Hey readers,
This will be my last entry on this site. Thank you all for reading. It's been around 3 months since I've quit, and I feel a lot better for it. While its been interesting keeping a blog about my progress, as previously mentioned, its also been tough. Trying to think of stuff to write without having the urge to smoke is the key difficulty. However, I have no regrets about this blog, and feel it was an interesting tool in documenting my progress, and keeping people updated on how successful I have been. Thank you to everyone who commented on my blog - hopefully one day I'll start another one.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Dated benefits
Hey readers,
Hope you're all well. I've had some comments about my last post, so thought I'd follow it up with another post about the benefits of not smoking. I did a bit of online research about the subject, and the general concensus is that the following will occur once you quit (from the second you have your last cigeratte):
After 20 minutes:
Your blood pressure and pulse return to normal.
After 8 hours:
Your carbon monoxide and nicotine levels in your blood are halved, with oxygen levels returning to normal.
After 24 hours:
Your lungs start to clear out mucous and other debri derived from smoking, in addition to carbon monoxide being elimated from your body.
After 48 hours:
Your ability to taste and smell will improve, with no nicotine left in your body.
After 72 hours:
Your breathing becomes a lot easier and your energy levels increase.
2-12 weeks:
Your circulation improves; a major health benefit.
3-9 months:
Your lung functions increase by up to 10%; wheezing, breathing and coughing problems improve as a result.
5 years:
Your risk of a heart attack falls to around half that of a smoker.
10 years:
Your risk of lung cancer falls to around half that of a smoker, with the risk of a heart attack falling to the same as someone who has never smoked.
So there you go - a timeline of what to expect when not smoking anymore. At the moment, being at 2-12 weeks, I'm benefiting from an improvement in my circulation. I'm looking forward to my breathing problems improving over the next month, as, when smoking, I used to find it quite difficult to breath at nights.
Hope you're all well. I've had some comments about my last post, so thought I'd follow it up with another post about the benefits of not smoking. I did a bit of online research about the subject, and the general concensus is that the following will occur once you quit (from the second you have your last cigeratte):
After 20 minutes:
Your blood pressure and pulse return to normal.
After 8 hours:
Your carbon monoxide and nicotine levels in your blood are halved, with oxygen levels returning to normal.
After 24 hours:
Your lungs start to clear out mucous and other debri derived from smoking, in addition to carbon monoxide being elimated from your body.
After 48 hours:
Your ability to taste and smell will improve, with no nicotine left in your body.
After 72 hours:
Your breathing becomes a lot easier and your energy levels increase.
2-12 weeks:
Your circulation improves; a major health benefit.
3-9 months:
Your lung functions increase by up to 10%; wheezing, breathing and coughing problems improve as a result.
5 years:
Your risk of a heart attack falls to around half that of a smoker.
10 years:
Your risk of lung cancer falls to around half that of a smoker, with the risk of a heart attack falling to the same as someone who has never smoked.
So there you go - a timeline of what to expect when not smoking anymore. At the moment, being at 2-12 weeks, I'm benefiting from an improvement in my circulation. I'm looking forward to my breathing problems improving over the next month, as, when smoking, I used to find it quite difficult to breath at nights.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Tough times...
Hey readers,
I've been pretty stressed out recently with the my final year project deadline looming, and the urge to have a cigarette has never been stronger. Just writing about it makes me want to have one even more. I've still resisted the urge to use nicotine patches though. I'm trying to keep strong. Thank you all for your comments on my previous entry. They've kept me going. I'm doing my best, and that is all I can do I suppose.
As mentioned in my last post, I thought I'd make a list of the benefits of not smoking vs. smoking, so here it is:
1. Health - non-smokers live an average of 5 years more than smokers. Additionally, smokers have more coughs and colds than those who don't smoke, and take longer to get better again.
2. Financial - depends on how much you smoke, but for my personal situative of smoking a pack a day, I'd save roughly £1400 a year (now I know where my student loan goes!)
3. Social - contrary to popular belief, from my experience, my friends actually prefer me not to smoke - they don't have to suffer second hand somking from my bad habit.
4. Fertility - it has been proven that men who smoke may suffer from impotence due to the damage it has on blood vassels in the penis - additionally, women who smoke take longer to conceive and are a lot more likely to have a miscarriage.
5. Childbirth - while this does not affect me, women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies that are premature or stillborn.
6. Appearance - the tar from smoking stains your teeth and fingers, making them appear yellow. Also, wrinkles develop around the eyes and mouth of smokers a lot earlier than non-smokers.
