A Freight Train Full of Fuck-Yeah!

“There’s nothing as unstoppable as a freight train full of fuck-yeah.” ~ Jen Sincero

I have been cigarette free for 134 days. I have added 20 days to my life. I have saved approximately $800. I have also lost 48 lbs. I’m pretty proud of myself. At first I really didn’t think I could do it. Cigs were such a part of me. I was a Marlboro Red girl. I smoked around a pack a day for nearly 30 years so, when my doctor said, “quit or die”; I had to seriously think about it. It took me two tries.

I quit smoking the first time for a couple of months. It wasn’t pretty. I was using an electronic cigarette for assistance. I didn’t really want to quit. I would get to drinking beer and I would chain smoke e-cigs. Then I just said fuck it and started smoking again. I loved cigs. I tried going from Reds down to ultra lights; it didn’t work. I tried cutting down; it didn’t work. I tried nicotine gum; it didn’t work. Nothing worked because I didn’t want it to.

I had to get serious. I had to put some fuck-yeah behind it. I had to get excited about quitting so, I got in touch with Tobacco Free Florida. Through Tobacco Free Florida I was assigned a quit coach and given a two week supply of nicotine patches. My quit coach was virtual, I never actually talked to anyone. I would receive encouraging text messages from them and I could get updated stats on where I was in the quitting process.

Quitting smoking is not that hard once you make your mind up to do it. Although, I had to drastically alter my lifestyle. I had to tailor it around triggers that made me want to smoke. Tragically, I had to give up my biggest trigger, beer. I effing heart beer. I was a huge fan or Marlboro Reds and Bud Light. The trouble was that when I was drinking I was chain smoking so; I had to quit beer too. I know; say it ain’t so! Yup, I did it; beer and cigs in one shot. 

Quitting beer was harder than cigs. It takes me a few beers to get over my general anxiety. I’m more comfortable when I’m buzzed. I looked forward to 4:00 on Friday when Happy Hour began. I could be myself after a few beers. Beer is fun, it make me slightly manic. That can be a lot of fun. It can also cause a lot of trouble as my judgment is highly impaired and I’m more likely to make decisions I will later regret. Hence, the story of how I got my dog.

The best thing I can say about quitting beer is I dropped a ton of weight really fast. In 134 days I have dropped 48 pounds. I’m now a size six. I was I size 12. Weight just melted off me. Imagine filling a grocery cart with 48, four stick boxes of butter. That’s a lot of fat. I can now feel my hip bones. I’m not emaciated or anything. I weigh 140 lbs. I’m trying to loose another 20 to get down to what the government says is healthy for my mere 5 foot 2 ½ inches. I don’t know if I’ll get there but I will give it a try. I’m working on muscle tone so I might just gain muscle and that’s ok with me. I feel better than I ever have and I’m saving a lot of money.