How do you #LiveALittle? | Blog Series | Featured Member: Ron in Kansas City

Ron in Kansas City

When did you start to #LiveALittle (make the changes)?  

Well, when I got my A1c done in January 2014 it had shot up to 9.9.  I should’ve wanted to fix that then and there, but instead I stayed on the “medication will fix this” path for 3 more months.  My doctor had put me on a new diabetes medication and thought it would do the trick.  Well 3 months later my A1c had only improved to 9.4.  At that point he told me that insulin injections were in my near future (3 months away) if I couldn’t get things under control quickly.  So right after that I decided to get busy with making changes.  The date I refer back to was April 28th.

What do consider your main accomplishments?  

Well so far I’ve lost 65 pounds, dropped my A1c to 5.9, biked over 400 miles, brought my waist size from 48 to 40, shirt size from 4X to 2X and just flat out feel great and continue to want to improve.

What does everyone around you notice as 'different'? Well, it seems like everyone first off notices the physical changes.  The slimming down has been pretty obvious.  When I look at older pictures I realize just how big I was but at the time I really did not seem to think I was so massive.

What qualities do you look for in the people you hang out with and allow into your inner circle?  Positive, can-do people.  Don’t like hanging around with excuse makers.  Sometimes I have to look in the mirror and remember that I was one of those people not so long ago.  

If you wanted to encourage innovative ideas on changing one's life, how would you go about it?  Well I feel like showing someone what has been accomplished often tells the better story.  The Before/After is very motivating to me.  I look at the success stories on MFP daily for my own motivation.  When asked I try to tell people to start with small goals and then build on successes.  For instance instead of changing your entire diet, just stop drinking pop for a week.  And then when you can do that, move on to another goal or two.  

How would you describe your personal #LiveALittle lifestyle change? 

I just focused on making little changes.  Logging on MFP was first, then after I had some data I analyzed and saw that adjusting carbs and/or calories would be a good goal.  Don’t try to change everything all at once.  It’s a classic setup for failure.  I also decided it was irresponsible of me to not use my abilities to their fullest when others did so much with limited abilities.  An example – my Dad has Lupus and has lived with it for over 30 years.  He has crippled up hands and can’t walk very well at all.  Does he let that stop him?  Nope – he is a Master Model Railroader and creates amazing things with his crippled hands.  He got himself a trike and takes long bike rides to try to keep his health that he does have.  

If you wanted to create an environment where motivation can thrive, what’s the first thing you would do?  Toss out negativity.  It gets people no wear and wastes a lot of time.  You need an environment full of “anything is possible” to prove that Anything really is possible!

How do you show that you believe in yourself?  

I keep working on myself.  I track things that help me stay on track.  I remind myself that the Ron a year ago couldn’t do that 50 mile bike ride or that 5K in under 40 minutes.  I look at my closet which has been reworked to get rid of my fat clothes.  I look at old pictures to remember where I came from.

Who, Whom, and/or What has influenced you the most?  Well there are several people who had a part in my motivation.  I suppose my Dad as I described above.  Also Ellen and Alicia really showed me what is possible when you really commit to something.  I had not seen Ellen in a while and when I saw how great she looked it really was amazing.  I’ve always looked up to her in the business circles we are in, but this showed me she is serious about bettering herself in all ways and she has accomplished so much!

What do you do to challenge yourself when you're not motivated?  

Tough question – sometimes I can self-motivate (by looking through MFP success stories or tapping in to the MFP community).  Sometimes I get motivated when my wife notices that I am slipping back in to my old ways.  It’s tough to do.  Still working on this!

When is breaking the #LiveALittle rules okay?  

Not really sure there is a reason to break any of the rules!

What does 'working on’ yourself mean to you?  

We are all works in progress.  Working on myself means that I am still trying to find the me that is the healthiest and happiest I can be.  Even when I achieve fitness (on whatever level that is) I will need to maintain it.  

What does empowerment mean to you?  

Helping others to see the power that they have in themselves.  I see so many people like me.  People that have not yet realized what they are capable of.  Trying to help them find that motivation is what I like to do.  

How and where do you find inspiration?  

I read all the stories I can find.  MFP and the #LiveALittle FB page give me a lot to work with.  

