Hi Sammi I am a recent quitter and have started to put the pounds on because of it. So I ordered a Pilates Ring today and I am going to start working out as soon as it comes. (Hopefully a couple of days). Anyway, would you like to work out together? We can keep each other posted on how we are doing and then it won't feel as if we are by ourselves in this. Let me know. Good Luck and congratulations are your quit. :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 27 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 691 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $135 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 18 [B]Seconds:[/B] 15

Oh sure... I've lead a charmed life. :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/6/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 35 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 899 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $323.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 41 [B]Seconds:[/B] 1

Glad it had that effect lookingglass..... but was that because yours looks easy by comparison?...lol probably no jungle at any rate ; ) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/22/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 19 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 798 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $129.2 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 2 [B]Hrs:[/B] 17 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

That was a really uplifting post, Alohakeia! Reading it made me feel better about my own life! I think you're probably quite a person, Alohakeia. Certainly a life well worth saving! :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/6/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 35 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 897 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $323.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 19 [B]Seconds:[/B] 22

I've been missing this thread. Sammi's stories...butterfly's helpful hints..and everybody's support. I finally got up and moving this weekend. Did LOTS of yardwork. My motto is "It's a jungle out there!" Here in Hawaii everything grows so fast. The first day I filled up one truckload of just rhododendron clippings....leaves the size of...hhmmm...bigger than a basketball..I know! the size of a stop sign, and vines up to four inches in diameter and four to six feet long. Then the next day my little friend Noah and his mom came over and we did "clipping"..one of Noah's favorite things to do. We trimmed the bird of paradise plants back for hours...and filled up another truck load. I had my typical cravings as I finished each section. Before it would have been, "time for a smoke break", but instead I had some water or iced tea and then went back to work....craving vanished. I have to add that in the past I would have struggled bigtime with carrying all the cuttings up the stairs to the truck (I live on a hill), and as I was clipping, cutting, ripping, and tearing, I thought to myself that I would leave the piles for my son to carry up. Then I remembered! "I don't smoke anymore. Maybe I CAN do this". And sure enough, I did three trips up, arms overflowing with the debris, before I had to give my heart a rest. No panting though!!!!! Did that three times three the first day, then three times three the second! Yee hah!!!! But, boy was I sore after the second day...lol... Yard is looking better, but still a long way to go. Part of my decision to quit smoking was that I decided I wanted to live. For months I hadn't cared much about anything, and even at times thought "I'll just smoke myself to death." There was no great momentous event that happened, I guess I just stopped grieving the loss of a relationship, and decided to use my life more completely again. And to do that I needed to feel beter, be healthier. So here I am, 19 days cigarette-free, with an overgrown piece of property that will provide me hours of healthy exercise...lol Hope everyone else is doing great and enjoying the benefits of not smoking as much as I am -aloha [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/22/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 19 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 793 [B]Amou

I was going to say something but Butterfly Swimmer said it all. Yes, when a very overweight person starts to lose weight, there is a gain in the beginning as large amounts of fat are changed for small amounts of muscle and you can tell more with a tape measure than you can with a scale. You can add some weight lifting to your regimen by getting some inexpensive dumbbells. There are TONS of routines on the internet that you can download and add even without going to a gym.

SammiJo, YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'm SOOOOOO glad to hear you're ditching that scale (at least for a while) and getting a tape measure! I guarantee you'll see results that way! And especially if you've gained 7 pounds in a week and aren't taking in that many calories and are expending more than you take in, that gain MUST be muscle! I'm betting on it! As for the exercises, here are a few. If you get a chance to get on IM, and I happen to be here at the same time as you, let me know... I can give you more exercises. This was my baby a few years back! I LOVED teaching water aerobics!!! I did it for several years and absolutely loved it! I've got about 75-100 exercises (somewhere... finding them would be no easy task though), and I will write a few out here. Let me know if you don't understand what I'm saying... again, we can chat on IM sometime and I can give you more detail if you need it. Slolam skiing - with your legs together, twist the upper half of your body to the right and the lower half of your body to the left with your knees bent and then "hop" to the other side, switching your body to the opposite side. Pretend you're snow skiing down a hill (I know, I know... you're from Florida and probabily don't know what "snow skiing" is... LOL!!!). Keep hopping back and forth to one side and then the other. Remember to keep your legs together and point your knees the same direction as your feet. Downhill skiing - this one takes A LOT of hand-eye-foot coordination. It was HARD for me to get down. If you don't have that kind of coordination, skip this activity! Start with one arm forward at about a 45 degree angle pointing downward and the OTHER foot forward (your foot should be about as forward as your other hand). Then take a hop and switch arms and legs in one jump. Keep hopping back and forth, moving your arms and legs at the same time. Frog Jump: Push the water down with your palms while you jump up like a frog with your knees going outward. Jumping Jacks: same as when you were a kid, but don't have your arms go all the way to the top of your head... stop your arms at water level so you can get the resistance from the water. Your palms should face the direction that they are going, so if you're pushing up to the surface, yo

Aloha, you are so right. You and Butterfly. I should not weigh myself daily!!!! I weighed myself this morning and according to my scale, I've gained FOUR MORE POUNDS!!! Four since yesterday?!? I didn't even EAT four pounds of FOOD yesterday!! How could this be?!?! In the past ten ACTIVE days, I have gained SEVEN pounds. Tonight I'm buying one of those cloth-rolled-up-measuring-tape-thingies and I'm going to take BS's advice and start measuring instead of weighing. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,801 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $279 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 9 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 32 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

Excellent! You are giving us all hope! Thanks! :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/5/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 41 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,036 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $432.55 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 8 [B]Seconds:[/B] 52

Hey Sammi, it's been a while since I checked this thread and it's great to read about your accomplishments and see the joy in your words. Here's one thing my father told me I will never forget "What ever you do, it could take years of dedication to become an overnight success" Keep up the good work and spirit that you have going. Freebird ~'~ [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/24/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 203 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,101 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $852.6 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 28 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 39 [B]Seconds:[/B] 43