Well, ladies and gentleman - I've made it to the last day of the patch system. I proudly applied my last patch while my husband supplied appropriate background music - the Jaws theme. It seemed oddly appropriate.
The patch called for a total of eight weeks, but I shortened it to seven weeks. At the end of step one I bought a one week pack rather than a two week pack, and I was so jacked about all the money I was saving, I could hardly spare the expense of another week's worth! I'm a saving junkie now, although not to the point where I'm clipping coupons for hours a day like that guy on TLC's Extreme Couponing.
Number of days since my quit date: 46
Number of cigarettes smoked: 1 (See Day 29's post)
Amount of money saved: $200+
Increased life expectancy: 2.5 days
Now I'm entering the no-crutch phase - no patch, no nicotine, nothing. I'm a bit apprehensive about being nicotine-free as opposed to smoke-free. Smoke free was easy. "Here - apply this wondrous patch and your nic-fits will be alleviated, and your dreams will be totally whacked out." The guy on the Nicoderm commercial steps from the top of a building to the ground using his patches, and he made it down safely without becoming a stain on the pavement. If he can do it, I can do it.
Another of my fears of quitting was gaining weight. I've actually lost a bit of weight - not a lot, but 3-4 pounds is a good start. I have to constantly remind myself to be active, because bathing suit weather is around the corner. Fear is a powerful motivator - and my fear of gaining weight keeps me from inhaling bags of cheese curls and whole pints of Ben and Jerry's. Mmmm.... cheese curls. But the cheese curls are now the enemy and have been replaced with fat-free snacks.
Lots of replacement going on in my life - nicotine replacement, snack replacement, couch replacement... And the fact that I've made it this far at all is the biggest motivator not to screw it up. Stay tuned for the post-patch posts!
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