It is August 2012. I’m rocking back and forth in my recliner, smoking a cigarette. I’m alone in my apartment, surrounded by fast-food trash. Trash on the table, trash on the floor. Trash everywhere. In between drags of my cigarette, I try to suppress a gargling cough that is creeping out of my lungs and into my throat. I do not want to cough. I do not want to be sick again. But I know I am. It is bronchitis and it is my third bout of it this year. I know that I need to quit smoking temporarily in order to get over the bronchitis. Like most smokers, I am always trying to quit. I think to myself, if I have to quit for a few days anyway, knowing that the first few days are the hardest part; maybe I should use this opportunity to quit for good. …show more content…
I lost between two to four pounds per week and everyone around me noticed. My friends and family members were so supportive and happy for me. The results I was seeing combined with the positive feedback from everyone kept me insanely motivated to keep up the hard work. I did not struggle with temptation to “cheat” or skip my workouts. I found it surprisingly easy to stay on track because it was so rewarding and fulfilling. For the first time in my life, I felt in control and empowered. By October 2013, I had lost two hundred pounds. And although I was still twenty pounds away from my goal weight, I finally looked and felt like a “normal” person. I could fit into a size twelve jeans. I was able to wear a cute Halloween costume for the first time in my life. I started dating. I ran a 5K. In the time that has passed since then, I have kept off the original two hundred pounds and lost an additional ten pounds. It’s been much harder to lose weight now that I am so close to my goal weight. I still count calories and go to the gym as often as I can. Last September I met my soulmate and we are engaged to be married. Eating healthy and staying fit are priorities for him too so we cook together and work out together. We are so happy together and feel so fortunate that we found each
The health consequences of smoking have become evident since early 1960s and numerous techniques to help smokers to become nonsmokers have started to develop. "The Behavioral Aspects of Smoking", a report of the Surgeon General first published in 1979 talks in detail about methods aided to assist smokers in the process of cessation. Sometimes it is very hard to decide which intervention strategy is the best and most useful because they vary from gimmicks to formal programs and clinics.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and worldwide (Centers for Disease Control, 2013, World Health Organization, 2008). Tobacco cessation counseling is a vital component of any public health strategy seeking to decrease mortality, disease and costs associated with smoking. To that end, the Healthy People 2020 Tobacco Use Objectives cover three main areas: reducing tobacco use, instituting health system changes, and creating social and environmental changes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Objective TU-10 falls under the category of health system changes as it seeks to open doors for patients to make quit attempts and to pursue tobacco cessation methods by increasing tobacco cessation counseling by physicians and other health care providers.
...onably far-fetched goal. When I made the goal I was binging and purging daily and after making the goal which was rather strict, my recovery turned around. The first few days I just surrounded myself with people and went places I didn't want to trek just to avoid my eating disorder behavior. Getting days under my belt became easier and easier. Then I would slip and fall for a few days and then pick myself up. I ended up reaching my goal which I MADE myself believe I could attain. That was a week ago that I reached it. I was given some confidence by that, but I continue the struggle in a different spot. I became extraneously petrified that sense I will continue to fall way back again and at times I still feel like I fall way back but so far I have been able to pick myself up and I just pray that I will continue to be able to do that. Thanks for reading and God bless.
Because you choose to take back control and live a healthier lifestyle, you choose to only breathe clean air. You smoked because it was an unconscious habit, but from this moment forward you will be intensely aware of every negative and painful consequence of smoking. You become disgusted with the smell and foul taste. Your subconscious will remind you of…. as it reminds you now …. That taste and noxious smell … so long ignored and now so powerful as not to be ignored or denied. Because you value freedom and choice, you breathe only fresh clean air now.
Jessia L, Age 27, Lost 83 LBS shares her experience and say "Nutrition was my weakest spot."
I’ve heard it all before from family and friends, “Martha, you should stop eating this or doing that”. I knew they only meant the best seeing how my blood pressure was through the roof and my ankles and knees were constantly sore. But it was still infuriating how others would make it seem like it was just so simple for me to change the lifestyle I’ve had for the past 35 years. The stress and weight piled up quickly after my messy divorce. I hit rock bottom and didn’t care much about my weight or eating habits that shaped my 5’5” 350 pound frame. However, everything changed after taking my 6 year old daughter to the fair on a Saturday morning about 2 years ago.
