s scent. I can hang out with children or friends or family and not have to worry about stopping what I’m doing because I need a cigarette break.

On the other hand, stopping that nasty habit has brought on a few different issues:

A) My health – I’ve turned to food to satisfy the oral fixation. Not fruits and vegetables, of course, but Big Macs, candy, cookies and Cokes. Junk food is really not good for the heart, arteries, or cholesterol. I feel tired and sluggish and can’t work up the energy to play with the kids like I use to.

B) My wallet – I still spend about $8 a day, only now it’s at fast food restaurants instead of gas stations.

C) My appearance – Really, after 60+ days of pure junk food, it’s not that surprising a first grader asked me why my belly was growing!

This past week I’ve noticed a bit of a change. Last Saturday, for the first time since I quit smoking, I was not hungry at lunch time. So I skipped the meal. I haven’t been to a fast food place since last week. I’ve been cutting back the sugar drastically. I’ve been replacing food with activity… instead of eating lunch when I wasn’t hungry, I focused on redecorating my apartment. When I find myself craving chocolate or ice cream, I sit down and journal, blog or write. Sure, last night I indulged in a bag of Doritos with sour cream, but I restrained from eating dessert, too!

(OK, when I was rolling this blog around in my head, there was a point to all of this… which has now escaped me. I guess that’s why I started this in the first place, right? To get all those ideas out of my mind so I can move on with my day? Well, should I ever remember the rest of this, I’ll be sure to update it.)