How do you keep your feelings from clouding your decision-making?  That is a tough one.  I am fighting this one right now.  I was laid off Friday from a company that I really loved.  I am feeling overwhelmed about the future and decided to eat my feelings this morning via a very large donut for breakfast and am fighting off a lot of fear at the moment.  Let me keep working on this one to see what I can do here.  

What’s the best way to keep your eye on future results or maintaining?  

You gotta remember where you came from to truly appreciate where you are and where you are going.  As much as I say “live in the NOW!” I know that I need to remember what old Ron was like and why I made changes to him.

How do you bring courage and conviction to risky situations?  

You gotta make the best decision you can with the data you have and then move forward.  You won’t always be right, but you have a better shot at achieving greatness than if you play it safe and do the same old thing day in and day out.  

What values are you committed to?  

Love, loyalty, continuing to better myself and those around me.  Laughing at myself and moving on when needed. 

What do you do to live a balanced life?  

I try to make time for myself.  I didn’t in the past.  I now know that 30-45 minutes of exercise daily really isn’t optional most days.  It really keeps me driving towards my other goals.  As I face time off from work during this layoff I have already told myself that I will spend some time every day working on myself.  

What dreams and goals inspired you to succeed?  

Again – go to MFP and read the Success Stories.  So many other people have made this journey before me and their experience has offered me so much inspiration and encouragement.

How do you #LiveALittle? | Blog Series | Featured Member: Christy in Oklahoma

Christy from Yukon, OK

I grew up as a heavy person. I was shopping at Lane Bryant in junior high school - before they had fashionable clothes, by the way. Dressing like an old lady in high school was not very cool! My parents were amazing, supportive, generous people who never belittled me or made me feel bad for being overweight, so it just wasn't a priority to change. I was a brainy kid, so sports didn't interest me - and my sedentary lifestyle led to being well over 200 pounds before I ever graduated high school. A stressful job and 2 kids later - I hit my heaviest at 280.

About 2 years ago, I started trying to eat better because I realized how much my kids were eating like me. After about a year of just being a bit more careful, and a tiny bit more active, I had dropped about 30 pounds. No one noticed - which I found discouraging. I had no real plan, and exercise was still an afterthought.

Then I decided to start taking Tae Kwon Do classes with my daughter. What I expected was shame and a complete inability to do any of it. But I wanted to show my girl that doing hard things was good for you. And it was hard, really hard for me. I couldn't get my overweight body to do the things the instructor was teaching me to do. But there was no shame, only encouragement. So I decided to try running to see if I could get the weight off faster so I could keep up.

And that's when the magic happened. I signed up for a 5k in April of this year to motivate me. I knew if I had paid good money to do something I was going to do it! Even if I finished last! 

It took four months of prep for that first 5k before I started liking it. But all along the way, I posted my progress to my friends on Facebook. The little words of encouragement kept me going. The accountability of knowing that my friends might noticed if I stopped posting my workouts made me keep trying. 

Once I did one 5k, I got so much positive feedback I signed up for another one that day. I've run 8 of them since. I'm still not very fast, but I'm now hopelessly addicted to running, races, and t-shirts.

The weight started to come off more easily as my food habits fell in line with my new more active self.  I started to look at myself differently. I am now the kind of person who runs 15-20 miles a week. So dropping sweets was now a much smaller hurdle. Now, I'm celebrating having lost 100 pounds with a half marathon at the end of the month!

Just like everyone I know, I've tried losing weight a million times before. Motivation is probably the key factor that made this time work.

Being outside is a major motivator for me. The fresh air, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, new parks and places - these are things I look forward to all day and miss when I don't get my dose. When it's just too cold or hot, I'll hit the gym, but I'll be dreaming about the outdoors.

I'm an extrovert - I love people and get my energy from being around others. Even though most of my runs are solitary, I've found that being a runner gives me a whole new way to relate to people. I get to talk about the next race with my friends and coworkers, meet new people at races, and share with #livealittle members about common experiences. I'll talk about running with anyone who shows half an interest.

I've also learned to embrace confidence. Now I celebrate my achievements unabashedly. Am I bragging when I post a selfie of myself at yet another run? Heck yes! I'm proud of every step. When someone tells me I'm looking great, I've learned to say "Thanks, it's a lot of work, but it's worth it." 

