Got through the weekend with a lot less cigarettes smoked. I use a small ashtray that on Sunday morning is busting with butts by 10am and gets emptied a few times a day. Last night I dumped it half full after all day of mostly vaping.
Not chain smoking with coffee was a huge deal. I was on my second cup before lighting up. So I got through a weekend, but back to work meant more habits to change. As the commute ensued I vaped like I had all weekend. Instead of 5-8 on the 2 hour commute it was 3 today. I enjoyed one after breakfast and two on the way to work.
Now at work my truck is my office. While walking about the pack of cigs is back at the mobile office. I vape instead. Now the habit is to return to said mobile office and have a smoke. Great when I'm out in the field for hours at a time. Lately the time away from the mobile office had been short spurts. Leave truck, leave cigarettes. Go back to truck, light one up....every ten minutes or so lately. It's why by noon an empty pack opened that morning was becoming the norm. A habit that needed breaking.
Today was hot. I work with lame-o types who require absolute comfort year round. Me? I'm more old school and figure shade is all I need. So while others duck'd in and out of their vehicles every ten minutes I hung out in the shade away from my cigarettes while they whimpered about the heat. It aint hot here yet. But a drastic change of heat and humidity has people melting like Frosty the Snowman when that dastardly dude had him in the greenhouse.
I did keep returning to my truck for water. But did not light up most times. Now one fellow who works with me is trying to quit. He struggles badly. Today homee was wearing a patch and chewing nic gum. At one point while I was smoking, the aroma drifted his way. He pulled out his stash of three and lit one up. I said "sorry brutha" when he said smelling mine caused a fatal urge as he called it. Later he lit up another. I was 500 yards from my cigarettes. I puff, puff, puff'd my vape on that one. Marlboro smell really good to a smoker.
One habit I picked up in high school some 35+ years ago is never ask another person for a cigarette. Now if I was is combat with bullets and bombs everywhere, hell yeah I'd ask my brother in arms for a smoke. But today the breeze was blowing, the sky was Carolina Tarheel blue and loaded with puffy clouds. The air smelled clean, sounds of birds nearby and I had a tastey treat coming from a nicotine vape device. I do not know if the heat was the reason my struggling coworker was so pale or if it was the patch/nic gum combo. But homee was looking pretty ill by 2 o'clock.
The lame-o's also cannot go more than a few hours without food. We skipped lunch. They require restaurant food. I keep a cooler with leftovers and have peanuts, pretzels and other quicker-picker-upper's with me. So at one point a parade of us moved our trucks from point A to say E or F. IE long enough journey to eat a dozen custom baked peanuts in the shell. I have a recipe to cook them at 329 degrees for 29 minutes and pour into a ziplock fresh from the oven. They end up slightly over done and taste awesome. So while the parade went from A to F I also managed to drink a quart of sugarless sports drink.
At 3:00 Pm I was fresh as a daisey while my coworkers half my age appeared to be in sad shape. I really think not smoking in the heat paid big dividends today. I left for work with about 15 in a pack and at 5pm still had 2 left. That was about a 50% reduction as of lately. And I learned some trigger habits to change for the rest of this week.
When I started this thread a carton was a week supply. Soon after it was cut in half. Then cut in half again. A carton lasted up to 3 weeks. Then slowly things went backward. In April a carton was not lasting the week anymore. Last week I had two packs left at the end of the week. I knew then I can repeat last years goal and with lessons learned knowledge can meet my goal of no more cigarettes while using low nicotine content vaper juice.
I got this tiger by the tail again. Slowly that dang thing had me whipped in the spring of this year. But guess what you so-n-so...your days are numbered buddy.
My coffee is now decaf and has been for about a year. My doctor used the D word citing insulin resistance. So decaf coffee is now sugarless. Sugarless sports drinks, low calorie juices, way more green leafy stuff in my diet, either working out with household items as weights, calistinics or brisk walking (or combo of) 5-6 days a week, various nuts and high fiber treats throughout the days, are all normal habits. My belt is seemingly longer now and it aint because it stretched. I wore shorts this weekend not comfy for ten years. They weren't loose by any means. But they fit comfy. If I was to have a burger n fries I have a burger n fries...with a Dr. Pepper. But my shadow no longer looks like a pear setting on toothpicks. More like a bowling pin. But progress is showing. I imagine when the carbon monoxide no longer flows through my veins all day the energy level will get even better.
Turns out my struggling coworker is married to a quarrelsome gal who demands he stop smelling like cigarettes. Poor guy. He was struggling so badly today. A really friendly chap who really tries to appear laid back. But while my tiger was in submission mode all day today his was tearing him from limb to limb. He believes the hype that vaping is worse than cigarettes...because his wife says so... I asked how much he smoked before trying to quit. He said 5-10 a day. I thought to myself "dude it aint the lack of nicotine that has you all tense it that snarling woman you married" but I don't dare say that. I just thank my lucky stars Mrs. Fixer is supporting enough to say "smoke if you wanna smoke, quit if you wanna quit" (as she lights up a great smelling RJ Reynolds product.