It is shocking to know that there are about ten people who die from smoking every single minute, and nobody seems to have any idea about it. Indeed, there is “a growing gap between the real world and the academy” since people are more intellectual about things that are irrelevant to the real life and are ignorant of things that are imperative to live in the real world (Orr 310). Did you know that there are over four hundred thousand deaths caused by cigarettes and tobacco each year in the U.S. alone? That makes it about five million deaths worldwide each year, according to “Statistics about Smoking.” Smoking is notorious for causing avoidable diseases and deaths, and yet not many institutions have develop an appropriate system to prevent cigarette and tobacco from killing millions each year. For instance, all universities promote health and wellness and many claim to be substance-free, yet they do not restrict the selling of cigarettes and tobacco in campus stores or smoking on campus. People are dying, thousands are getting hooked, and a whole population is being affected, hence it‘s urgent that a university aims to educate students to combat smoking. The ideal student will learn the immediate and long-term affects of what cigarette can do to himself and others around him, to resist peer pressure, and be capable of recognizing and resisting advertisement and media ploys. In order to achieve this, the university must provide a curriculum that includes classes such as Anatomy, Smoking Biology with seminars, Media Effects, History of Smoking, Tobacco Industry 101, and DARE with community service.
...e completely healthy attempting to avoid my punishment and then there were days where I ultimately caved and failed at eating well. On those days, I followed the rules I set in place and worked out as I said I would that evening. Part of the time my boyfriend would inevitably cause me to falter by cooking a nice fattening meal, but I don’t blame him at all considering it was up to me to make the decision to refrain from eating it. I probably didn’t do as well as I could have around lunch time or dinner but I’m glad at the fact that I did keep away from sweets and snacks throughout the entire week. I was really intrigued with getting good results for this project so I tried my hardest to actually follow the program set. Even if I don’t keep with this change after the project it’s very comforting to know I CAN eat healthy when I want and I CAN workout if I need too.
At times it is very difficult to stay on track and try not to order a soda, but I have been drinking a lot more water and my body is feeling way better than before. I personally haven’t experienced any failure yet but I do have a long ways to go, If I by chance fall off track for a week I will change the dates of my goals and start that week over. I have learned in this process that sometimes you need to go through hard times of cutting things off to live a better life. I hope that I can stick with this plan because I truly believe that I will feel better, and when you feel good you live an all-around better life
Smoking is the leading cause of death in the world. An estimated 23% of males and 18% of females smoke cigarettes. Smoking has been linked to heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and increases risk for cancer of the bladder, throat, mouth, kidney, cervix, and pancreas. In addition to the effects on the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, cigarette smoking can increase irritability, impatience, hostility, anxiety, depressed mood, and restlessness (American Heart Association, 2014). On average, those who smoke have a shorter
Chris Jantz showed me the path to losing weight. That summer, I had lost forty pounds. Chris coached me on nutrition and exercising. He told me do everything I tell you to do and I promise you will see the results you want to see. I would get up every day and eat healthy meals and exercise every day. I did not go out with friends because I was always busy exercising. I didn 't want anyone to see me anyways. I wanted it to be a huge surprise. When I started to lose weight, I started to feel confident in myself. I could lose weight. . I could feel myself changing for the better. I hated taking pictures of myself and I actually would take a picture and be happy with it. I didn 't think I was “fat” anymore. I liked myself, I felt happy with my face and my
Most times we want more than we can have. Appreciate the time you have with your loved ones, because one day they 're here and the other they 're not. "I 'm really trying to make it more than what it is, because everybody dies but not everybody lives." -Drake.
as possible. I may not be where I want to be yet, however, I am remarkably healthier,
Everyone was starting to notice that I had a problem. My wife would ask, 'Are you O.K.?' as I hacked and coughed every morning. My friends would joke about how I would run short of breath just from walking to the car. My wallet was really talking to me! Somehow I managed to lose five or six dollars a day somewhere between home and the convenience store. But the only voice I would heed had to come from within myself. Finally one day it did.
I strived desperately over the years to get back to this weight. But with a stressful and busy work life, I struggled to do so. Nothing seemed to work for me. I tried everything from diet pills to exercise machines I saw advertised on TV. I even tried crazy diets like the acai berry diet, and the green tea diet. They didn’t do anything for me. I was still overweight and considered myself ‘fat’.