Day 19, 3 days since I drastically reduced Chantix dose. I feel amazing. I'm sleeping well and my head is no longer stuck in a cloud of glue and malaise. I even went for a run last night. I am a regular runner, even as I smoked a pack a day over the years, I usually logged 2-3 miles a day. But I've been so tired lately and with work-travel I let it drop.
I only put in 2 miles last night and kept it slow, but I absolutely felt the difference. My breathing was longer and slower and my heart rate stayed lower throughout the run and was quicker to come down during the cool down. It's really exciting to see such a tangible change occurring.
I'm also excited that when I threw a suitcase together to go visit my parents this weekend, I didn't have to go through everything and smell-test it to make sure that nothing smells like smoke. Nor do I have to come home after work and take a quick shower before I go because I know I won't smell like smoke. I've cultivated all these ridiculous and time-consuming routines over the years to do my best to hide smoking from people who probably knew anyway, and it is SO AWESOME to not think about any of these stupid things anymore. In other words, being a non-smoker is amazeballs. I love it. I will never leave this happy place again.
I have a 30-day reward planned - I'm going to get my teeth whitened. They aren't terrible, but I never considered it before because I knew it wouldn't stick. But I will have saved enough $$ on smokes to cover the cost, so it seems like a proper reward. Less than 2 weeks to go!!!