The Juice

While my husband and I were dating, I told him that I didn't want him to ever ask me to stop smoking. I enjoyed it, and it was a part of what made me who I am. I was 19 years old, and had no idea what the future would hold. All I knew was that our friends were all refusing to date smokers, and I wanted to stop any hounding me to quit before it started. He made that promise, and kept it.

Little did I realize then, but years of smoking was going to make me chronically fatigued. For five years, I went to different doctors who did various tests from thyroid checking to assuming I was depressed. My thyroid was fine, and I wasn't in denial about depression. I was perfectly happy! My doctors never considered smoking to be part of the problem, and neither did I.

The light bulb went off when I was reading an article about the effects of smoking. Normally, I passed by articles like this, but this one was titled Chronic Fatigue and Smoking and it opened my eyes to a new way of looking at my life. In hindsight, I knew everything that article had talked about, but like a lot of people, I didn't think any of the bad things would happen to me. I was so tired by now that I was missing out on important family events, my son drew pictures of me sleeping, and my husband was losing patience.

I started searching for natural remedies to help me quit smoking, but most of them seemed too good to be true. In fact, most of the products didn't even make sense, and there was no scientific evidence to back it up. All I could find was sales pages that made me want to close my computer and give up. Then one day I ran across an article about study carried out by Duke University found that fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and non-carbonated drinks like juice and water make cigarettes taste bad while foods high in fat, coffee, meat, and alcohol make them taste better. This made me start thinking.

Before smoking, the majority of my diet was fruits and vegetables. I didn't like meats, or breads. (Something that changed after I had been smoking for a couple of years). I was determined to use this information in my effort to quit smoking, and finally feel better. Unfortunately, I was working at a place that was fast paced, and allowed me little time for eating. It wasn't unusual for me to go the entire day without food. (Which did nothing to help with my lack of energy!) I knew taking a break to eat was never going to happen, so I needed something fast. That's when I got the idea for juicing.

I did a ton of research on juicing, and found more opinions than I really needed. I was able to put the information I needed into my notes, and then set out to change my life. I got excited to see if juices would work as well as eating the foods the article had mentioned. I made my juices every morning before work, and made enough to last me the entire day. This way, I could easily drink a little here and there without actually taking a break and upsetting my co-workers.

The first day was difficult. My routine with cigarettes was get up in the morning, have some coffee and a cigarette. Have a couple more cigarettes on the 30 minute drive to work, and then another just before the store opened for the day. On my drive, I knew exactly what part of the drive I needed to be in before lighting up. It was ridiculous, but it was a habit formed over two years, and I never thought about it.

Day 2 was easier, but day 3 was the surprise. I woke up and didn't even think about smoking. I made my juice, got ready for work and left the house without ever thinking about smoking. It wasn't until later in the day that I realized I hadn't had a craving, and I started to get excited. They weren't gone completely, though. That evening, I had some minimal cravings, but they weren't anything like I'd experienced before. After the first week, I was craving juices, but not cigarettes. The biggest change? I was less tired. Not just a little less tired, but I could make it through the entire day without the desire to just curl up and sleep. I felt amazing!

Six months later, and I've made more changes to my diet and my life. I stopped working crazy hours, and my diet is now mostly fruit and vegetable based. If I do get tired, it's not like it was before. I'm tired like everyone else who gets tired; it's the normal tired of a busy day, or accidentally staying up too late the night before. My family life has changed, too. I'm less grumpy with the kids, and I definitely have more time to attend their events, and play around with them. It's like an entirely different life than I had before, and though I miss smoking sometimes, I can't imagine going back to it, and back to the chronic fatigue that had me in its grip for so many years.

Points of Interest

• Fresh juices are high in phytochemicals that break down and flush toxins from the body. In addition, they help the body begin repairing the damage caused by smoking. Juicing will make it easier to maintain a good energy level as your body is working hard to recover and heal.

• Drinking at least five glasses of fresh juice daily will help curb cravings and ease withdrawal symptoms.

• The most beneficial juices to drink are those high in chlorophyll such as kale, spinach, celery, and cabbage. Juices should be heavier in green vegetables than fruits. Apples and carrots are also beneficial. Apples help rid the body of waste, and carrots help cleanse the lungs.

• Have fresh juice for breakfast, as a meal replacement, or replace your normal snacks with fresh juice.  http://juicergirl.hubpages.com/hub/juicingtoquitsmoking