Originally Posted by
daintonj
A years worth of cigarettes will buy you a race worthy bike or an amazing audax bike. If you smoked 20 a day in the UK you'd have £6 * 365 = £2190 which would get you a really nice CF or Ti bike. .
This has been a huge incentive for my husband and me. We quit @ 21 years ago and still make a point to buy a cigarette present for ourselves in November, value up to the cost of 1 year of cigarettes which is currently close to $2000 per year. I've got new appliances in the kitchen, corian countertops, and refaced cabinets for the cost of 3 years of cigs. He's got a carbon trek road bike, cameras, a dell laptop, etc.
Yes, you'll gain weight much more easily after you've quit. So quit first and after 3 to 6 months begin using the same strategies you used to quit cigs on your diet.
Here's a couple of tips that helped me:
Get a lung volume assessment from your pcp and remeasure after a few weeks and then months. I went from 75% to nearly 100%. My husband is above 100% for his age/size/gender. There's proof positive that you are doing something that benefits your health.
Check your watch when you get a cigarett craving and then again in 3 minutes. Virtually everytime the craving will be gone before the 3 minutes are up. Think in terms of 'I only have to do without a cigarette for 3 minutes and the craving will be gone." It's never forever.
If your dr can help with a scrip for a sleep aid maybe go fot it. I kept a scrip handy but never filled it as benedryl was enough to help me fall asleep the first few weeks when it was SO hard to end the day w/o a smoke.
Hang in there, you can do this. It might be one of the hardest things you've ever done (I know it was for me) but you will really be glad you did it!
Wandalynn