It’s been a year of changes for me. My biggest achievement being the fact that I am now officially a non-smoker. I am absolutely thrilled with this as I have been smoking since I was 15. Now I know that if you have never smoked you probably won’t get why I am so thrilled with this achievement, but for those that know the struggles faced when quitting this dreadful habit, I just wanted to say thanks for all your support and kind words.
image credit: cafepress.com
Quit Smoking – My Journey
I decided back in July of 2014 that I was going to quit. My mother going on holidays, that month, gave me the final push I needed as it was normal for her to bring me home a ten pack of tobacco which would provide me with free smoking till at least November. It was a big decision to make but I had been saying for a while that I was going to quit and use the e-cig that my husband had purchased. I finished off my tobacco and that was it. I began using my e-cig and loved it. I didn’t miss cigarettes at all. I didn’t have withdrawal as I was still getting my nicotine, but I wasn’t getting all the smoke and other harmful chemicals. I loved not having to go outside in the rain or the cold to get my nicotine fix. My children also loved not seeing mom smoking.
Reaching My Goal With An E-cig
To cut this story short, I used my e-cig from July of last year starting with medium strength liquid. I didn’t get the strong liquid because I didn’t smoke that much anyway. It took a while to find a flavour that I loved. For me it was mint or menthol and I stuck with it. Over the months I reduced the strength of the liquid going from medium, to low and then to extra low. After this I was going to zero nicotine and it was just a matter of breaking the habit of using the e-cig. I started using zero strength liquid at the start of March and within 2 weeks I wasn’t using my e-cig at all. Once I went a week without having any nicotine in my e-cig and not noticing any difference, I realised I didn’t need it and stopped using it. Actually, if I’m honest, I felt a little silly using the e-cig knowing that all I was doing was sucking air. I may as well have been sucking on a straw. It was really just getting used to not breathing in and blowing out smoke anymore. I had also gotten used to the lovely minty sensation I received with my e-cig so I bought some mints and this did the same thing. Now when I took a deep breath, I still got the lovely minty sensation at the back of my throat. Problem solved, I didn’t need the e-cig anymore.
It has been over four weeks now of using nothing and I feel great. I have more energy. I don’t get out of breath as easily. I really do feel great. Now this isn’t totally down to quitting the nasty smoking habit; it is down to increasing my water intake and looking at my diet too. Giving up smoking is great but you do have a weight gain to content with. After doing some research I found that it was normal to put on about ½ stone (7 pounds) when you stop smoking and this is because your metabolism slows down. Increasing your heart rate boosts your metabolism and every time you have a cigarette your increase your heart rate which in turn boosts your metabolism until your heart rate goes back to normal again. So if you were someone who smoked 20 a day, you would have given your metabolism a boost 20 times throughout the day. When you stop smoking this is gone and that is where the weight gain comes from. Of course, some people do tend to substitute and replace their cigarettes with biscuits or sweets which will mean even more weight gain.
Weight Gain and No Smoking
I have to say, I didn’t notice the weight gain because of Winter and wearing jumpers and bigger clothes. It was only when I went to wear something from my wardrobe that I hadn’t worn in a while that I noticed the weight gain. My focus now is on healthy eating and getting my body back in shape. It is a journey but there are some amazing ways that you can help yourself and get the results you desire. You can start by just increasing your water intake which will help to stop you eating when you’re not hungry.
I hope to share some great apps and tips as I get my body back so hopefully you will enjoy this and I will also be letting you know about my upcoming novels and non-fiction titles for 2015.
Until next time,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