I still have some weight to lose and goals (like a marathon, then maybe a tri!) to achieve. But being active is now who I am, not just something I do. It sinks in to every part of my life. I keep trying to surround myself with people who support this lifestyle, and those who want to join it. Having someone who wants to follow in your footsteps is a great way to keep going!

I have to give a big shoutout to Robert McCanliss - whom I knew from high school (ages ago!) Seeing his posts about his running and weight loss achievements really motivated me, and he was the one who invited me to the #LiveALittle group. I've found the group and his personal journey to be a daily help and motivator!

Fear of Death is Fear of Regrets

My biggest fear is death. Apparently a lot of others are just like me. Public speaking is the #1 fear of Americans with death being a close #2. That means more people would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy. But death really isn't my biggest fear, its actually the 5 minutes before you die, assuming I'm going to die of old age in a nursing home somewhere. That 5 minutes before I die will be my time to face all my regrets. That's what scares me. Those regrets. At that time before my death I won;t care what people think about me, what people are saying about me behind my back, I won't be worrying about small dumb shit that doesn't matter, but I will be thinking about about all the times I did. How I let others effect me negatively. How I missed out on amazing crazy opportunities because I was worried I would look silly in the eyes of others. How I stayed at a job I hated because I was worried about truly finding something I loved and took a chance and went for it. My worry is that I will spend my entire life worrying but the last 5 minutes sad because I worried. That last 5 minutes scares me to death, literally.  I want my last 5 minutes to be thinking about the amazing things I did, the loving people in my life, and having no regrets.

That Mother F*cking Restart Button

The feeling can be wonderful. Everything is going good. Exercising on a regular schedule. Eating the right things. Going to bed at a good time. Then it happens. The bottom falls out. One lazy day turns into two, then five. A week goes by and now a month later exercise has gone to the back of the mind. Eating crap food. Sleep schedule starts going to hell. You've gone completely off track and the self madness starts to set in. Is it all worth it? 

Nope. Time to hit the restart button. 

We sometimes have a hard time imagining the end result. Which is life. Living longer and living healthier. It is easier to just living in the moment instead of planning for the future. But this isn't a saving account. This is life. Is there a huge difference between living to 55-60 and living to 85-90? You bet your sweet ass there is. That's 25-35 years. 25-35 years of laughing, movies, watching our younger family members grow up, and a lot more. 

I needed to hit that restart button again and I did. I've made a huge goal this time. I've vowed to run 100 miles. 2-3 miles a day for how ever long it will take me. No other focus right now except that goal. I need to prove something to myself. Pushing that restart button is not going to be embarrassing. 

Living to at least 85-90 is the long term goal. 

One thing is very clear, hitting the restart button is a lot better life choice than hitting the "power off" button.  

I must #LiveALittle

Warning: Accountability is not included.

Not only does someone need goals to succeed but they also need promises. Self promises. It is incredibly hard to make self promises when you don't have very much self love, worth, or esteem. You can't trust yourself. You've already spent years of breaking promises to the one person you are supposed to love completely unconditionally, yourself. That was my dilemma. With this new #LiveALittle lifestyle I needed to make some self promises but I needed to get down to the nitty gritty of what they should be.

My first promise needed to reflect why I was even making an attempt at a new #LiveALittle life. I wanted to get out and be more active. Seeing the world was becoming more of a priority to me and my new job was giving me the opportunity to get out more.  A flight to Las Vegas via Southwest Airlines put a huge scar on my self esteem at the beginning of my journey.
Got to the airport early, grabbed a coffee at the Starbucks, read some articles on my iPad waiting for my flight at the gate, got A list seating, boarded the plane, took out my laptop, sat down, buckled my seatbe........ Try again, buckled my seatb.......... Damn, suck it in fatty. Buckled my seatbel............Holy shit. I'm too fat for the seatbelt. This was one of the biggest eyeopening experiences of my life. It was all making sense, how could I travel and experience new things if I couldn't fit in normal airplane seats? I also had recent memories of how I couldn't ride the roller coasters at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City because the safety bar wouldn't latch due to me being too big. This was serious.
Promise #1: Live a healthier and more active lifestyle. 

