Well its 9wks since I had my ‘last’ cigarette. I have to say that I feel fantastic, my fitness just gets better and better. I spoke to my trainor in the gym and I started to write down all I was eating to sort out my weight gain.. Im happy to report that due to reduced portion sizes and eating really healthy ive actually lost weight.
It really can be done if you have a positive head on it.. Its funny  because now I hardly think about a cigarette at all, Im focused on my fitness and the only thing keeping me from allowing any thoughts of cigarette is the hunger for living and hoping that Ive not done to much damage to my body after all these years of neglect and abuse with cigarettes..
Im so glad I went cold turkey because it really isnt as ‘awful’ as I thought, and now Ive no nicotine in my body and it was just my head that I had to control and still control..

If I could bottle up how good I feel I would, I just hope that im around for a long time to reap the benefits of my new healty lifestyle.

Good luck to anyone who is on the ‘stop smoking’ journey.. dont give up, you CAN do it..

Emer

Well Ive nearly completeld 6wks..

Still single and loving it.. My fitness level has increased.  My only concern is that even though I am watching what I am eating and working out (big time) every day in the gym or running outside if the weather is nice, and Im still putting on weight.. How long does it take for my metabolism to correct itself..????

Other than the small weight gain (around 4lb) I feel I am doing great and it is so nice that you would take the time to mail me on my progress, thank you Colin…

I realised the other day when I walked past a person who had just lite a cigarette and It smelt lovely, that I realised that I always loved the smell even as a child, maybe it was  because my uncle used to smoke and I adored him, I suppose its like people who like the smell of freshly cut grass… so I now have to just let the smell just be a ‘smell’ rather than  a need to have a cigarette.It was like a light blub went off in my head.

Dont get me wrong I know after 23yrs of smoking Il never be out of the woods and will be like what an alcolholic must feel like, that I can NEVER have even one.!! But I know that if I keep myself busy and keep my thoughts always positive I should be ok..The benefits of stopping strongly outweigh being a slave to Nicotine again…

Well Folks,

Week 4…

I am now starting my 4th week off Cigarettes without any Nicotine replacement products. Im not saying they dont work for people Im just chuffed that Ive gone this long (cold turkey) and know that Im getting any Nicotine in my system. I have a had a few ‘oh god’ moments like on a friday when I finished work and my first thought was a cig and then I remembered that I couldnt and I actually felt slightly down, but I knew it would pass, and went food shopping and it did pass.. Im chuffed I got through the weekend again without smoking…

Good luck to everyone giving up. I was a 20 pack a day smoker, sometimes more..I used to set my alarm clock at 7.30am so I could have a coffee and about 4 cigs before getting my daughters lunch ready for school (mental, I know)..and then proceed to ‘reward’ myself for nearly every thing I did to have a cig… I know everyone says it but after 23yrs of smoking, If I can do it, seriously ‘ANYONE’ can..

Best of luck.

Emer

Well Christmas is well over and yes the weight has pilled on over the month or so of eating and drinking during the festive season…

Well the question is what is one going to do about it? You have a number of options, but these will all probably lead you back to the same conclusion and that is? The weight wont magically fall off its self  and no amount of mad diets will help unless you put in the effort to

Get up, Get out, And Get Active..

I am not going to preach about the right and the wrong way to do this, truth is we all have different ideas about what will and wont work. But i am fairly sure we can all do this together and come out the other side

Healthier, Fitter and Happier..

Through healthy eating and increasing your exercise i am confident this can and will happen, So over the next number of weeks i am going to go through healthy eating recipes that you will enjoy and and number of activities that anyone can manage.

I want everyone to try it, I’m not looking for miracle results we all know what its like to lose it just to put it back on again. I would love your input i want you to be part of this  lets do this together. And remember its not We can do it, We will do it.

Send your thoughts, comments, ideas and weight lose stories to me @ colinthebronc@gmail.com

In march 2010, the american house of Representatives gave final approval to a healthcare overhaul, extending coverage to nearly all us citizens. the bill was approved by 219 to 212 votes.

