El Bandito

Secret here Colleen is perhaps to give up whacking the head? Heard good things about the UP. I'm sure that weight will fly back off you. Weight has broken through 270 for me (heading the right way) and a good workout this morning. sun has got his hat (and gloves and scarf) on, so La Bandita and I are going to wrap up warm, wrap the dog up warm and take him for a long walk. La Bandita is taking a Pilates class tomorrow, so more gym time for me!

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Great work. congratulations Chrys. Excellent.

Woooooohoooooooo! Great work Lace! fantastic achievement. Hugs and cookies all around.

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Yahoooooooooooooooo.....NOPE. Hmmmmm...why would Rez want to yell? Oh...I know ;-)

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Probably just a cold Evelyn. Lots of sleep, hot tea. Keep marching, you are doing great.

All quiet in Southern England..

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Ok, so a couple of weeks on. That little thing called Christmas just about passed now.. :-) Was at the gym for the fifth time today. Light workout with weights, some fat burning and a swim. (Nice bit of sauna and jacuzzi in there too). I have found a decent gym and have been given a program to break me back in (as it were!) I'm still a long way from a triathlete, but I am enjoying my visits. The dog was kind enough to buy La Bandita and I a Nutribullet for Christmas, and I gave that a runout today. For the uninitiated this is a kind of blender/juicer machine. The idea is that you half fill the cup with greens and then add fruit. The resulting smoothie is packed full of vitamins and nutrients. The fruit half wipes out the greens taste, so the taste is pretty good so far. There is a complete diet plan that comes with the machine, but for the moment, I'm just going to make one of these smoothies my standard breakfast and go from there. Progress. Jeans are looser, maybe a size down next time that I buy. Weight down a couple of pounds, even with Christmas, so pleased about that. Feeling relaxed, looking forward to the gym again tomorrow.

NURSE! Cold towels....

Most definitely great news! It'll be a breeze Joe. These medical folk know what they are at. And no more back pain! That's gotta be good! Great little story on the questionnaire....well done you!

Thank you all very much! 11 months today for me La B in a few days. Who would have thunk it? Pip...keep going on the drams...I'll get there eventually!

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Jen.there is no timetable. Some folk quit and never look back. Some find week x easy and month y a challenge. It's personal. How we find it is controlled by us. There is no external agency. The nicotine dependency disappears pretty quickly, the rest is 'in the mind' I'm at 11 months now. I smoked anywhere from a pack to three packs a day for 30 years. I am happier now than I was then. Do I sometimes feel like I want a cigarette? Yep. Same way that I sometimes feel like killing another driver...(I dont do either!) I do not pretend to have all the answers JC. There is no fixed date. Just quit one day at a time. Focus on rejoicing that you have quit for an hour, for two, for a day, for a weekend, for a week...it IS better not smoking than smoking. Honest.

Brrrrrrrr.... All clear here. La B and I had a smoker come by for a drink and a catch up. Eventually, I got so bored with the 'pause' in conversation, that I went out with her...felt nothing but pity. Good news is she is quitting in the New Year!

Hey Rowly! On vacation by the sea....if that's a rough time, what do you do for a good time? I'm sorry things are not going to plan, but well done on staying off the smokes. that is a definite win that you should feel good about. I had a nice chilled Christmas. Today, La Bandita is back to work, so I'm going shopping for fruit and veg for my Nutribullet (present) and then off to the gym. Feeling righteous!

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It's a big fat NOPE from me

Hey JC. That was an excellent practice quit. Some hurdles were jumped, some triggers faced and some craves defeated. All in all excellent work. Then you smoked. That's kind of not good in the quitting smoking game. Still, the trick is to learn from the experience, memorise the feeling of disappointment and most importantly to assess all of the ways that you now feel better for smoking. All of those wonderful feelings of being conflicted, disappointed, a failure....all of those are provided (at a cost) by cigarettes. Bottle those feelings. You will need to remember them. They will help in your quit. I am not qualified to comment on depression, but I'm pretty certain that it is not linked with smoking. The quit is the quit. Every day you and me make a decision. Today, I will smoke, or Today I will not smoke. "I will never smoke again" and other grand statements are fantastic for some people, but too big for me. TODAY I choose not to smoke. So, soak the smokes and bin them. Smile Choose not to smoke today. We are all right here for you Jen. I believe in you.

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