Journal Entries
Trials & Tribulations of a Quitter (Fitness - The Final Frontier)
Posted Feb 2, 2004
I seem to be dealing with the not smoking part pretty well at the moment. Sometimes I even forget about the gum for hours at a time (meaning I don't feel like a smoke). All in all it's going quite well.
I've decided to try to get fit to give myself another reason not to start smoking again. And this morning at 5:30am I decided to start. It's a bit of a shock to the system to find out just how horrifyingly unfit I've become over the years, but then, that's what you get for smoking and sitting on your arse.
I found myself a beginner's running program which basically increments the amount of time you spend running each week, starting with walking. You do 4x 30 minute sessions each week and it's supposed to progress you from a non-runner to someone who runs 30 minutes, 4 times a week.
I did try this program out not long before 
to encourage myself to quit smoking (didn't work) but got myself a little heat exhausted when I got up to my 3 minute running stint (don't laugh I live in Brisbane and we were getting around 40C at the time).
So now I'm starting it again (except I figure I can skip the 2 weeks of walking) to try to keep myself off smoking.
Overall, my goal here is to be able to run for 30 minutes straight - even if it's a shuffle-jog. But my current sub-goal is to complete Stage 1: (1 min running + 5 min walking)x5
It wasn't too bad. Running at for 1 minute at a time is not too hard, even for someone who has made being unfit an art form 
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Feb 2, 2004
Trials & Tribulations of a Quitter (the mint ones are better)
Posted Jan 30, 2004
Well, today in less than 2 hours I will have quit smoking for 2 weeks. I survived one of my closest friends (we normally take our lunch break together and smoke and drink coffee) and I also survived my brother, although it was only for a couple of hours. Those 2 situations are when I normally cave.
Some days have been pretty hard, I have to admit, but the cravings for a smoke don't last too long.
I'm using about 7 pieces of gum on average a day (the pack says I can use up to 20, but recommends 8 - 10). Basically, this saves me about $25 a week at this stage... in 10 more weeks, I'm supposed to be looking at cutting the gum back, so it'll save me a lot more then.
Incidently, the mint flavour, I will highly recommend. It's probably still crap, but after the washed-out-orange-flavoured-vitamin-C-tablet flavour (laughably referred to as 'Citrus'), it's sensational. I haven't yet braved the horrors that may await me with the 'Original' flavour... with any luck it'll be like Original Hubba Bubba, but I think I'm being a little ambitious 
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Jan 30, 2004
Trials & tribulations of a quitter
Posted Jan 20, 2004
This is quite possibly the 10th time I’ve attempted to quit smoking (have lost count… you know how it is: Quitting’s easy, I’ve done it a million times). I thought this time I might journal my progress. Maybe the fact that other’s can see this will strengthen my resolve.
Well, I had my last cigarette 1:30pm last Friday (16/1/04). Because I turn into Little Miss Cranky Pants when I get nicotine withdrawals, I’ve gone with the nicotine gum option. To give you an idea, the last time I did this cold turkey, my husband (who has quit himself recently… successfully) bought me a pack of smokes and asked me if I was still his friend after I had one. Basically, I’m a bit of a nightmare.
The gum seems to help a lot. Quite a bit in fact. My husband actually survived the weekend, which essentially gives you a good indication of how well I’m doing
Here's what I've learnt over the last few days…
1. Unless you like those orange flavoured Vitamin C tablets, steer clear of the ‘citrus’ flavoured gum. No, I don’t like it and I’ve bought a couple of week’s worth
2. There’s an art to the chewing technique… it makes you feel a bit sick and peaky if you chew too much… but there seems to be a fine line between too little and too much
3. It’s not very classy look shoving chewing gum between your cheek and gum
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Jan 20, 2004
Researcher207975
Researcher U207975
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."