When you are a smoker, your doctor will tell you out-and-out lies. They will promise you the moon, the stars, 72 virgins, and rivers of milk and honey once you quit smoking. "You will feel so much better! You will taste food better! Your clothes will smell fresh! Your breath will be like roses!!" Oh yeah sure. For one thing; I didn't smoke in my house. My clothes NEVER smelled like a night in a bar.
Now I will tell you what only one Doctor had the balls to tell me: For the first six months after you quit smoking, you will feel like SHIT. Especially in the morning. You will hack up little balls of phlegm, and it will hurt to do so. Headaches, sore chest, colds, sinus crap is all you are in for. It will get better and better the longer you are not smoking.
But those same doctors will also hand you the same line when you are overweight.
"Just lose 10 pounds and you won't need to take your bp meds." My doctor said.
To which I responded, "Dude, I lost TWENTY pounds and I'm still on it!"
That made him look at my chart. "Oh you did."
The promise that spewed forth from the doc was that by losing 10-20 pounds I'd not have to take my bp meds any more, my asthma would improve and I'd not have migranes any more. I would have to say that eventually that stuff happened after I lost 50 pounds. During the time it took to lose the weight, I had a host of problems that would make many just give up: Nausea, intestinal issues, aches and pains, and muscle twitches. The time it took to lose the weight and get into better shape was about 8 months.
The moral of the story is that even when you are changing your lifestyle for the good; don't expect it to be all sunshine and roses from the get-go. Don't get discouraged if the change isn't dramatic from day 1.
Now I will tell you what only one Doctor had the balls to tell me: For the first six months after you quit smoking, you will feel like SHIT. Especially in the morning. You will hack up little balls of phlegm, and it will hurt to do so. Headaches, sore chest, colds, sinus crap is all you are in for. It will get better and better the longer you are not smoking.
But those same doctors will also hand you the same line when you are overweight.
"Just lose 10 pounds and you won't need to take your bp meds." My doctor said.
To which I responded, "Dude, I lost TWENTY pounds and I'm still on it!"
That made him look at my chart. "Oh you did."
The promise that spewed forth from the doc was that by losing 10-20 pounds I'd not have to take my bp meds any more, my asthma would improve and I'd not have migranes any more. I would have to say that eventually that stuff happened after I lost 50 pounds. During the time it took to lose the weight, I had a host of problems that would make many just give up: Nausea, intestinal issues, aches and pains, and muscle twitches. The time it took to lose the weight and get into better shape was about 8 months.
The moral of the story is that even when you are changing your lifestyle for the good; don't expect it to be all sunshine and roses from the get-go. Don't get discouraged if the change isn't dramatic from day 1.
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