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