# getting back to my old self...



## Shopkins (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm not going to say the reason i'm doing this is solely for prepping, but it needed to be done in a general sense. i am proud to say i was a pack a day smoker for 4-5 years, quit cold turkey and have been smoke-free for 3 weeks noon today. to some may not be a big feat but considering i couldn't usually go a few hours without a smoke its big to me. i have also joined back up at the gym and have been going every night other than sundays. to anyone out there who want to quit smoking and keep putting it off, finish that pack (i'd say toss it but i'd rather use what i paid for) and dont' pick another one up. i already feel better and now have the stamina to return to the gym. i know this is going to help me in the short term, as well as long term in a shtf situation.


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## jandor123 (Oct 24, 2012)

Good for you!! - smoke free for 3 weeks is a HUGE deal excellent!! I am a pack a day smoker for 40 years - little tougher for me to quit. But I am now strapping on my BOB and taking short hikes in the desert near my home. Litlle longer each time. I am also not smoking on my 90 minute drive into work in the mornings and on the way home, and i stopped smoking at least 2 hrs before bed. People think this is silly and i should just stop, but they just dont understand. It is VERY hard to quit. I feel much better lately, but i have lapses, but im trying.


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## crystalphoto (Nov 8, 2012)

I quit, about 10 years ago, after smoking one to two packs a day for 30 some odd years...... it is TOUGH,the toughest thing I have ever done. I am better for it, and can actually breathe again... The workouts will help also... Do it, both of you, you will be better for it... I will be rooting for you!


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## jandor123 (Oct 24, 2012)

Thanks for the support. One day at a time...


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## AsteroidX (Dec 11, 2012)

Quiting smoking is very hard to do. I need to but I have already made many health improvements for myself at the end of this year. If I can just add smoking to it.


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

From a survival point of view smoking is not good because-
1- you'll be wheezing when the zombs are chasing you and they'll catch up with you easy
2- when you run out of cigs you'll have to go out to get some and will have to run the gauntlet of zombs
3- Zombs will track you down if you're trying to lie low by following the trail of your tobacco smoke
4- Smoking at night will give away your poistion for miles around as the zombs will home in on the glowing red tip
5- A lot of butts around your property will also send out the message that you're nearby
6- some survival groups will refuse pointblank to let you join them if they're nonsmokers.
7- And nonsmokers won't want to join your group.
8- I think smoking reduces the bodies abilty to fight cold, so hypothermia is a possibility
9- Nonsmoking girls won't want to kiss you..


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## mikes69baja (Nov 2, 2012)

What you are doing, will give you the greatest advantage if anything bad were to happen. If TSHTF people in shape will have the best chance.
Keep in that Gym. If you ever have any diet questions. Shoot it to me... I personally am not qualified, but my wife is a California registered dietitian. 
I use her to help keep me at my 6'-00" 185


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## AvengersAssembled (Dec 13, 2012)

Good for you, congratulations! Quitting smoking is incredibly hard, you have to have some good motivation to. What better motivation than prepping (or family)?


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## Desert Marine (Nov 20, 2012)

Congrats to ALL of those who have stopped smoking. I went cold turkey about 12 years ago. I was only smoking a pack a day so for about 18 years and I smoked while in the Marine Corps. Actually I developed that bad habit after I joined the Marines at 17. With most things, just take one day at a time. Don't look back, look forward to the best days of your life!

Semper Fi
Desert Marine
Troy B


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

mikes69baja said:


> ..If you ever have any diet questions. Shoot it to me... I personally am not qualified, but my wife is a California registered dietitian...


Can you ask her to tell us if a vegetarian diet is best for our bodies, or should we always include meat?


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## nadja (May 1, 2012)

I have been smoking a pack a day or more for over 50 years now. I will have to quit in another couple of weeks at most, or I won't be here to antagonize all of you ! Lol Especially Lucky Jim. I love to mess with him. Makes me happy all over.


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

nadja said:


> ....I have been smoking a pack a day or more for over 50 years now.....Lucky Jim. I love to mess with him. Makes me happy all over.


Laugh at this muchacho-
My sister married a hard-smoking, hard-drinking Hell's Angel many years ago, and because I've never smoked or drank he once half-jokingly said to me -"Huh! you're not a man if you don't smoke or drink!", to which I good-naturedly replied that I was too much of a strong-minded mofo to need that shit.
He died last year in his mid-60's riddled with cancer but I'm still around.
Cue my smug grin..










PS- hey smokers, if you want motivation to give it up, remember this- Who'll look after your wife, kids and grandkids in a post-apocalypse world if you're not around to protect them because you've killed yourself with smoking?
You sure as hell won't be able to help anybody if you're in a box in a hole..










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_Gang Member#1- "I know where there's a little lady all alone with her kids"
Member#2- "What about the guy?"
Member#1- "No problem, he's in the ground"
Member#3- "Yeehaw, we'll hit 'em tonight!"_


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## mikes69baja (Nov 2, 2012)

For the vegetarian post, try watching "Forks over Knives" it a documentary and can be found on netflix. Being vegetarian is a personal choice, people are different and eating meat affects people differently. If you have high cholesterol then being vegetarian may be a fix. Limiting your red meat consumption is good. A plant based whole food diet is best, with occasional meat consumption... Turkey, Chicken, and Fish, are better than Cow, or pork. 
One thing is, if one decides to be a "vegan" Vegetarian there is a possibility of becoming Vitamin B12 deficient and you would need a supplement. Some breakfast cereals are fortified with Vitamin B12. 
One caution to all the beef eaters. Try to purchase grass fed cattle for your beef... It's more expensive but better for you. Cows were never intended to eat corn... It makes their rumen acidic and they are fed tons of antibiotics to keep them healthy for slaughter. 
I tried to go vegetarian for one month... It is difficult.


