The Secret To My Success?

Maybe it was the sticky notes

I have really had a pretty easy time of it I think. I read a lot of the posts in the forums on the quit for life web site and think how much easier it has been for me. I am not sure why but I am grateful. I know part of it is that if I set my mind to do something I do it. I plan and create a process that I stick to no matter what. The process for this was simple. I had seven days to ween myself off of nicotine so that when I hit my quit date I was only dealing with the behavioral and emotional part of the addiction. I used the sticky notes program on my netbook to keep track of my smoking each day in addition to the tools on the web site.

 The sticky notes appealed to me because they were right there every time I was on my computer. As far as cutting back on my smoking each day I found I nice little thought process that helped a lot. Every time I would reach for a cigarette I would ask myself if I really needed the nicotine or if it was just what I was used to doing right then. If I thought about it and decided I didn't really need to smoke I didn't. There was really no pressure because I knew if I really felt I needed it I could smoke. I found as the days went on I needed them less and less. As you can see from the picture of my netbook screen it happened pretty fast. I had actually quit two days early. This brought up another thought. If I was able to quit on the dosage of Chantix that I was currently taking then what was the point of increasing the dose on the eighth? I decided not to. On the eighth when I got to the 1mg pills I got out my pill splitter and split them in half so that I could stay at 1mg a day. This is not to say that I never think about smoking because I do. It just doesn't really get to me because I know that when it comes right down to it I don't really want to. The thought passes rather quickly and I move on just fine.


I think the next use for my sticky notes will have to be to help me keep track of my new diet. changes to my eating habits. Turns out that while I have done very well on the blood sugar thing I have now been dealt the family cholesterol card. I now get the challenge of kicking the fast food habit and learning to eat low fat/cholesterol foods. So, time to set my mind to it, make a plan, create a process and stick to it no matter what. 

Call Me A Quitter (It's a compliment)

Most of you know that I have been working toward healthier living. I changed my eating habits to keep my blood sugar stable and in doing so I lost a lot of weight. I knew there was only one more big change to make and last fall I decided I was ready..... well ready to think about quitting anyway.

I work in retail. In my mind it would be stupid to try to quit smoking right when the busiest, most stressful part of the year was just beginning. I would quit after the holidays. Along comes January. Well I couldn't quit in January. That would be like making a new years resolution and everyone knows new years resolutions don't work. By the time March rolled around I knew I was out of excuses. It was time to get serious. I actually wrote down the information hanging on the wall in the break room about the quit for life program on a postit and stuck it to my computer monitor.  https://www.quitnow.net/Program/  

I think it was the beginning of April when I first went online to see what the program entailed. I got a little freaked out and went out for a cigarette. It took another week before I actually signed up. Turns out it wasn't so scary after all. (I did have to smoke while I waited for a call from my quit coach.) My quit coach asked me some questions and gave me some info to help me start my quit plan. We set a tentative quit date of May 1st. The actual quit date would be determined by when I started my Chantix because you can smoke during the first seven days while it builds up in your system.

I had my Dr. appointment on Thursday. She wrote me a prescription and I figured I would fill it on Friday. I knew I needed to wait until my direct deposit had gone in because I was not sure how much this was going to cost me. I found out on Friday that this will cost me $85 a month. No problem I spend about $90 a month on cigarettes so I will save five dollars a month. The pharmacy didn't have any Chantix on hand though so that meant I  could not pick it up until today.

  I was so excited to finally have my prescription that I had to take a picture of it. I take the first pill in the morning. That means my official quit date is May 8, 2012

Where's my Windows Live Writer?

I am loving my new netbook but I can't seem to figure out how to get Windows Live Writer on it. Now that it is so much more convenient to be on the computer I am hoping to share a little more of what is on my mind. I know that it has been a long time since I last blogged. One might suggest that is an indicator of an empty mind. The reality is a lot of frustration due to an over loaded brain and a couple of teenagers always on my desktop.