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Slowing down and not so purple
By Parabellum
on July 21 2010 at 1:12 pm
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23, Female
Canada
Member Since: July 14 2010
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Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! Hope you are all having a lovely day :)
I can't believe it, but tonight will be one week without nicotine for me. Every minute dragged on for a while, but the past few days have flew by. There are still a few downsides to having quit, like the cravings and the random crankiness, but it's gotten to the point now where all the pros completely outweigh the cons.
Back when I smoked, if you saw my feet you would think they were the toes of someone that had drowned in a frigid pond. My toenails were completely purple, to the point where it startled some people (was told several times the only time that they had seen nails that colour was when someone was having a heart attack). I noticed this morning though that the horrible purple is starting to fade out and give way to a nice healthy pink. It's not gone entirely, that will take another few weeks, but just knowing that my circulation is already starting to improve is just amazing.
The constant fatigue is starting to go away too. The average adult resting heart rate is about 72 beats per minute. When I smoked, my resting heart rate was 98-110 beats per minute. Now, it's 86. Again, that feels amazing and is a huge relief for me since I am joining the air force once I meet the requirements (I have to do one more online course to meet the education requirements), and if your heart rate gets too high while going through their physical testing, you fail. Knowing that my heart is slowly getting back to normal is just...wow I can't even think of the word to describe how happy that makes me. So by quitting, not only am I potentially prolonging my life, improving my health and the quality of my life, I'm more likely to be able to have my dream job.
I still get fairly crabby around smokers, though I haven't started lecturing them to quit yet. The only reason why I don't, is because when I smoked, if someone tried to lecture me into quitting all it would do was annoy me and stress me out, making me want another cigarette.
And another huge benefit: food. Oh wow...I LOVE food, I love cooking it, I love the smell of it cooking, I love all the different flavours, I love growing as many vegetables as I can. I am definately one of those people that eat not out of necessity but out of the sheer pleasure that comes from eating. Now that my senses of taste and smell are no longer being beaten down by cigarettes, I get to experience all my favorite dishes all over again but 10 times better.
Quitting smoking has also allowed me a little bit more vanity. I'm very much a tomboy, but I enjoy the occasional girly thing. I never used to paint my nails, even with a clear coat, because the nailpolish would just turn yellow from the cigarettes.
This may sound a little odd at first, but hear me out: I also feel cleaner. I'm no longer walking around with a layer of poisons soaked into my skin and hair and smelling like an ashtray. I couldn't notice the smell of smoke on myself before, but now that I quit I can definately smell a smoker when I meet them and I'm so glad I don't reek like that anymore. Even the health of my hair has improved. Now that it's not constantly steeped in chemicals it feels and looks softer and healthier.
All of these things make it so much easier to overcome a craving. Whenever I find myself thinking about having a cigarette now, I snap out of it much quicker and think to myself "am I crazy? why on earth would I want to do that?". No more worries of premature aging, smelling gross all the time, wasted money, tar filling my lungs, heart racing from an evil stimulant. No more worries of giving myself asthma or COPD, and a lower risk of cancer (which is rampant in one side of my family).
Also, my mother could not be happier. I can't wait until the end of the month: there is a very large annual Highland Games festival in this area, and she has always wanted to go. I've finally convinced her to go with me, and being able to see her enjoy that day and not have my mind clouded with thoughts of "did I bring enough cigarettes?" and having to stop what we're doing just to light up is going to be great.
I hope you all have a fantastic smoke free day, just keep thinking about everything you've gained so far and all the good yet to come by your quit. When you start to feel weak and want to give in to the cravings, remind yourself of all that you could lose by starting to smoke again and ask yourself if it's really worth it.
>Parabellum<
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Message by ChinHi
on July 21 2010 at 3:20 pm
Location: United States Joined: July 06 2002 Posts:
22243
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This is very good, you sound wonderful! I am putting this in Reader's Choice! 
KCL = Keep Choosin' LIFE
"Never leave another quitter behind" by BTBASSER
Namaste
Mahalo Karyn and lindy our SHEROs
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Message by LynnEEE
on July 22 2010 at 1:15 am
Location: United States Joined: January 03 2009 Posts:
2025
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As our good friend Cleaner would say to you ..."just don't feed the tiger!"
You are doing fantastic! Keep up the good work ...
I started to live like God intended...smokefree! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and so can you!
‹(•¿•)› LynnEEE♥
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Message by Dewey
on July 22 2010 at 7:38 am
Location: Australia Joined: March 21 2010 Posts:
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Good to hear that you are starting to enjoy all the benefits of your quit and that your circulation has improved as well as your heart rate.
Maybe if my heart rate had been that high I would have been sensible and given up sooner but my heart rate stayed in the low 70's range (except when exercising) for the entire time I smoked (45 years).
You are doing well. Keep up the good work.
Dewey
Going my way
Quit Date: 22.03.2010
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Message by heidi50089
on July 22 2010 at 10:16 am
Location: United States Joined: July 12 2010 Posts:
51
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You have a long life to live ahead of you. . and it is going to be so much better smoke free! I wish you well on all your goals and dreams!
*Heidi*
The elevator to success is out of order, you will need to take one step at a time.
Courage is when you are scared to death, but saddle up anyways! ~John Wayne
<July 13, 2010>
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