I know, I know. I haven't been updating my blog recently, but I figured I didn't want to bore you all ....
Well, I'm 9 weeks today off the cigs, yay! On top of that, my cessation councillor 'signed me off' the smoking session course last week - mission accomplished .... :) Weird - it feels like I've passed a driving test or an exam. I feel like a sense of achievement at getting through the course, to be honest.
Me and Champix finally parted company around 5-6 weeks in - I just hated taking the evening pill as I never got over it making me feel nauseous, and given I'd forgotten to take one sometimes, I figured I really didn't need them (not that it had anything to do with the Champix knocking me off the booze at all, no no no). Some people have some trouble coming off them when they finish the course and I didn't want to be one of them. Perfectly valid reasons for stopping taking them, I'd say.
So whilst I'm in 'will power mode', I decided that I'm not going to let this stopping smoking lark affect my weight.
Here's a bit of BS. Did you know that smoking cigarettes burns up around 200 calories a day? Well there you go. So not only is my metabolism slower now, meaning that every morsel I put down my throat has the potential to glue itself to my insides like Lard, but I'm eating the equivalent of a small McD's fries every day by just quitting the smokes! May as well be hung for a sheep than a lamb .... So I started the 5:2 diet a few weeks ago, where you eat normally for 5 days and fast for 2 days. Doing all right so far, I guess. At least the scales are starting to point in the down position, yippee! Dropped over half a stone in the last 4 weeks or so, and I'm feeling pretty good! The fasting takes some getting used to though. I recently finished a 36 hour fast. You can imagine that I was feeling a tad peckish during this time. It shouldn't have therefore been down to me to feed the cat. Don't be silly, I didn't .... but I gotta admit that as soon as I opened the cat's Felix, the smell was fantastic (with my newly acquired Ninja smell buds), and I've got to be totally honest, a tiny flash went through my brain, before logic and reasoning kicked in.
I don't know whether it's the diet, stopping smoking or a combo of both, but this week, I just got the urge to walk around the block! OMG, you say! 'Ged' and 'walk' are not normal words that you'd associate together. And so I decided to go out in the wind and rain for a walk around the block (yeah, I think I'm losing it). I decided to call at the shop for some cat food whilst I was passing (for the cat; not me, you understand). Perhaps I should have bought sachets rather than tins 'cause I had to walk home with them, in the thinnest weakest plastic bag I've held ... I don't know what it is; I don't live in Beirut or anything, but I felt a bit vulnerable walking the streets, even though it was broad daylight. I guess I'm just so used to being in the protective bubble of my motor. On reflection, perhaps I chose wisely with the tins - a more effective weapon than slapping someone with a floppy sachet ...
Anyway, apart from the obvious fitness benefits, one of the purposes of my reconnaissance mission was to check out the school run using human power rather than horse power. I've clocked that the route is 1.7 miles long round trip. Going the long way round, it takes me 20 minutes to walk to school at my current plod. I intend to pick up the pace with my pedometer app, just as soon as my legs stop protesting about this strange striding movement.
I paid 79p for the Pro version of Runtastic so I can see how many calories I'm burning. It's good to know that the walking is offsetting towards the weekend drinking calories ;-)
I do hope I don't turn into one of those power walkers doing the daft moves. I find that pretty amusing to watch, so I don't want to be entertainment for the passing traffic.
Oh, and before I go, one last moan. I wish I lived in a more scenic area, so there's something to look at rather than noseying into peoples' front living rooms. Well, they should have blinds or nets up, shouldn't they?
With our much changeable UK weather, I don't intend completely dumping the car on the school runs either. I'm off now to plot a more scenic route.
So, tomorrow morning 3 weeks ago at 10:32am precisely'ish, I puffed on my last cig. It's getting easier, I must admit. But the dreams? I've had a dream that I smoked a cig, and when I woke up, I felt soooo disappointed, thinking I was going to go back to Day 1. Chuffed when I realised it was only a dream!!!
My biggest test has most definitely been Neil's 50th party over Easter weekend. All the preparation, food, cake, decorations, surprise movie, blah blah, my stress trigger was in overdrive, and the need to smoke beckoning, I can tell you! The day before the party was a pretty rough day especially, and smoking was on my mind quite a bit. At 4pm, I realised I hadn't taken my Champix - oh no! At least that explained why I was more anxious and thinking about them!
