Life without the patch (Day 189)

Day 189 - I have made it past the 6 month mark and I am feeling great.  I have had a lot of congestion lately and I am not sure if I am getting a cold or if this is caused by my lungs clearing.  Either way I still feel great.  I believe once you get to this level, it takes less will power to stay not smoking because you have changed your routine by know and you just don't have the thoughts of cigarettes.  I have more of my smell senses back and I know when someone has smoked because I can smell it and it smells bad.  I can't believe I smelled like that, but I know I did when I was a smoker.  When you are a smoker, it is a way of life, it consumes your time and make you feel less energized.  One thing to keep in mind when you quite smoking is that weight gain is going to be a part of quitting.  Be prepared, but as long as you have a plan to exercise, you will be fine.  My wife and I quite 6 months ago as a part of becoming more healthier and we knew coming into this that we were going to have some weight gain.  Part two of us becoming healthier is to begin exercising and eating healthier.  This will begin in about 3 more months.  I myself would not try to quit smoking and eating healthier at the same time this will make you fail one or the other.  If you already eat healthy, then this will not be an issue for you.  Just realize that your system will want to compensate something in place of not smoking and usually this is food.  Weight gain is acceptable as long as you don't let it get to far and you have it on your personal road map to step two of being healthier like my wife and I and you make a goal to exercise and begin within a time frame.  I will keep recording our progress in this blog so all with know what steps we took to lose the weight and continue to be non-smokers.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 44

Day 44 - I have been having some great days lately.  I feel more energized and willing to do more.  I am not sure if it is because I quit smoking or because my wife and I have started eating healthier as of this week.  I just feel good, I want to do more and enjoy life.  I want to head out west and have a great time in the mountains.  My wife and I are planning a vacation soon and I think we will head west and just have a good time.  Another great day of enjoying life and just feeling the freedom of not smoking.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 43

Day 43 - Yesterday was the beginning of Step 2 for the Nicoderm CQ patch.  2 weeks of this and I will be ready for the final step.  Still feeling great with minimal urges if any for the need of a cigarette.  Another day down.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 42

Day 42 - Yesterday was the last day of Step 1 of the patch.  I look forward to moving on to Step 2 and getting through the whole 10 week patch process.  I have now not smoked for 42 days and I am very proud of this accomplishment.  I plan on continuing to Blog everyday until the patch process is done and then I will still continue to Blog on a weekly basis.  I have nothing more today other then, quitting smoking has been the best decision I have made that will benefit my health and my family.

Quit Smoking and be #1

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 41

Day 41 - I find that as each day passes, I think a lot less of cigarettes and more about things I want to do in life.  My wife and I, since we both stopped smoking at the same time, want to do so much with each other such as biking, vacationing, and just spending time together.  It feels good not to rely on cigarettes as being a part of our lives anymore.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 40

Day 40 - 2 more days and Step 2 begins on the Patch.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens when the nicotine level is reduced.  I certainly hope the urges don't increase again.  I finally hit a point in my journey that I no longer feel the need for a cigarette and I hope this feelings stays the way it is.  I just remember to keep telling myself I am a non-smoker and that is who I am.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 39

Day 39 - Well, I must admit, it is nice to see people visiting this Blog and I hope that it is helping some.  I have noticed from my stats on this Blog that people from all over the world are viewing it.  I am almost at a 1000 views, a little ways to go but I am sure we will get there.  Quitting smoking has been quite the journey for me.  I have worked through the urges, anxiety, and just the detoxing period and I must admit, it was all worth it.  I feel better and I hope that my journey is helping others in their journey's to quit smoking.  I have 3 more days until I start Step 2 of the patch.  The journey with using the patch is getting closer to ending and the feeling of that is great, because I will now start the journey of being weened of nicotine for good.