Sitting for long periods of time in front of the television watching entire seasons of shows like Sons of Anarchy, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men used to fill my weekends. I didn't know anyone in Kansas City and I didn't have any intentions to meet anyone so getting out and about was detoured again by bullshit. If I wasn't too fat to do it, I was too lazy. Notorious for always mumbling to myself, on the long lazy ass weekend of extreme Netflix watching, "Damn, I'm so bored". How in hell could I be bored?! I lived in amazing city with hundreds of things to do. I had no right complaining that I was bored. Choosing to stay at home and not venture out was my own doing. Laziness was my problem and a fear of change or trying something different. A change my pattern is what I needed, and to live outside my current comfort zone. Focus on starting local, and go from there. Needed to look for activities happening in my community like Waldo Days, Irishfest, Union Station, or just garage sale driving, and venture more out from there. With this new way of thinking I would hardly be at home. Always be moving.
Promise #2: Never complain about being bored.



Not only would I complain about being bored sometimes I just wouldn't want to move. Just lay in bed. Making excuses why I couldn't meet new friends for happy hour or go on a 12 mile bike ride through Lenexa & Overland Park. Lying to myself was something that came very easy. It's something I still struggle with daily. Constantly want to lie to myself and make up excuses to not live a little bit more. To just give up and lie. This is possibly the toughest of all of the promises. Still struggle with it but I've come so far.
Promise #3: Stop making excuses & lying to yourself

The fourth promise I needed to make to myself, in order to live a better and more productive life, seems like it would be a tough one but it's really not. I compare it to removing a bandaid. What's the least painful way to remove a bandaid? You guessed it, just rip it off. I needed to get the negative out of my life. Negative people, vices, habits, thinking, everything. I've got to be really careful here because some of you reading this might take it personally and I think I'm talking about you when I mention getting the negative people out of my life. If you are taking it personally and think I'm talking about you you're absolutely right. Only negative people would think that way. If you haven't heard from me in awhile then at least you know now why. So at least it's a win/win? Getting rid of negativity was like I was having a fire sale. Everything negative must go! Smoking cigarettes, GONE! Shitty unloving girlfriend always complaining and talking mad smack on all her friends, GONE! Getting liquored up weekly, GONE! I still enjoy a drink now and again but seriously, if you're over 35 and enjoy getting schammered daily or weekly you might want to reconsider your choices. But hey, its your life, this is just a promise I needed to make to myself.
Promise #4: Cut out all negativity

So far my promises seemed very doable. I needed to stick to them. Figuring out how to keep myself accountable was the tough part. Talk the talk, no problem. Walk the walk, "Houston we have a problem." Accountability. I figured the best way to create accountability is to tell the masses what you are going to do and the promises you are going to make. I knew the perfect place to announce my promises and ask for assistance in keeping them. In fact, asking others to examine the same promises and maybe make them for themselves might even increase that accountability. People relying on others in a full accountability circle, what a great concept. The #LiveALittle Project members were perfect for this and the promises I was making to myself fit right in with other struggles people face with trying to live a #LiveALittle life. So not only would the word of the promises spread but the word of The #LiveALittle Project would spread with it.
Promise #5: Spread the word about the #LiveALittle lifestyle and encourage others to make the same 5 promises

http://TheLiveALittleProject.com

The #LiveALittle Mission Statement | Living for those who cannot

I've been thinking a lot lately. I love the #LiveALittle Project but want to see it go to the next level. What that level is I don't know. I've been advised to write a business plan & mission, vision, values statement for the project. Making The #LiveALittle Project a registered nonprofit would require those anyway. I've been stuck on the Mission statement. What exactly is the mission of The #LiveALittle Project? There’s a few of the things I have said in the last year that The #LiveALittle Project stood for but this has been the main statement:
“Encourage people to live a little bit more every single day.”
What exactly does that mean? We are all different when it comes to living a little bit more every day. Fitness, health, losing weight, more activity, have been the issues that most of the members of the project have focused on but there are so many more issues project members getting detoured with to further their “live a little” life. Dead end jobs, terrible relationships, estranged family, substance abuse problems, and the big three: lack of self-esteem, self worth, and self-love.
Then it hit me.

