Stop Smoking

It has been eleven months since my last cigarette! I don’t miss it much. There are a few times when it feels like I want one socially. But I don’t miss the smell and the taste at all. I can smell a smoker or a cigarette from a mile away now. Smokers and their clothes just stink.

The produce isle, Italian restaurants, and the lady are so much nicer now that I can smell them completely. I love it.

Step three for me is getting into health. This is not the same as quitting smoking or working out or staying away from fast food: it’s a combination of all of them.
One of the reasons I quit smoking in the first place was to begin exercising again. I started reading the Men’s Health book The Abs Diet. It promotes the following lifestyle changes:

1. Eat lots of low-fat protein
2. Eat lots of fiber
3. Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks every day
4. Do exercises that strengthen your core (abs, back, and legs)

One of the biggest problems most men have is abdominal fat. Not the fat on the belly… the fat beneath the abdominal muscles. This type of fat chokes the organs as it surrounds them and continues to grow. During periods of stress, it releases toxic chemicals that hurt the organs and pollute the bloodstream.

The Abs Diet targets this fat and provides a plan for a lifetime of fitness and health. I’m several weeks into it and it’s difficult. The lady is on it, too, as it would be very difficult for one of us to be on it while the other is not. We manage to eat really really well while on this plan. Finding new meals has proven difficult, but we’re learning. This is phase one of step three. It’s a long arduous journey, but I guess that’s life, right?