Day 5 - Non Smoker

I didn't post yesterday for a couple of reaons:
1/ I couldn't log in to the edit facility from work....
2/ I didn't think about smoking much at all yesterday - yipee!

I'm finding my lungs are clearing out nicely and the cravings aren't half as bad as they were in the first 2-3 days. It's going well, and a large part of the willpower has been forged by the support from everyone reading and commenting on the progress.

Here's how many I've NOT smoked now, and £24.00 saved too!


Thank You!

Non Smoker - Day 3

That's how many I've NOT had so far, and now saved £9.60!

So it's day 3 and I've been managing well so far. Have been getting cravings that usually last about 60 seconds or so. Once they've gone, I'm back to normal so it really is just a question of fighting and beating each one as they happen. I am telling myself that I am strong and I can beat them, especially considering how relatively easy it is to fight a craving compared to other things.

I do a lot of indoor rowing on the Concept2 rower, and every time I do a session it is 10 times as hard as fighting off a craving so it comes back to becoming a matter of choice.

Thanks for all the support I've had on here and through Twitter, you all remind me to stay strong at times when I need it.

Smokeless - Day 2

So, it's Day 2 (the first full day though) and I'm getting ready for work.

I had a moment of mini-panic earlier when I realised that I would never be having a cigarette again. The panic came from knowing that the 'satisfaction' of the first couple of drags wouldn't be felt again. However, swiftly told myself that the only satisfaction was from the fuelling of a chemical addiction. The craving passed.

One of my freinds reminded me this morning that I can do it, because I am stubborn.
She's got a good point!!!

Looking forward to the sense of taste coming back. My wife cooks wonderful food (she's Singaporean) so I'll get to savour it even more when my taste buds are back on board!

Money-wise, that's £4.80 saved from not buying a new pack.

Here's how many fags I've NOT smoked in the last 24 hours:


9.47pm - I've found it quite hard this afternoon, but it helps to know there's a lot of support. I find it enables me to draw on an inner strength and move on from the cravings... thank you!

Stopping Smoking Commitment

I started smoking when I was 18, when I went to an interview at Cambridge University - can't even think why I did, perhaps due to being so nervous at the time. I was an international standard athlete as well (javelin) so looking back, it was so stupid of me to make that decision in the first place.

Now, 15 years later and having tried about 4-5 times in the past to stop, I've decided:

IT IS TIME

In January this year, I stopped and did pretty well. I didn't use any products or hypnosis, just cold turkey and will power. I got to 7 weeks and was finding it surprisingly manageable. It broke down when I was sat outside in the sun over a coffee with my wife. I asked her for a drag as I remembered how nice it used to feel in the sun with a coffee. That was that and I was back on it...grrrr.

In the meantime, I've started going to the gym again since August 2008 after years and years of doing no formal exercise apart from walking at work (which reduced as I progressed to management). I've lost 3 stone and my Blood Pressure has reduced from 150/100 ish, to 120/80. I followed a 6 day diet in March during which I lost 14.5lbs - if you want to have a go, here's my blog about that: 6 day diet

I've also become competitive at indoor rowing, which is a fantastic way to get fit and lose weight. I won a Silver Medal at the English Championships over 500m, and am currently ranked 4th in the world for 30-39 year olds. As you can maybe tell, I am competitive, and when I set my mind to something, I have to win!

So, I decided this week that today I am stopping smoking forever, no lapses. I wanted to make a public commitment to what I'm doing so I tweeted Duncan Bannatyne earlier to tell him I'm stopping (he's a great anti-smoking campaigner as well as everything else).

To my surprise, he replied with some words of support for which I'm grateful as it has only consolidated my resolve to do this:

"@Graham_Lay Please please don't falter YOU CAN DO IT!!!!"

"Please do RT @Graham_Lay @DuncanBannatyne I'm stopping smoking today By tweeting you about it I have no choice but to stop now. Cheers Dunc!"

When I stopped before, I compared rowing 30 minutes to beating a craving. Now, I can compare the experience of rowing a Marathon to beating a craving. Having done that, and remembering the pain and determination it took to do that for a charitable cause, how hard can a 30 second craving be to fight off for my life (and finances)?!

For anyone reading this who wants to commit to stopping smoking too, simply add a comment below or tweet me with your commitment and we can help each other with common goals, support and motivation.

I won't say "Good Luck", instead I'll say "Good Choice!"

P.S. - just calculated how much smoking has cost me in financial terms - £19,912!

Thanks for the link from @patsion : Smoking Calculator

Baldy's Bolognese Blaster!

I have quite possibly just invented THE BEST bolognese ever by accident and thought I'd share the magic:

After a heavy gym session I was more than a bit peckish so I decided to cook something filling. Looking in the fridge, I had a large pack of mince which I was going to use to make homemade burgers with, but it looked good for today's mealathon. There was a large jar of tomato and herb bolognese sauce in the cupboard, so bolognese it was. It would have been boring just to use the sauce and the meat so I added the following usual add-ons to fill it out a bit:

800g Minced Beef (Ground beef for the leftpondians)
700g Tomato & Herb Sauce
1 Onion, diced
3 Mushrooms, chopped
Worcestershire sauce

boring so far huh? well, I was that hungry I was snacking on some cracked black pepper cashew nuts while I was browning the beef so I thought - what the hell, chuck em in!

200g cashew nuts

Then I decided to give it some kick, so added 3 large pinches of dried chilli flakes.

And the final ingredient, just to give the cheap beef and sauce a luxurious aftertaste - a large splash of port (pour it round the pan, be generous).

There was no spaghetti, so I decided to have a go with some Basmati rice instead for now (there's plenty left over so I can freeze or fridge it for when I have spag).

