Well its been two weeks now and I think this might be getting easier! My Cessation Nation app states its been 14 days, 12 hours and 43 minutes since I last had a smoke. If I had chosen not to stop smoking I would have smoked 290 cigarettes (a pack a day) in these two weeks. Most importantly I have saved $94.45 by not buying cigarettes however that number is distorted because I have spend quite a few dollars on mints, gum and sunflower seeds. As mentioned it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be and this is a bit scarry on my part. Being around smokers hasn't bothered me in the least as I have now drove with my wife smoking in the car, sat next to her as she smoked and am able to walk out to the smoking area at work all without being tempted. This worries me because I feel the cravings should be stronger when in these situations and they are not. Am I crazy for thinking this or still holding on to something that isn't there? I have not been out drinking (don't really drink a lot) but I know this is the big trigger as it is for everyone. I did come down with a sore throat Friday afternoon and it's still bothering me a bit today. I thought we were supposed to feel better and get sick less when not smoking. Has anyone else got sick a week or so into quitting? It started out as a dry cough and I thought it was more of a nicotine cough like in the past where I would have a cigarette and it would be gone. Needless to say I have had more Ricola cough drops than my cinnamon drops the last few days. The sore throat peaked Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning I set out to mow the lawn. Soon after starting this I knew it was something I should have put off until I was better as it really caused me to cough up some stuff that I believe was from smoking. So with not feeling well over the weekend it was a pretty relaxing weekend. I rarely call off work but if I was still a smoker today would have been one of them. My thought process was with me not feeling good I would be more tempted to think of smoking if I were at home laying in bed. Since quitting it seems like every decision I make I have to consider "smoking" somewhere into it and this really bugs me. I also need to mention that I have stepped up my walking as well. Mid last week I took a look at my "health app" on the phone after thinking I'm not as active and to my surprise I wasn't doing anything. Looking at the history it showed during my work day I averaged 3000 steps as a smoker and as a non-smoker I was averaging 1100 steps. This was terrible and last Thursday I fixed this and now have a goal to average 4000 steps during my time at work. Following this blog I am getting off my butt and gonna walk a bit as I feel its' been a bit since getting up. Almost forgot something I am so PROUD of, I haven't gained any weight! I guess those mints, gum and seeds are really helping. This was a big concern of mine as I was at my target weight right before I made the decision to quit. Well, I hope everyone else is having a great day and managing to survive without a smoke. Remember if I can do this anyone can!