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## Shopkins (Nov 9, 2012)

thanks for all the kind words yall. i am surely feeling better and hitting the gym hard so i am getting my fit-ness back. it feels good not spending $7 a day on smokes. so i put $5 to the side everyday i dont' smoke to a separate savings accound for guns/ammo/prepping and what not. chrimstas will be 4 weeks smoke free! can't wait to break that news to family.


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

Kurt Russell never smoked himself to death in the film 'Soldier', so he was there to protect his peaceable little group when they were threatened-


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

mikes69baja said:


> ...eating meat affects people differently...


Yeah, personally i feel empty if I haven't had any meaty stuff for a few days, it's as if my body is crying out for it and I don't want to overule my body..
I was once chased by a herd of cattle while hiking and had to climb on the roof of a hut til they'd buggered off, so now whenever I sink my teeth into a juicy steak I think "It's payback time!"
Anyway who am i to (gulp) ignore the good book?-

_"God said- Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything" (Genesis 9:3) 
"The Lord heard you when you wailed, "If only we had meat to eat, we were better off in Egypt!" Now the Lord will give you meat and you will eat it" (Num 11:18 ) 
"You may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want.." (Deut 12:15)
"He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant" (1 Kings 19:21)
"On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine- the best of meats and the finest of wines" (Isa 25:6)_


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## nadja (May 1, 2012)

Wow, for me this is really shaping up to be something else all by itself. You see, I started smoking full time at the age of 15 because it was "cool" Well, I am now 64, and the only way to make it even another couple of months was to quit smoking. I stopped Christmas night at 7:30 when I had one of the most painful attacks you could imagine happen to me.. Well, no sleep at all that night , and only a couple of hours the next night at best. You see, what happens is that you cannot get enough air and go into panic breathing mode. Finally after an hour or so, that may settle down a little bit and now you can get on with the hurting part. It's like having a non stop heart attack, lasting for a couple of hours or so. Now , add a peptic ulcer to the mess and guess what it has been like for me ? All I can say is, you better be tough or you ain't gonna make it. Last night, I got my oxygen tank and etc. Talk about feeling better almost imediatly. Wow. 

Wait until my kids see the new me ! LOL Well, at least they won't be yammerin' at me to quit smoking anymore, because should I light up a cig. I would most likely be dead. All you smokers out there, this WILL happen to you. Not to mention the costs of the habit. It will bankrupt you first, and then it will kill you. Now, some I'm told get a little warning sign here and there, but some like me hide them from my wife who is an R.N. She has long suspected but only watched until she was pretty sure. So, I have finally quit. I have tried several times over the last few years, you know, taper down, not smoke in the house and all that stuff, but honestly , the only way to quit is to just throw them to your worst enemy and smile when you tell him/her to enjoy. No charge ! To sum it all up, yes , I now have the big E. and it stays with me forever. Emphysema ! I hope at least one of you will take heed and stop while you still can. Nadja


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## Shopkins (Nov 9, 2012)

well a little update. been 6 weeks now smoke free. i'm eating better. drinking more water and less soda. still going to the gym on a regular basis. and i've put on about 6 lbs, nut just from the not smoking though i've been taking mass increaser to get my body weight back up. feeling healthy as ever!


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## crystalphoto (Nov 8, 2012)

Good deal Shopkins!! Keep up the good work. You will not be sorry.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Not going to tell others what to do but you made a good call. stay with it.
I am not giving up meat.
I had a Sgt that was trying to quit but failing time and time again. While we were deployed I put in in a PLT with no smokers . He is smoke free to this day.


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

good for you i smoke about a pack or two a week. i dont like the smell- one thing i do have in my bob is patches. barter. i have enjoyed smoking since i was like 14 i mean really enjoy it, but can tell a huge difference when not smoking. its pretty tought to all the way quit. 
good for you quitting.


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## SSGT (Jul 29, 2012)

I dont know ya but I'm damned proud of ya! I quit about 15 years ago...best thing I ever did in my life! Saves a bundle of cash too!

SSGT


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## 9UC (Dec 21, 2012)

Smitty901 said:


> Not going to tell others what to do but you made a good call. stay with it......


Yeah! Please stay the course. Took me far too many years to wise up. Been smoke free for just over 10 years now and I never thought I'd see the day I would go 10 minutes, much less ten days without one. Had a two pack a day habit for years. Got up to four plus packs a day half way through and for a years after a tour in Vietnam. Finally made the decision to put down that nasty habit in 2002 when I woke up one morning in a drug induced stupor, with tears rolling down my cheeks because I could feel the searing pain in my chest through the heavy doses of Morphine resulting from having my chest cracked opened twice over night for quadruple bypass and subsequent graft leakage before I got out of ICU. Yes, I quit cold turkey, but the "dressing" wasn't served the way I like it.


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