Smoke Revoke

March 1, 2016 No Comments

SRUpdate I am now using our app Smoke Revoke in it’s first publicly released form. It is available for purchase in the App Store We have a facebook page, (please give it a “like”), and what the heck while I’m at it, please follow us on twitter at @SmokeRevoke. Currently, what I am experiencing is that with every failure to wait until it’s “time to smoke” comes a little piece of guilt. That guilt grows – and so there becomes a natural compulsion to begin to micro-manage the scheduling using the built-in editing functions. (In the photo you can see I’ve begun moving the smokes a little closer together in the morning). This brings your smoking into your full awareness.

I have a lot already written about the app that will be added to this post (coming soon) but for now consider the post to be “under construction“

Awareness, The App

Awareness

April 10, 2015 No Comments

Observation ~ The app as a weaning program has at its core the idea that it’s main purpose and function should be in raising the users awareness of smoking. This emphasis has been considered at every stage of design – the idea that higher awareness of the habit is necessary and key to quitting.

Like anything else though, awareness can and should be kept in balance. Having raised awareness regarding smoking doesn’t mean you’ll need to be walking around in a state of constant vigilant monitoring. No need to get obsessive, in fact – don’t. The amount of awareness that it takes to remember to use the app properly, should be roughly the right amount to bring you up to a more balanced level – no longer oblivious, and on auto-pilot when lighting up.

Addiction

Nicotine is anti-inflammatory…

April 8, 2015 2 Comments

DAY 25 ~ I’ve done some more reading. The more I read, the more disturbed I’m getting. Here is the most direct expression of the issue I’ve found on the matter:

“Tobacco smoke is toxic but also anti-inflammatory. Paradoxically tobacco smoke contains hundreds of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that produce inflammatory reactions and numerous degenerative diseases, but it also contains nicotine that is anti-inflammatory. Smokers assault their bodies, but moderate and obscure the inflammatory degeneration and disease, until they stop the nicotine exposure” ~ (From a post in a forum at mindandmuscle.com)

I started describing the nicotine fit even back in high school as that it’s like having “itchy veins”. That was thirty years ago. I can’t help but wonder what are the implications of misidentifying chronic inflammation for this long? Where might I be at in whatever this process leads to?

If cigarettes are ironically treating the condition they are also contributing to… what might the medical consequences be when I finally remove them from the mix – especially now that it is so much “later in the game”?

I’m worried, but much more than that… I’m angry. Everything could have been so very different – if I had known it was such a treatable condition all along.

Wow.

Addiction, Nutrition

Seemingly Stabilized

April 7, 2015 No Comments

DAY 26 ~ I feel…

Inflammation started diminishing faster last night – back down to almost normal. I’ll give it a 3 at the moment. It’s interesting though, I feel like… raw, or injured. Like burnt. Almost like post sunburn burnt. Not just on the skin, more like through-out. Muscles are even sore.

This is how it gets during every major sugar binge, it’s actually what causes me to back off. So even though the latest binge ended a month ago, it almost feels like it didn’t.

I got back (up) to the apps recommended number of smokes, basically by easing off of competitively getting ahead. It took a couple days to seemingly stabilize.

Day 5 off of dairy ~ Dinner last night was bean tostadas (without cheese or sour cream) – a definite first to not have cheese with my mexican food.

Probably also worth noting: I don’t seem to be craving cheese as far as I can tell as I would have expected, and now that I’m feeling better, the normal craving for sugar is noticeably returning and rising. I won’t be giving in to it though. Water is becoming a surprisingly adequate substitute on that front.