The journey continues.  Thanks to everyone for your support.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 38

Day 38 - Just when you thought I may run out of things to talk about for quitting smoking.  I was driving home today and this car was speeding right by me and I thought to myself, smoking is like speeding in a car.  What do I mean by this?  Speeding feels good in the beginning but over time there are consequences that will catch up to you, just like smoking, it feels good when you start, you get that rush or buzz for a while but the consequences catch up to you over time when you have a hard time breathing, you health heads south, and eventually it will end up killing you.  It is so much better to drive in the safe lane then it is taking the chance of dealing with consequences in the fast lane.  Okay, maybe the whole analogy was not the best, but I think you get what I was trying to say.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 37

Day 37 - It was another great day today.  I find myself at work during the day, no longer thinking about cigarettes.  I am starting to have the feeling that I am truly done with smoking, out of site, out of mind.  Each day recently has been very easy to not think about cigarettes or even having any urges to want a cigarette.  I just tell myself, I am a non-smoker, that is who I am.  I feel healthier a little more each day, I am breathing easier and I just feel more healthier.  Being a non-smoker is just the right choice to make.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 36

Day 36 - Yesterday was just another great day of not smoking.  I feel that quitting smoking has made me a little happier.  My wife and I smile more and are just enjoying life.  For anyone who smokes, you don't need them, they are just a thorn in your side, one that needs to be pulled.  Cigarettes do nobody any good unless you enjoy the fact of knowing that every cigarette you smoke is putting you one step closer to that whole in the ground.  I was there, I decided to change and no longer think about when am I going to die, but rather now, how am I going to live.  Life is full of to many adventures and I plan on enjoying as many as I possibly can.  Anyone who wants to quit and just doesn't know where to start, see the links in my Blog, read my Blog, do whatever it takes to get started down the road to becoming a non-smoker.

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 34

Day 34 - It was another great day.  My wife and I took a walk through Lake Geneva and got some ice cream and just enjoyed spending some time together.  I have noticed a lot more now, that there are a lot of people out there that smoke.  I was amazed, this is something I never paid attention to when I was a smoker, but now I notice everyone that is smoking.  I can't believe so many people smoke, I saw a guy get out of his car light a cigarette for his 30 second walk to the entrance to a store and then put the cigarette out and I thought to myself, I used to do that.  What a waste, do you really need to smoke for that 30 seconds?  Man, I can't believe I used to do that.  The thought of each cigarette lit was about 37 cents, that is crazy.  I calculate how much cigarettes were costing my wife and I for just one year and $5417 a year on cigarettes is ridiculous.  I could have had my car paid off by now with this amount, or my wife, kids, and I could have had many great vacations with this money, but no, smoking was more important.  Just the thought of the time and money I have wasted on cigarettes makes me sick.  I alone, spent 36,500 minutes of my life a year smoking which equates to roughly 608 hours which equates to 3.62 weeks a year spent on smoking.  If you are a smoker and have never done the calculation, I suggest you do your own calculation, this is a wake up call.

How to figure the calculation:

1. Number of cigarettes per day x 5(minutes) = total minutes per day spent smoking
2. Total number of minutes spent per day smoking x 365 (days per year) = total minutes per year
3. Total minutes per year / 60 (minutes per hour) = number of hours per year
4. Number of hours per year / 168 (number of hours in a week) = number of weeks spent smoking

Quit smoking with Nicoderm CQ - Day 33

Day 33 - Since I stopped smoking, it has given me more time to actually think about where I want to be in life.  I have advanced in my career pretty good in a short term and I continue to grow with the company I am with now, but is it enough?  I ask myself this everyday, I set goals to reach before I turn 40, one was to quit smoking and so far I have met this goal.  Another goal I set was to be making a specific amount of money by the time I turn 40 (not disclosing the amount here).  I am close to the money I set as my goal, but I am not quite there, but I do have the experience to get there and this is a constant thought on my mind.  I guess it is good to have this thought because it keeps me from thinking about smoking.  One thing to find out if you plan on quitting smoking, see if your company has a cessation program that may be able to help you.  I am in a very supportive company when it comes to employees wanting to quit smoking.  This is a big help especially if you have co-workers quitting the same time you are, it gives you more support.  I quit and it is the best decision I have ever made.