In high school I met a very beautiful, funny, caring, protective, loving amazing girl named Michelle. I fell in love with Michelle within minutes of meeting her. We spent hours upon hours together. She was a true friend. We weren’t romantically involved; we loved each other in the purest form, complete respect. Over time our lives drifted apart but we stayed in touch because of modern social media sites like MySpace and Facebook. The last time I saw Michelle was when I went to visit her in

Phoenix nearly 4 years ago. She was still beautiful after all those years. Now a wife and a mom our lives had changed very much but that visit we were swept back to 1992 and giggled like high school teenagers gossiping about everyone we went to school with. About 2 years ago I received an email from Michelle telling me that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer but for me not to worry because she was going to fight it and she was going to beat it.

Six months later my beautiful Michelle died.

A lot of you may have some kind of similar story about someone you love or know being diagnosed with a terminal disease. Have you noticed the amazing thing they do after they are diagnosed? They change. They wake up from the haze that all of us seem to be in. Suddenly trees look different and are more noticeable. Smells smell different and amazing. Wind isn’t just wind, it tickles and fills your spirit. Self-love starts to prevail, self-esteem become clearer, and self worth becomes one of the most important things right next to the love of others. The definition of life for someone with a terminal disease takes on a whole new meaning and I believe that meaning is what we all are striving for. Why must we wait until we are told that our death is very near before we truly start to live a little? Why can’t we do it now? We are all dying but we ignore that. What’s the first thing most smokers diagnosed with lung cancer do when their doctors tell them that their disease is fatal? They stop smoking, because they truly find that self-love to continue to do whatever necessary to possibly continue their life even if it is a tiny chance. It took me 20 years to quit smoking. Even when I learned of Michelle’s disease, and even her death, one would think I would have stopped but I didn’t.
This is where I believe the mission statement of The #LiveALittle Project needs to come from. It’s not solely about fitness, eating right, loving your work, and trying new things, loving new people and those already in our lives. It is about LIVING.

The #LiveALittle Project’s Mission Statement:
“To encourage others to live life as though they would not see next year”

From this moment on I dedicate my #LiveALittle life to my beautiful Michelle and her spirit, and I live my #LiveALittle life for myself and those who love me.

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who Hustle.

If you're in the automotive retail industry you know who Grant Cardone is. Grant Cardone is a motivating, in your face, "Don't be a little bitch", coaching, social media posting, branding superstar that has positively touched many.  I don't sell cars but as my pal Sean Stapleton says, "Everyone is in sales. Doesn't matter if your desking deals or sweeping the service department floor, you're in sales." Professionally I'm digital marketer in the auto industry that provides services to dealerships and Grant has greatly influenced me. The dude is good at personal branding. Grant hosted a NatGeo television show called The Turn Around King, he's put on hundreds of training seminars, video blogs, and has wrote a few books over time. One of those books really grabbed my attention. "The 10X Rule." Amazon describes the book as:

"While most people operate with only three degrees of action-no action, retreat, or normal action-if you're after big goals, you don't want to settle for the ordinary. To reach the next level, you must understand the coveted 4th degree of action. This 4th degree, also know as the 10 X Rule, is that level of action that guarantees companies and individuals realize their goals and dreams."

With my new found #LiveALittle lifestyle this book seemed right up my alley.  It was time to make more action, stop settling for ordinary, and truly start to realize my hopes and dreams.
My commute to work is around 30 minutes so I purchased the audio book. With no idea what to really expect I started listening the day I downloaded it. Grant started out pretty strong, would get distracted a few times but listening to Grant's side bar commentary was well worth it. Hearing Grant get excited and pumped up about his own words made me a true believer that he owned every word coming out of his mouth. He didn't just preach it he lived it everyday. He brought back the true positive meaning of the word "Hustler".  Not a nickel and dime punk that did anything to make a buck but a true work your f*cking ass off-hit the grind stone running-self made hustler. I wanted to be a hustler. Listening to Grant's words even made me believe he wanted me to kick ass.   A few other things really stood out to me too and were "aha" moments.

Average is a failing formula.
I never thought about this concept. Studies show that the majority of Americans strive for average. Strive for average. Repeat that one more time. They strive for average. They don't believe they are average so they are working on just becoming average. I thought I was average, heck I thought I was above average but I wasn't. I was one of those striving for average. Many might disagree with this whole striving for average statement but I bought into it. I still do. Living a #LiveAlittle life may not be living below average, average, or above average but it does put things in perspective. I don't want to make a medium income, have a average relationship, average vacations, learn normal things, etc. By living a little bit more every single day is my way of staying above average.