End result - THE most tasty, filling, memorable bolognese ever - TRY IT! :)

Shopping Bag Etiquette

Before you read my note, please bear in mind the following point:

I totally agree with taking responsibility for our planet and think that recycling and re-using shopping bags is a great way to conserve resources and prevent animal cruelty. I do re-use shopping bags and I am a practitioner of recycling and promote it at work and in the community.

...............................................................................
Now, here are some observations from the past year which I have just realised this week following a recent trip to the supermarket:

If you do not have a re-usable shopping bag with you when you get to the checkout, BEWARE!

The questions the checkout people have been trained to ask will make you feel anything from slightly embarrassed to feeling guilty of a major crime (if you have any caring bone in your body).

"Have you GOT a bag?" they will ask in an assumptive way - emphasising the fact that you should have....and they can see you haven't got one....

"Erm, no, sorry, I left it at home, I usually bring one but I forgot" (apologetically, I make my excuse, feeling rather ashamed!)

They have a nack of making you feel about 2 inches tall. I am not a snob, but as a manager, and a paying customer, I am totally disarmed and reprimanded by a teenager with spots who is on probation for shoplifting or drug dealing or something - how is that right?!!!!!

12 months ago, if they had said that to me I wouldn't have even flinched, I'd have said "No, can I have some please?" without a care in the world.

So their plan is working - I have been educated in the new subject of shopping bag etiquette without realising it! Months of TV adverts and new signs being placed in the shops and new training methods with the checkout people, etc have accumulatively built up my knowledge to the point where I now know it is wrong - very, very wrong of me to use a fresh plastic bag!

They have also hidden the bags so that if you don't have one, they have to get them out from under the counter and in an unfeasibly large gesture, usually accompanied by a groan or exhalation of air, they ensure that the whole supermarket is made aware of the fact that you are an irresponsible, animal hurting, wasteful, arrogant person who nobody should acknowledge except for with a raised eyebrow or a tut! They will also check and count your shopping items on the conveyor belt first and give you what they deem to be an appropriate amount of bags - God forbid you can't pack as efficiently as they suggest because you will be forced to ask for more!

So, as they get you to confirm the absence your own bag, the checkout person has now gone from sporting a welcoming smile and a "How are you today?" to a sideways glance out of the corner of their eye every so often. They do this with full backing of their managers and the collective social conscience of the other shoppers around you.

Instead of placing the food near to your hand to make packing easier, they toss it half way down the slope, or worse, they mix up frozens with tinned food to confuse you and make extra work!

Some shops charge you for the privilege of taking one of their portable adverts out into the street, others reward you with 'points' for using your own!

I asked last week - "Do we get taxed if we haven't got any?" she laughed - "No, but you get points for every bag you bring and use"

"AHA! - Gotcha!" I think....

....my plan for the next trip is to bring in 20 bags and buy 20 items and put 1 item in each bag and tell her I used 20 bags, therefore earning 20 reward points! Is there a limit to how many bags I can claim, do I have to place a certain number of items in each bag to qualify? Huh? Where's your rules on that one Sainsbury's?!

Anyway, as I was trying to catch the food as it was thrown at me I thought I'd take a sneaky peek at the other people at the end of the other queues - what were they doing?

The bloke next to me had a huge re-usable Morrisons bag and was neatly packing about 20kg of items in it like a sensible, considerate tree-hugger. The problem was - we were in Sainsburys! It made me think - what is the supermarket policy on supermarket adultery? That bloke was blatantly 'cheating' on someone....was it Morrisons or Sainsburys?

Another thing I noticed was the variety of bags, styles, sizes and materials. Some people quite clearly see it as a fashion thing, bringing their Gucci holdall along to show that they don't NEED to buy the 'Sainsburys Basics' range, but choose to do so! Others have a ropey old hessian sack that looks like it's about to rip, because they have re-used it since before the war (don't ask which one, there's been that many now...).

In any case, whilst I totally agree with the sentiment and practicality of re-using shopping bags, I STRONGLY object to the way in which it has been done to me!

I am a grown man with my own mind, but I have been subliminally forced into this. Give me a choice, and remind me from time to time and I will gladly change my habits, in my own time, because I am stubborn!

So, Tescos, Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons, et al - I have noticed, and my car now carries about 12 re-usable shopping bags, and more often that not I remember to take them into the supermarket with me.

When I succeed, I can smugly raise my eyebrows at the bloke before me who forgot or chose not to bring one.

When I forget, I try to find the quietest queue, in the remotest part of the supermarket and slink out without getting 'caught'!

London 2012 Olympics - Help!

The London 2012 Olympics are fast approaching, and I've still to choose which sport to try in my last chance to become an Olympian!

I used to throw the javelin, international standard up to the age of 20 and then injury and career put paid to any further progress. Recently I've been indoor rowing to get fit and healthy again, and have made good progress (4th in the world for my age group over 500m) but rowing is not going to be an Olympic option for me.

So I'm stuck! What else can I try? Any suggestions are welcome!

I am powerful, but not enough to shot putt my way there.
I'm pretty quick, but Usain Bolt is safe. I'm not very good at endurance, at all.
My hands aren't steady enough to do shooting or archery.
Unless it's the Med or Carribbean, I don't want to get wet on a boat - so sailing is out.
I am good at logical games that require fast decisions, so what can I do - any ideas?

Anyway, Chicago lost out to Rio de Janeiro in their bid to secure 2016, thank goodness!

About time someone else had a go at hosting the Games, especially a South American nation. Beach Volleyball will be high on the agenda I can imagine, and a carnival atmosphere should prevail - fantastic!