Confessions of a Skinny-Fat Smoker

When I was a younger, I was always riding a bike or playing a sport of some kind. Between grades 5 and 10, I was a little track star. I excelled in long-jump, 100 meter and 300 meter races and high jump. I ran all the time, just for fun. In high school I was on the tennis, volleyball and soccer teams. And then it happened: the pack-a-day smoking habit I picked up somewhere between ages 13 and 14 was starting to catch up to me. It is estimated that the average pack-a-day smoker inhales their way through 7,500 cigarettes per year. GROSS! I noticed that it was getting harder to run and handle drills, I had less energy than before so I started skipping practices to go home and sleep. By then end of the first semester in grade 10 I had abandoned my athletic career, so to speak. That was it. The beginning of the end of my cardiovascular health. This would result in me being a skinny-fat person. I look thin, definitely, but I probably have the same fitness score as Homer Simpson.

In 2005 I got remarkably sick. It seemed instantaneous. I was paralyzed on the left side of my body. The doctors thought I had a stroke (I didn't, but wouldn't know this for some time) and I was not able to go outside to smoke by myself. Since no one would take me, I had to quit. I didn't want to. This is the ridiculousness of the thought process that a smoker goes through consistently. Smoking is killing me so I think I’ll have a smoke to relieve my stress. I’ve even been told I would go blind if I continued to smoke and here I am smoking away. In the months that followed the onset of my illness I went through a gruelling rehabilitation process and, despite early prognoses, was 100 percent recovered in less than 12 months. How did this happen? Great occupational and physical therapists helped me get to the 65 percent recovery zone. The rest came down to an excellent personal trainer, a gruelling workout schedule and great muscle memory. Most importantly, not smoking contributed to the ability of my nervous system to bounce back. By the time I was done with my PT I was at 13 percent body fat, I was running every day, weight training five days a week and definitely in the best shape of my life. So what did I do? I started smoking again and inevitably quit the gym. I would work this cycle over and over again for the next five years and it’s all because of smoking. Smoking and stupidity!

So here I am again, smoking and wishing I wasn’t. Knowing that I want to start running again, but realizing that my lungs are so damaged that I have to start back at square one. I’ll have to start with the brisk walks for half hour intervals moving up to 40 minutes, inserting 100 meter jogs and so on. Hard work.

So here it is, my pledge to the people who love me, to my bank account, to my lungs, to my heart (and the bad valve that causes blood regurgitation into the right side of my heart), to my nervous system, TO MY HEALTH: (1) I WILL quit smoking. I will quit with the best method I know: Allen Carr’s Easy Way To STOP Smoking. I can do this. I’ve already achieved the “impossible” in my life and quitting smoking is NOT impossible. (2) I WILL get back in shape. There are a lot of resources out there for runners, whether they’re experienced or beginners. I like Jeff Galloway’s site. I’ve been told by a running enthusiast, and former smoker, that this is a great resource. This site goes through diet for runners and how to run and train for marathons without injury. I will get back on my high-protein diet and cut down my sugar intake. I will be an athletic person again. So that’s it. I’ll keep you posted and let you know how it’s going.