So, Champix DOES work. It's definitely a chill pill! Trouble is, will I need to be weaned off them when my course finishes in 8 weeks? ... Oh well, better get ordering these ...
Mid way through Week 2. My smoke-free day 10. So, according to my 'health and well-being quit smoking' app, I've not smoked like a gazillion cigs since blah blah... and has saved me a small fortune... enough to buy a small country, I suppose.
I'm considering buying an island next door to Richard Branson's 'Necker' Island. I might call my estate 'Nacker Noo' ... Gary Neville - I'm sorry, but your teletubby-home name may have been bagged.
I'm trying not to stress over Neil's 50th this Saturday. If it wasn't for his birthday, I'm pretty sure we'd have booked somewhere camping over Easter, for which our booking'd be in doubt. For all our camping buddies that are pitching this Easter, I applaud you, and pray that the weather changes!
Saturday will be a big test for me, as my party trigger will be desperate to be heard! I'm ready to whoop your ass, Nasty Nic!
6 days and 8 hours ago I smoked my last cigarette! I'd like to say it's been a breeze but I'd be lying. It's been pretty tough at times this week, but I reckon the Champix is definitely helping.
I was breathalysed at my smoking cessation, and it was green - offically a non-smoker! Yippeee!
I need to be strong when I get to the 7 day milestone, as I think my joy trigger, my pride trigger, my happy trigger and my party trigger will all be paying me a visit on the day!
Just to reaffirm the message, I installed a self-hypnosis app on my phone for stopping smoking, by a Scottish guy called Andrew Johnson. I can't tell you if it's any good - I fell asleep. Or is that the intention? Hmmm.
A nice treat this weekend is on the cards, I think :)
It's a tough road ahead, and I'm taking each day at a time. Nasty Nic is still here, but I'm battering him every time he picks a fight. "C'mon Nic, is that all you got ....?"
According to my whizzy phone app, I've not had a cigarette for 2 days, 10 hours and 20 minutes. And I'm STILL ALIVE!!!!
Feeling rather proud, even if I say so myself ... :)
I don't know if I've not left it long enough for the Champix to take a hold properly, but I really felt like I needed to throw the first punch in this battle, rather than wait for my official quit date, which was today.
After I beat myself up on Saturday for smoking the first cig of the morning (which ironically was my last cig but I didn't know it at the time), Sunday was a better day, as I'd got a different frame of mind (I'd unoffically quit).
My adversary is all over me like a rash though.
"Is that all you've got, Nasty Nic? You've gotta do better than that! ...".
And I wouldn't put it past him to give me QuitZits. Some quitters get quite a bad outbreak of Acne. Fingers crossed I've not been cursed!
Today's battle has been won. The war is far from over, but I'm ready to battle again tomorrow...
Just when I thought that the Champix had kicked in by day 8, along came day 9, and got me all confused. I was craving a cig in the morning, and basically I found it tough all day. I cut down but still smoked 9 cigs, compared to the 6 on day 8. Felt disappointed that I still had the cravings, so I'm beginning to doubt if the Champix is working. Perhaps I need to give it a bit longer...
So, today I pretty much felt the same as yesterday, day 9, apart from the same disappointed feeling after I smoked the first one this morning. BUT, I'm determined to give up, so I've pushed on through the day, trying to stretch it out before my next one.
I've had to battle Nasty Nic quite a few times today - I didn't realise how powerful he is. He has a way of messing with your head just when you weren't thinking about a smoke!
I'm not going to say I've quit just yet - after all, I did have one ciggie this morning. One day at a time .... I'm off for an early night tonight to work out what I'll need in my arsenal, and to make sure I have a full complement of ammunition.
For tomorrow, I'm going to declare war ...
Day 8 and I'm on to the blue 1mg pills, twice a day. The first tablet knocked me sideways. Uurrgggh, nausea and dizziness.
But, the positive side was that I wasn't in any hurry to smoke my first cig of the day. I just wasn't craving one.
That mantra has been playing all day, and as at the time of blogging, I've only smoked 6 cigs today! And I didn't fully smoke any of them - there's just no enjoyment.
What's weird is that I've not really been craving the nicotine, so that's the Champix at work. What I have to tackle is Nasty Nic, my adversary. He's the baddy that's trying to stop me breaking the actual smoking habit. Today's been a good test of what I'm up against.
My quit date is Monday, but if today's anything to go by, then fingers crossed, I may stop before then.
