Up in smoke..

Dylan from Idaho wrote:

Sean,

I love the blog and I am writing to ask some fitness advice. I am an avid smoker and have been unsuccessful at quitting. I am friends with a friend of yours that said you were at one time a smoker. How did you manage to quit? How long did you smoke for? I'm at 10 years and I hate it now, but I can't seem to quit.

Dylan

Well Dylan, yes I was a smoker for about 5 years. I can blame the radio industry, I can blame friends, I can blame the cigarette industry for starting my habit and keeping it going, but the truth is is it was all my decision to begin in the first place. I was so addicted that I even smoked while going through my cancer treatment. Stupid, I know..

Anyway, I have been smoke free for over two years and I plan on staying that way. I can't even stand the smell of it anymore. I am so happy that I can run without panting and wheezing like a 90 year old.

If you're having trouble quitting, try Nicorette (shameless plug). The cinnamon flavor doesn't taste like crap-it actually tastes like cinnamon gum, and it will do wonders in helping you quit. I tried the patch and all it did was make me dizzy and cause my ass cheek to cramp up. Not fun when you're sitting in a chair the whole day. You also end up looking like an idiot when you jump up from your chair and walk around your office holding one ass cheek. The gum helped.

I also gave myself a reason to quit. When quitting, sometimes doing it for yourself isn't enough for your body to quit. Your body sees the addiction as more important than your body, just as in any drug or alcohol addiction, it wants the substance first.

If you go beyond yourself though, and give yourself a goal that is outside of you and your addiction, you may find greater success. For me, it was my daughter. I didn't want her to know I was a smoker, I didn't want her to ever see me smoking or smell smoke on me, and I didn't want to die off at an early age and miss some wonderful parts of her life. I got sick of hiding it, and I got sick of not being able to run around with her without being out of breath.

With that goal in mind, I threw out the pack I had, and with the help of a few pieces of Nicorette, I was done. I haven't smoked since. I now run 3-4 times a week, and am much healthier than I have ever been in my life.

Smoking is a limiting addiction. Find your motivation to quit and go for it. If you fail, keep trying. Give your goal a solid foundation and stay motivated.

Sean