It is your moral duty, obligation, and responsibility to your family, your company, and your future self to achieve success.
Wow. After setting back and making excuses about why I couldn't achieve my goals this really hit hard. I mean I've hit goals but I usually did them half ass or changed them multiple times to fit my slacking nature . This truly called out the person I had been before discovering a #LiveALittle journey.

Become Omnipresent. 
In other words "be everywhere". No excuses for being bored. Be everywhere. Always be moving either physically or mentally. Keep your mind, your body, or your hustle always in check and in demand. This one may not fit everyone but it fit me in a few different ways. For one, I'm a digital marketer in the automotive industry, a very competitive industry with outstanding digital marketing solutions and consultants, and I need for people to not only know me but trust the advice I give. Personal branding is all about marketing. If I can't market myself how can I expect you to believe I can market your business? Personal branding isn't the only thing I need branded, I also wanted to market the #LiveALittle Project too along with the inspirational stories from all of the members. The #LiveALittle Project is an amazing motivational and inspirational group I think the entire world needs to know about. Success for myself and the #LiveALittle Project was not just going to find me I had to fight for it and become omnipresent.

Grant Cardone's words from The 10X Rule may not be what you need but it was exactly what I needed at the time and even now. Promises I made to myself and what I challenged members of The #LiveALittle Project to were directly influenced by The 10X Rule. Out of dozens of promises to be made to one's self in the #LiveALittle lifestyle 5 really stood out and seemed the most important. If you promise to keep reading my blog, go back and read a couple you may have missed then I promise to break down the 5 #LiveALittle Promises in my next post. Before I started writing this post I noticed "My #LiveALittle Project" blog hit 1000 views. Thank you. Thank you for reading my story.

You rock.

Many Ways To Commit Suicide, I was doing the Extended Version

This is the blog post that has been haunting me since I started writing about my personal journey of positive transformation. Regrets are something I don't have a lot of. Everything I have done in my life I would do again but in a healthier way. Never been a huge drinker. Drugs have never been a big thing for me either. I'm mumbling to stall so I don't have to tell you that I was addicted to cigarettes for 20 years. Little embarrassed that cigarettes controlled my life.  Jesus Christ cigarettes are expensive and possibly the most dangerous murderous things that are legal. Thinking back over the past 20 years I spent thousands of dollars on a horrible addiction. Blaming anyone but myself for having that nasty habit would be ridiculous. Smoking made me believe I looked cool and a little dangerous. Thought the girls around me were attracted to a man who smoked. Little did I know I just looked like an idiot and smelled horrible.

Parliaments were my huckleberry. Almost two packs a day. It was time to break up with Mr P-Funk. That's the cool name Parliament smokers called their cigarettes. P-Funk is a shorthand term for the repertoire and performers associated with George Clinton and the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and the distinctive style of funk music they performed (thank you Wikipedia). Cold Turkey worked once for me in my 20 years of smoking. "Worked" probably isn't the right word to use since I only stopped smoking for about 3 months. Using a e-cig helped me stop smoking for 30 days. Nothing truly helped me quit for good. I had noticed television commercials for Chantix, the stop smoking medicine prescribed by a doctor. Like all other pharmaceutical commercials the side effects disclaimer at the end of the commercial scared the BeJeezus out of me. According to the Chantix' website these are the possible side effects:

Some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions while using CHANTIX to help them quit smoking. Some people had these symptoms when they began taking CHANTIX, and others developed them after several weeks of treatment or after stopping CHANTIX. If you, your family, or caregiver notice agitation, hostility, depression, or changes in behavior, thinking, or mood that are not typical for you, or you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, anxiety, panic, aggression, anger, mania, abnormal sensations, hallucinations, paranoia, or confusion, stop taking CHANTIX and call your doctor right away. Also tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems before taking CHANTIX, as these symptoms may worsen while taking CHANTIX.

