3 c. [reverse-osmosis filtered] water
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1/2 c. sprouted almonds (slip off peels or not, depending on texture preference)
1/2 tsp maca powder
1 frozen banana
4-7 drops stevia, to taste
optional: 1/2 cup raw milk kefir or coconut kefir

Blend all ingredients.

Yummy stuff, brah!

If you smoke cigarettes because it
-helps your mood,

-helps you stay skinny /maintain your weight,

*or*

If you derive any social benefit (including a sense of rebellion;) from smoking,

you may be interested to learn what happened when I quit smoking.

For one, I actually lost weight.

I started having way more energy.

My mood improved.

I was happier and more motivated to do things that, you know, would benefit myself and others over time, as opposed to just me in the moment.

Going to the gym went from an unrealistic ‘someday’ aspiration (requiring entirely too much effort) to an *enjoyable* activity once I stopped hacking up a lung.

My skin was never particularly bad, but after I gave up smoking, it became radiant and healthy-looking. I wasn’t expecting that at all!

The way that I decided to quit was key to all that, I think.

I replaced my cigarette with an electronic one, which administers nicotine. If I started having withdrawals, no problem. I’d just take as many drags of the e-cig as I needed to.

So, I allowed my nicotine addiction to live on, without reinforcing the association with actual cigarettes.

I did not allow myself to smoke actual cigarettes, just for about 4 days or so, and then I only craved my e-cig.

…Which, BY THE WAY, you can smoke inside AND on planes.

So, with nicfits being nonexistent, my body began to rid itself of all the carcinogens, and my lungs got used to not being filled with carbon monoxide.

And guess what?

All those awesome results just started snowballing one after another: energy, motivation, radiant skin & healthy weight loss.

But to explain the part about more energy & losing weight:

The constant carbon monoxide intake from smoking prevents blood cells from carrying oxygen effectively.

This can result in a sedating effect.

When I had switched to my e-cig for a few days, I noticed my energy levels rise substantially – I’d say 200%.

I wasn’t eating more, the way a lot of people do when they quit smoking, probably because I was still feeding my nicotine addiction.

Yet, I was expending more energy…because I HAD more energy.

After about a month, I went from the high nicotine level in my e-cig to medium. I puffed on it slightly more often at first, but then got back to a normal rhythm, effectively lowering my nicotine dose and addiction.

But I didn’t care about still being addicted to nicotine, because I had already seen the benefits of quitting smoking.

If I was addicted to the e-cig for the rest of my life, it would be better than the sedated, blasé, totally over life condition I didn’t even realize I had been all those years in while smoking.

Weeks after I replaced smoking with my e-cig, I quit feeling so numb. I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced this, but it can feel like a constant weight that never lifts, if it’s how you feel constantly.

Perhaps some underlying depression lifting is what caused me to finally commit to give up smoking (and thereby commit to taking better care of myself), but the effects of quitting smoking definitely shined a light on many positive feelings, buried beneath the facade of an emotionally distant smoker.

After I quit, I started to care about things I didn’t think mattered as much before. (Life, people, hopes, dreams..)

Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like when you start caring about things, the world becomes more experiential. You feel alive- you’re not just walking through a repetitive dream, going through the motions.

To me, it felt like relief- a new sense of freedom.

I adjusted the nicotine level down just that once and I never had to taper down the nicotine dose again.

As fate would have it, I went out for a friend’s birthday and lost my e-cig. I didn’t feel like spending money on a new one and never even considered buying cigarettes, so I have been cigarette and e-cig free for over 2 years.

Anyway, if having your skin clear up, feeling more energy and possibly even having a renewed lease on life sound like things you’d want to experience, I would very highly recommend you pick up an e-cig TODAY and challenge yourself to try it, without smoking any cigarettes, just for one week.

Once you start seeing what kind of things clear up for you, it will be that much easier to work towards the healthy changes in your life that allow you to set a responsible example and have a deeper positive impact on the people you care most about.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

*If you’re ready to,

JUST BUY A FREAKIN’ E-CIG AND DON’T SMOKE ANYMORE.*

***
If you or someone you know has had success quitting smoking, please leave a comment below with your story. Help all those struggling to commit to see that it has been done before and that they can do it, too!