However, the key benefit for me would be number 7; Confidence. Many people say that quitting smoking is the biggest challenge you will encounter in your life. One you have quit, you have that knowledge that you can succeed at difficult tasks in life, and take control of situations more easily - quitting smoking enables you to believe in yourself and your ability to succeed.
I've been pretty stressed out recently with the my final year project deadline looming, and the urge to have a cigarette has never been stronger. Just writing about it makes me want to have one even more. I've still resisted the urge to use nicotine patches though. I'm trying to keep strong. Thank you all for your comments on my previous entry. They've kept me going. I'm doing my best, and that is all I can do I suppose.
As mentioned in my last post, I thought I'd make a list of the benefits of not smoking vs. smoking, so here it is:
1. Health - non-smokers live an average of 5 years more than smokers. Additionally, smokers have more coughs and colds than those who don't smoke, and take longer to get better again.
2. Financial - depends on how much you smoke, but for my personal situative of smoking a pack a day, I'd save roughly £1400 a year (now I know where my student loan goes!)
3. Social - contrary to popular belief, from my experience, my friends actually prefer me not to smoke - they don't have to suffer second hand somking from my bad habit.
4. Fertility - it has been proven that men who smoke may suffer from impotence due to the damage it has on blood vassels in the penis - additionally, women who smoke take longer to conceive and are a lot more likely to have a miscarriage.
5. Childbirth - while this does not affect me, women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies that are premature or stillborn.
6. Appearance - the tar from smoking stains your teeth and fingers, making them appear yellow. Also, wrinkles develop around the eyes and mouth of smokers a lot earlier than non-smokers.
However, the key benefit for me would be number 7; Confidence. Many people say that quitting smoking is the biggest challenge you will encounter in your life. One you have quit, you have that knowledge that you can succeed at difficult tasks in life, and take control of situations more easily - quitting smoking enables you to believe in yourself and your ability to succeed.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Clean for a Month
Hey readers,
Hope you're all well. I haven't touched a cigarette for a whole month now, but I've got to admit, it's been pretty hard. There have been times when I've been more than a little tempted though - particularly as the stress of coursework is mounting itself on top of me. The other day I worked from 9am to 9pm, and where I'd usually take a cigarette break, I replaced it with a water break - much healthier. Additionally, this month, I've saved over £100 from quitting; where I'd usually buy a pack a day, I've been putting the money aside into another account - not sure what I'll do with the money, but it'll be something productive.
I was telling a friend about my attempts to quit smoking the other day, and he agreed to do it with me - so we're going to support each other and try to keep each other on track. I've got a feeling he hasn't been too honest about his progress though, as he seems to be finding it 'really easy' - I think he's been smoking the odd cigarette here or there...I'll try my best to keep him on the straight and narrow though. I've already got a plan for my next post that I hope to show him - hopefully it'll shock him into quitting.
Thanks for reading.
Hope you're all well. I haven't touched a cigarette for a whole month now, but I've got to admit, it's been pretty hard. There have been times when I've been more than a little tempted though - particularly as the stress of coursework is mounting itself on top of me. The other day I worked from 9am to 9pm, and where I'd usually take a cigarette break, I replaced it with a water break - much healthier. Additionally, this month, I've saved over £100 from quitting; where I'd usually buy a pack a day, I've been putting the money aside into another account - not sure what I'll do with the money, but it'll be something productive.
I was telling a friend about my attempts to quit smoking the other day, and he agreed to do it with me - so we're going to support each other and try to keep each other on track. I've got a feeling he hasn't been too honest about his progress though, as he seems to be finding it 'really easy' - I think he's been smoking the odd cigarette here or there...I'll try my best to keep him on the straight and narrow though. I've already got a plan for my next post that I hope to show him - hopefully it'll shock him into quitting.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Day One
Right, so I've decided to create a blog to document my progress with quitting smoking. I've been thinking about quitting for a while now, and think writing about it will help me stay focussed. I've gone one day without a cigarette and even though it's been tough, I've found it quite rewarding. The real positives that I can take away from today are that I already feel healthier - both physically and mentally, and that I've saved money. On the negative side of things though, the hardest part of today is actually writing this now, as I have the urge to smoke when thinking about it. On the whole though, I am confident of achieving success; I know that if I put my mind to something then I should be able to succeed. To help me out, I've bought a couple of books from ex-smokers to analyse just how they've gone about quitting. I'm hoping that by using some of their successful techniques I should be fine.
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