When I see that a pill could cause "suicidal thoughts" it gets my attention and a big fat NOPE. My best friend had his doctor prescribe to him so I thought I'd sit back and see how it worked. He mentioned that it was giving him crazy vivid dreams but other than that he would forget to take the pills & eventually he stopped taking the pills altogether. Meanwhile I was still determined I would quit. Many times I would get a wild hair and proactively throw away a half packs of cigarettes proclaiming that I was done done done only to buy another pack two hours later. Struggling was full on but I knew something had to give. Either I go full throttle on quitting or give up and wait for the lung cancer to set full in. I needed to at least give Chantix a shot. In all actuality continuing to smoke cigarettes was basically committing long term suicide anyway. 
"Whoa, expensive." My first thoughts after arriving at CVS Pharmacy to pick up my Chantix. Insurance paid for nearly nothing. Some insurance programs, I've been told, will cover a lot of the cost. Unfortunately my insurance did not but after weighing the amount of money I have spent on cigarettes over 20 years the price didn't seem so bad anymore. The prescription cost me about $240 out of pocket for a month worth of medication. 
Started taking the meds the very next morning. One a day for the first week and I could continue to smoke. I didn't feel any different that first day. It was like I never took the pill but I still had hope. The second day I took the pill again in the morning and went on with my day. I was anticipating feeling different so I don't know if the light headiness I had later that afternoon was from the Chantix or just from another stressful work day. Took the third pill the next morning and noticed that my morning cigarette tasted slightly funny. Didn't taste as good as the night before. It was just a slight change. Throughout the day all of my cigarettes tasted different but not horrible enough that I didn't want to smoke. Day 4 was pretty much the same as day 3 with all of my cigarettes now tasting even worse. Day 4 consisted of smoking nearly half of what I had been smoking. There were no side effects kicking in. No noticeable changes except the taste of cigarettes was changing. No weird dreams or thoughts of killing myself so something was going right! 
Day 5. I will always remember day 5. This was the first day in 20 years that I did not want or crave a cigarette. I took my pill in the morning and continued my day without smoking once. When I say there was no craving I mean absolutely zero want for a cigarette. I felt amazing. To this day I have not smoked again but the Chantix journey would continue. You don't just stop taking it after you lose the cravings. It apparently needs to get deep into your system and that would take anywhere from 30 days to 6 months according to the doctor. 
On the 8th day is when the instructions say to start taking two pills, one in the morning and one before bed. Taking the pills now became fun for me because I realized they were working and I was having zero side effects. That was until the 9th night. Took my before bedtime pill and laid down for bed. I fell asleep easily but completely woke up at 3am. By completely woke up I mean wide eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the day. After laying in bed wide awake until 4am I finally got up and went through my morning routine, just 3 hours earlier than normal. The 10th night I was so sleepy at 7pm that I went to bed only to wake up at 11pm then 2am then 4am. Each time I woke up I felt like I was wide awake. Luckily I could fall back asleep a half hour or hour later. This sleeping pattern continued the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th night. My sleep was really being effected and it was starting to effect my work and personal life but I still wasn't smoking. It was a complete bitter sweet feeling. 
I'm not a doctor but I pulled a doctor making decision and decided that I would stop taking the pill before bedtime and only take the morning pill. I didn't want to start smoking again so I had to really manage this carefully. My plan worked. The weird sleep patterns stopped and I still wasn't craving any kind of cigarette. Another bonus is no other side effects were apparent. I had finally kicked this habit. I was going to win. 

Day 24 was the last day I took Chantix. I can't remember why I stopped taking the pills before I was supposed to but I did. Could of been that I was worried about the other side effects taking hold and I wanted to head them off at the pass before they attacked. So officially it took just over 3 weeks of Chantix to finally break free of one of the most disgusting and life consuming legal habits there is. 

My #LiveALittle lifestyle was really coming together. Healthy was a new word for me but I was doing it. Losing weight, eating better, exercising, getting out more, making new friends, and now no smoking. The world was mine. What was next? What mountain could I climb metaphorically? It was time to finally sit down and read something I'd been telling myself to read for a long time. I was officially ready to read the words of Grant Cardone. One of the most energizing, hard working, no excuses, not taking average as a lifestyle, 10X living son of a gun's working in the same industry as me that I have had the chance to meet.  I was ready to educate myself. 

What would Grant Cardone do?