Health choices

saresimsr36
saresimsr36 Posts: 128 Member
in Motivation and Support
I recently had a major wake up call to my health and way of life. I went camping, in tents, with my teenagers. They loved it and I suffered. I'm too young to be this old. I have been planning life changes for a while but they never seem to surpass the plan stage.
I finally put those plans into motion. My daughter and I signed up for a 5k walk/run at the end of November. I downloaded the c25k app. I went to the doctor for a checkup who said my life can go downhill fast if I dont make changes. We made a weightloss plan that starts aggressive and then moves into a slower, more sustainable plan. Then I filled a prescription for a stop smoking aid and set a final quit date 8 days from today.
Changes are not going to happen unless I finally do something about it. I get the feeling I'm not alone.

Replies

  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 557 Member
    saresimsr36 wrote: »
    I recently had a major wake up call to my health and way of life. I went camping, in tents, with my teenagers. They loved it and I suffered. I'm too young to be this old. I have been planning life changes for a while but they never seem to surpass the plan stage.
    I finally put those plans into motion. My daughter and I signed up for a 5k walk/run at the end of November. I downloaded the c25k app. I went to the doctor for a checkup who said my life can go downhill fast if I dont make changes. We made a weightloss plan that starts aggressive and then moves into a slower, more sustainable plan. Then I filled a prescription for a stop smoking aid and set a final quit date 8 days from today.
    Changes are not going to happen unless I finally do something about it. I get the feeling I'm not alone.

    True, and also true. :)

    I wish you the very best.
  • sweetbe44
    sweetbe44 Posts: 195 Member
    Good for you! You can do this!
  • Pamela_Sue
    Pamela_Sue Posts: 563 Member
    saresimsr36 wrote: »
    I went to the doctor for a checkup who said my life can go downhill fast if I dont make changes. We made a weightloss plan that starts aggressive and then moves into a slower, more sustainable plan. Then I filled a prescription for a stop smoking aid and set a final quit date 8 days from today.
    Changes are not going to happen unless I finally do something about it. I get the feeling I'm not alone.

    Congrats on choosing to live a healthy life. And no, you are definitely not alone. I am bumping up your post in the hope other people see your post and can respond better than I. I noticed that you are working with your doctor on an aggressive weight loss (to start), but that you are also quitting smoking. I have never been a smoker, but my concern for you is taking on both weight loss and quitting smoking at the same time. Both can be challenging, and even harder to do simultaneously.

    Other posters - can you offer any suggestions or advice to @saresimsr36 to help her be successful in her journey with tackling both weight loss and quitting smoking at the same time?
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Good for you for committing to make changes! I’m glad you’re going all this under the guidance of your doctor. My concern is if you’re taking on too much at once to be as successful as you’d like. Losing weight and stopping smoking are HUGE mental and physical changes. Both are needed of course. If you’re not seeing the success you’d like, talk to your doctor about phasing in more gradually. Perhaps lose weight for 3 months, then focus on maintaining while you tackle smoking cessation. After you’ve been successful at that for a few months, resume a slow rate of weight loss. Just a thought. Good luck to you!
  • SoleTrainer60
    SoleTrainer60 Posts: 180 Member
    I am very proud of you. You seem to be on the right track. Good luck on the 5K. I am doing a 5 K on September 1st. This will be my second one. I didn’t expect to place, but got 3rd place in my age division. I am 63 years old. I’m sure you will do fine. 😊👍
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    There is a group that started c25k in July. I’ll tag you in the thread since I found it encouraging to track alongside others on the same journey. It’s not unusual to have to repeat weeks in the program. Go slowly to avoid injury. It’s a great program
  • GraceTutt
    GraceTutt Posts: 7 Member
    Saresimsr36, you can do both. It will be a challenge but it is very possible. I quit smoking 15 years ago cold turkey. I didn’t use any type of stop smoking aid. I stumbled a couple of times in the first few days but I got past it. I haven’t had a craving since and even during the toughest times I didn’t pick them back up.
    The discipline needed for stopping smoking and changing your eating is the same. You can do this.
  • alphgym
    alphgym Posts: 10 Member
    Try to notice and be totally aware of the good changes are happening to you physicaly and mentaly..because I'm sure you will start noticing that you love and like things to be better around you, remember every moment you feel great because of your quiting and changing your food. Always remind your self that this is who you are better. Really great and perfect.
    Keep going you are great
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,094 Member
    I agree that it'll be a tough challenge to quit smoking, start working out, and change eating habits. Having said that, I'm an all-or-nothing person too so I get the mindset, just don't give up and forgive yourself of any setbacks. I think each change works well with the other. When I was still smoking and worked out, I was able to breathe a lot better, you'll feel results of quitting pretty fast when exercising. Obviously eating healthy will help with giving you the nourishment to heal from smoking and provide energy for workouts. Exercise will help with cravings and getting out stress, I was a mess the first couple weeks! Keep snacks on hand like cut-up vegetables and fruits once you quit, itll help with munchie cravings from not smoking. Sounds stupid but one trick I did when craving a cig was "smoking" through a straw. Best of luck to you, you can do this!
  • jessiedawn8400
    jessiedawn8400 Posts: 37 Member
    @saresimsr36 I've done both successfully at the same time. It is completely possible and just takes a little extra work. The biggest part of weight gain with quitting smoking is because you replace the hand to mouth motion with food.... just make wiser food choices when doing this, and plan for it in your calorie allowance. Choose celery sticks and baby carrots over sweets (easier said than done, but it's doable). Also you can cut straws to the length of a cigarette and use those. Chewing on toothpicks also works great as well as sugar-free gum. Your mindset will be 95% of the battle. Write down all the reasons you want to make these changes and keep a list close to you to look at when the going gets tough. Take a time out to reflect on the progress you've made when you feel like giving up. You'll only have to go through that progress again. And if you do slip up, use that as a learning experience as to why. Have plans to deal with your triggers. There's a quit smoking app called QuitNow. It has a great (most of the time) community on it. I suggest downloading the free version and giving it a try. There are many helpful people on there.
  • saresimsr36
    saresimsr36 Posts: 128 Member
    I'm proud to say I'm on day 3, and I've gone from a pack and a half of smokes a day to half. Daily I'm losing interest in smoking. Additionally, I'm sticking to my eating and exercise. I feel good. I love the comments you guys are very helpful.

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