Health coverage will extend to 32 million Americans,  expand the government health plan for the poor, impose new taxes on the wealthy and eliminate discrimination by health insurance company’s.

But not everyone agrees with this bill, every republican opposed the bill along with 34 democrats, but i neither republican, democrat or even american can see this as being a good plan for the american people. One may wonder why i would even comment on something that has nothing got to do with me, well they would probably be right it has nothing to do with me but let me compare the Irish model to it.

The fact of the matter is in Ireland we have a choice whether or not to have health insurance, which under this new bill Americans will loose  and be forced into having insurance. but will probably be  looked after better. In Ireland if you don’t have  health insurance it will be along time before you are looked after no matter how serious your complaint is.It is not uncommon for people with medical insurance to be seen months before people with a medical card.I myself was ushered past a line of people waiting to be seen in hospital because i have health insurance and these people simply couldn’t afford it, hardly seems fair..

With the american model the government will be in a position to negotiate with insurance companies for lower premiums which will benefit the customer greatly, also with the elimination of pre-existing conditions it opens up the market for everyone.I know the argument among Americans will be the cost of health insurance and whether or not people can afford to pay for it, well count yourselves lucky, because in Ireland its not a question of can you afford to have insurance its a question of can you afford not to have it.

People might also fault the bill on the fact that if you don’t get heath insurance  you will have a tax increase of 2% and yes this does seem unfair to tax the poor further but with the competition in the market increasing one would hope that prices will fall to a level within  everybody’s reach, In Ireland granted we receive tax relief on our health insurance premiums but really this is of little use due to the lack of competition in the market and the fact that year on year health insurance premiums are rising. It is getting harder every week to pay out for health insurance due to the economic climate at present but we have to keep it going for the fear of being sick in this country without insurance is to great.

I firmly believe that as one says your “health is your wealth“, and at least with the obama healthcare overhaul all Americans are getting a chance to have a fair one tier health system that if given the chance to work i believe will become a model for other countries to work from.

Unlike Ireland where at present hospital is no place for a sick person…

comments or emails to colinthebronc@gmail.com

So You Want To Make Money From Blogging….

When i started out over 6 months ago on my quest to quit smoking i thought to myself what can i do to help myself and others quit. As the first few days passed i thought of the idea of this blog in the hope that if i could quit, Then maybe you could too, And guess what from that day to this i haven’t smoked on cigarette.

Each day as i finished work i would be thinking of things to write that night that might be helpful to others quitting basically my experiences in my aim to quit smoking. Now for starters.. I had never written anything along these lines before and must admit i was wandering into the unknown.But it really helped me quit.

After i realized i was getting over a thousand hits a month and numerous emails from people thanking me and sharing there quit smoking stories with me i decided it was time for adds and to experiment and see if it was possible to make money from blogging…..

Well i suppose the title of this article kinda gives the end of this story away, I went down all the right channels, Got all the best advice from the experts, Got ads placed on my blog, Now i did get plenty of hits but not one cent entered my bank account. Why? Well i am not quite sure really maybe its the way they are placed, Maybe they are the wrong type of ads, Maybe they are of no interest to anyone or maybe its just the current times we live in. Or maybe i am just not cut out to be a blogger. I never set out to make money and i suppose if i am being honest probably never believed i could, But there are numerous bloggers out there making a good living from this and i suppose if one put in the time they could also make a living, but as for me i am quite happy working away in the knowledge that

Yes i have quit smoking,

Yes i do feel a lot healthier,

Yes i have helped others quit,

And yes i have more money in my pocket ,

So at the end of the day does it matter if you make money from your blog? Me well  i don’t think so i have a better lifestyle now and have that few extra pound that was being wasted on smoking so i feel like it has worked for me….

feel free comment or email your questions to colinthebronc@gmail.com

HELP OTHERS QUIT SMOKING…..

People may well be put off quitting smoking because its hard to do or its not the right time to quit, Well they are right its never easy quitting anything if it was we would all be at it, And as for it not being the right time well is it ever the right time…

I quit smoking 6 months ago and as you can see from reading the articles in the rest of this blog it wasn’t easy but in saying that it wasn’t all that real hard either, The main thing to get right when you consider quitting smoking is ” You Must Want To Quit” if you don’t  want to quit you wont….

