Boo

Welcome back Heather. The law of addiction hasn't changed since your last ride with us. The rules for building a successful quit are the same as before. Quitting is a process. It takes a bit of time to rewire the brain from the years of addiction and conditioning that we subjected ourselves to. Commit to the quit and be relentless with that commitment. The freedom gained by quitting is worth the effort and then some.

Kilograms?!? My baby is an American!

Welcome aboard Sumanth. Just like quitting smoking is a process so too is getting your body ready for the rigors of "voluntary hardship" on the body. Take it from someone who learned the hard way: going too hard too fast with the exercise only to end up injured is the wrong way to go. Start out with intervals where you run a certain distance and walk a certain distance. That is a good place to start. I also highly recommend strength training. Barbell training is great. If you don't have access to a bar and plates, bodyweight exercises provide excellent returns. Exercise was a big part of the equation for me. However, I also made frequent use of deep breathing exercises to reset the mind and body when needed. My go-to breathing exercise was: (1) Inhale deeply through the nose for a count of four. (2) Hold the breath for another count of four. (3) Exhale slowly from the mouth for a count of eight. Typically, after a few repetitions of 4-4-8 breathing I felt much calmer and good to go. Good call. Congratulations on making a great decision for yourself.

Good job Sirius. Congratulations.

I went down to the crossroads... In fact, we all went to the crossroads when we quit smoking. Made a big decision. Saw a promising path before us but had to put the mileage of the other path in the rear view. New paths always seem unnatural and make us question ourselves a bit. In time, you build confidence with the knowledge that you are going the right way. Then you just hammer down and enjoy the ride. Buckle up, knuckle down, and drive on.

Congratulations on 8 smokefree weeks Amierouge. Keep up the daily walks. Watch what you eat. And drink plenty of water. You mentioned being nervous. There is no better treatment for anxiety than a bit of exercise. You can burn some calories and calm your nerves with a nice walk. A two-for-one bundle deal.

Do you act on every urge you have? I bet you don't. Why should the urge to smoke or vape be treated any differently than every other urge? The urges will be there, addiction is like that. When the urge to smoke or vape hits, you have a decision to make...just like you do to act or not act on any other urge. Choose wisely. Choose freedom. Welcome aboard the Quit Train John.

Many of the same rules apply in kicking an addiction regardless of the vice. "Something clicked and I was over it." That moment will happen for you in regards to cigarettes as well. For me, it hit in a flash. I started asking myself some questions and the answers were right there. For others, it was more of a gradual process; simply realizing that they had gone for days without any serious cravings or really thinking about smoking at all. We all had our moment and you will too. Some days throw a lot more at you than others...better days are ahead.

It is a federal holiday here in the good ol' U.S of A. Most of us get the day off from work. We head outside for some fun in the sun and later enjoy a variety of grilled meats. This is also a day of remembrance. A good time to take a pause and pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in duty to their country. Remember and honor...

Congratulations Jeff. You are building a quit that is built to last.

This is just between us...I know a guy that can get you snickerdoodles. You know...if you really want to get crazy.

Congratulations Jenny. The Count approves.

During the first week of my quit, I was getting ready for work one morning. As I was putting on my shoes, something didn't feel quite right. Pants...I forgot to put on my pants. The fog clears and eventually you will see things clearer than you have in a long time. The fogginess is a phase most, if not all, of us had to stumble and bumble through. You've made great progress Mona. Clear skies are ahead for you.

Watched the documentary "Fastball" last night. It is a deep-dive into the fastball from the perspective of pitchers, batters, and umpires. The film breaks down the physics of the pitch, the physiology of the pitch, and the psychology of the pitch. The film even goes into the neuroscience involved in a batter reacting to a fastball. It's not all science stuff. Fastball goes into detail about who threw the fastest pitch on record. The fastball Aroldis Chapman threw that was clocked at 105 miles-per-hour was thought to be the gold standard of fastballs. However, Chapman's pitch was clocked fifty feet from home plate. Back in 1974 when they used radar to clock Nolan Ryan's fastball at 100.8 miles-per-hour the pitch was measured ten feet from home plate. A physicist made the adjustments necessary to figure out how fast Ryan's pitch would have been travelling at a distance of fifty feet from home plate (where Chapman's pitch was measured) and estimated that Ryan's fastball was travelling at 108 miles-per-hour. This film isn't for everybody, but if you're a bit of a baseball geek and find yourself missing the game more and more with each passing day, I highly recommend giving Fastball a watch.

Got our first real feel of heat and humidity today, right on cue for the "unofficial start of Summer."

Congratulations Mona.

I thought about cigarettes and smoking constantly in the early days of my quit. The obsessive thoughts diminished with time. Eventually those thoughts vanished completely. I had serious doubts about whether I could quit permanently. Now I can't even imagine smoking another cigarette. Quitting is a process. You are still in the baptism by fire stage right now...it gets better with time. Hang in there Jeff. You are going in the right direction.

Congratulations on three months of freedom Kate.

Feeling good about myself. I shaved my face last night and was finally able to get a haircut this morning. Hadn't had a haircut since this whole virus business kicked off. I had a look going that was a cross between Grizzly Adams and a mad scientist. I may not have Hollywood "leading man" good looks, but at least I look a little less like the Unabomber now.

Bring it in Ozzy.

She's telling the truth. Our addiction is our own creation. It has as much or as little power as we give it. As long as we fed it, its force was strong. When we stopped feeding it, it wilted away in time. Accepting a few basic truths can change your world.

If 2020 is going to have a theme song, I nominate this one...

Dammit! I wish I had some words of wisdom to offer but I don't think "do farmer's walks" or "go outside and chop some wood" are applicable in the case of gallstones. I couldn't find the get well soon card I was looking for, but here's a Birthday card I sent to Doreen. Hope it lifts your spirits.