So what do you do? how do you get to the stage where you want to quit? Well that answer is different for everyone, nearly everyone that contacted me in there efforts to quit had different reasons but they all came back to 3 main areas

1) Health there own or there childrens

2) Money

3) What others thought

I know your wondering about number 3 well its actually true look around you the next time you light up a cigarette in the shopping mall or restaurant you will get looks from the people sitting next to you or the people passing by. The truth of the matter is that things have changed, Its no longer acceptable to smoke in places we used to, Why should passers by breath in our second hand smoke….

As for number 1 and 2 well they kinda speak for themselves. Do you really want to let your family see you suffer endlessly before you die…. Death is one of the hardest things we will ever have to deal with during our lives why then add prolonged agony to ourselves our family and our friends all because of a bit of pleasure we get from smoking a weed.

Take one look around you and tell me what difference 2 or maybe 3 thousand euro, dollars or pounds would make to your life? Home improvements, Change the car or that long awaited holiday you promised yourself now take the amount of money you spend on cigarettes on a daily basis multiply it by 7 and now for the big shock multiply it by 52……. yes thats the amount of money you are putting up in smoke each year..

Now what i want to  do is get as many people as possible to try to quit smoking before Christmas, Tell your friends and family on board use my articles on quitting smoking in 7 days or any means possible but do try

I will help anyone for free in anyway i can help, i will post each story on this blog in the hope it might help others quit so feel free to email me @ colinthebronc@gmail.com and most of all best of luck

2 WEEKS IN MARTINIQUE…..

Well since my fat 2 fit didnt work might as well give a run down on martinique

Where do i start once the initial long haul flight is over your in for quite a suprise. This carribean island placed between st lucia and guadeloupe is quite small only approx 50 miles by 30, It is quite easy get around i hired a car even though i wasnt looking forward to driving on the right hand side of the road, But once you make sure you are sitting in your car and are on the white line you should be ok

So what to do when you get here….Well there are some lovely drives to take and beachs to visit, So once you sit down take a look at your map and plan your days well you will have a great time, Although other drivers are inclined to drive very close to you pass no remarks on them as there are alot of speed traps on every route, you can split your travels into 3 days taking in a differant route each day so as you dont over do it and also you want to leave something for each day dont get carried away thinking you have to see everything on day one. Car hire is quite reasonable we hired ours from A CAR RENTAL LTD there website is www.lesilesalacarte.com well worth a look.

The weather in martinique can be quite random so make use of the sun when its out especially during the rainny season, It might well be sunny in one part of the island and have tunderstorms in another part. And when it rains boy does it rain. but dont be fooled by the cloud cover the sun is so strong it will burn you through the cloud.

As you travel through the island you will come across several rum distillerys which is a big part of martiniques history dont be afraid to try it you will like it, There are so many resturaunts that you will stumble across they might not look like much from the outside but be assured you will walk away full and quite happy with what you have had to eat.There are plenty of water sports on the island to suit everyone you will come across these on any of the costal routes.

But beware of one thing you will get bitten quite alot,,, so be sure to spray yourself well with anti-moustiques which you will find in most shops the one i used came in a can and is called OFF it is quite good.

French is mostly spoken which can be quite hard when ordering food or looking for directions but the island is well sign posted and people are very friendly. Also the euro is used so for alot of people traveling here it means you dont need to get used to a differant currency.

So enjoy the island should you venture that far and feel free to leave me a comment

TIME TO START AGAIN….

Well that didnt really work…… Right i may have lost some weight but nothing like what i had thought maybe  i didnt put enough effort in… Maybe i thought the weight would just fall off well it dosent, Far from it right i cycled my 20k a day….. Well when i say day i mean most days. I had planned to have lost 2 stone before my holidays and to be honest that didnt work.

So im on holidays for 2 weeks and even though its coming into the winter or fall im going to start again i am off the cigarettes nearly 6 months now and i do feel the better of it, I would still like to lose some more weight and get that little bit fitter… so here it goes again

FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION…..