Advocacy for Vaping

So, I've been on the Keto "lifestyle" for over a month now and it's been working really well for me. The lockdown has really played havoc with my weight, and health, and I knew that getting back in shape was something I desperately needed. I wanted to share my journey through this, so I thought I'd create a journal of sorts online. You can pop in at www.ketowithmichellehughes.club if you're interested in recipes, and tips to get you started. I've lost 16lbs, so far!
As some of you may, or may not know, I'm a type two diabetic, and what really kicked me in the backside was my sugar levels reaching 377 at my last doctor's appointment. I'd been in a funk for the last year, and really let myself go, both mentally and physically. If you've noticed, I haven't released any books in over a year, and a big reason for that is I was physically exhausted. I'm writing again, my mental clarity is returning and my blood sugar is now back in the normal range. Keto has been a huge life-changer for me!
It's been a huge adjustment changing a lifetime of eating habits, but I haven't been hungry! I think the reason a lot of diets fail is that you're always starving. If you're doing Keto right, you won't have to deal with that. I'm not a doctor or a dietician, so I don't know why Keto works to keep you full while eating less, but it does work. I even have to force myself to eat these days, because I'm just not hungry. The hardest part about this is coming up with meal plans (at least it was for me) and I've shared exactly what I've eaten for the last five weeks on the new journal blog. No, I'm not charging for this information!
If you're looking to lose weight, or maybe even help your type two diabetes, I hope you'll join me on this journey. For me, this is a lifestyle change, not a diet, and you have to go into this with the right frame of mind. Believe me, I was a huge bread, pasta, rice, and potato eater prior to Keto, so it is an adjustment period. I've learned how to substitute those foods for healthier, and believe it or not, tastier options, and I don't feel like I'm missing out. I've even discovered how to eat out and still remain on Keto. Basically what I'm saying is, if I can do this, I know you can too. I hope to see you on the blog!
Can you say EXCITED?!?!?! I got my first Keto Krate in and I think all my dreams have just come true. No, I'm not exaggerating! It was like Christmas morning because there were so many goodies packed inside I just couldn't wait to dive in. I know, I know, I have to watch my calories and carb intake, so I'll have to space them out, but the idea of having snacks (especially ones I don't have to make myself) can you say KETO HEAVEN? I could so keep on rambling, but instead, let me show you what's in the box! OH!!! Before I forget, if you'd like to try the Keto Krate, I have a $10 coupon code for your first box: https://glnk.io/ykq1/tocsflavors or you can use my coupon code: TOCFLAVORS
In 2015 I was rushed to the
emergency room, unable to breathe, choking as I aspirated food into my lungs,
and convinced this was going to be my last day on earth. I was
hospitalized and diagnosed with COPD. It was singularly the most
terrifying day of my life, so I'll never forget the trauma. The first
thought that ran through my head when I could breathe again, was my five
children would be without a mother. After three days in the hospital, I'd
had plenty of time to think about my life choices.
Regret was at the top of my
list because I knew at that moment, I'd failed my children who depended on me
for everything. Looking back now, I know I was failed by my healthcare
providers as well. There was an option they never mentioned to me that
could have saved me from the diagnosis. Yes, it was my choice to start
smoking in 1985, but when I tried to quit smoking, they didn't offer me all the
solutions. I was told to use nicotine patches, those didn't work. I
was told to try Chantix, which almost killed me after putting me in a state of
depression that made me want to take my own life. Gums, hypnosis,
counseling, in the years that led up to my COPD diagnosis for Chronic Bronchitis,
none of those solutions worked and I returned to smoking each time.
The miracle cure for me didn't
come from a physician, my pulmonologist, or any medical personnel I'd spoken
with over the years as I fought to overcome smoking addiction. What
changed my life forever came from a friend I'd spoken with on social
media. She told me how this thing called vaping had helped her finally
quit smoking after many failed attempts of smoking cessation.
At this point in my life, I was
desperate. I couldn't walk to the bathroom without giving out of
breath. I had to sleep in a recliner because I couldn't breathe while
lying down. I didn't want to spend my life choking when I ate, and the
depression was overwhelming. The inhalers I was using would only give me
few minutes of relief before the horrible feeling of not getting air in my
lungs started again. I'd even lost my singing voice which had once landed me a
spot on the Midnight Jamboree in Nashville, Tennessee, and allowed me to tour
the United States with a televised singing showcase. My life was falling
out of control and I saw no way out.
I'd driven by a new vape shop
in town more than a few times and honestly? It reminded me of some head shop,
and I brushed it off as some joke. I was forty-six years old, a football/baseball
mom, those types of places weren't for people like me. My COPD diagnosis
changed that attitude because I was desperate for anything to help me live to
see my children grow up. I finally took the advice of that friend who
told me about vaping. The day I walked into that vape shop was the last
day I ever smoked a cigarette. After ten years of trying unsuccessfully
to stop smoking (I'd spent 15 years not caring to quit before that), I'd
finally found something that gave me the chance I needed to
succeed.
The vape shop owner was a man
close to my age (46 at the time) and I handed my phone over to him with the
friend that suggested vaping on the other end of the line. She told him
what kind of setup to give me, an i-Stick 30 and an aerotank (an older mouth to
lung tank). He walked me through the process of setting it up and filling
it with e-liquid (the liquid that is used in a vaping device), and I walked out
of that shop using it, and never looked back again. I'd chosen a custard-flavored
e-liquid with 18mg of nicotine in it, and the flavor was really incredible
making me want to keep inhaling the sweet taste.
Anytime I'd think about craving
a cigarette, I'd use my vaping device and that desire would go away. In
the beginning, I used it as a lifeline, vaping constantly to keep my mind off
the cigarettes that were killing me. No one was more amazed than I was
that this little vaping setup was helping me not want to smoke. Over the
next few months changes were starting to happen, and I finally felt that I
found the solution to my cigarette addiction because my health began to
improve.
Two months after I started
vaping, I was no longer coughing all the time. I was able to lay down in
a real bed, and not sleep upright in my recliner. I wasn't getting out of
breath walking to the bathroom. My singing voice slowly returned.
The thought about picking up a cigarette was completely gone because I felt so
much better. For the first time since I was seeing a beautiful light at
the end of the tunnel and knew I could beat this addiction that was destroying
my life.
Six months after beginning to
vape, my pulmonary function tests were showing such huge improvements that it
was almost like I hadn't been a smoker all my life. The inhalers were no
longer needed, my oxygen levels were in normal ranges, and I simply felt
better. After three years my pulmonary function tests show the same lung
capacity of a person that never smoked. That was supposed to be
impossible with COPD, but I'd found a modern medical miracle because of
vaping. In the five years since I started vaping, I haven't had a single
diagnosis of Chronic Bronchitis, or Pneumonia. Prior to vaping, it was
every three months I was on medication for one or the other.
This is my real story about
vaping. The one the media doesn't want to be told, or the politicians
wanting to be shared. During my journey into ending my addiction to
cigarettes, I've met tens of thousands of people that shared the same success
story. The vaping community became a family as I went through my journey,
and I consider every single person that vapes, my brother and sister. We
come from all walks of life, and there are millions of us out there that
discovered (without help from our medical professionals) that vaping can save
lives. I've talked to so many COPD survivors that have had the same
success I have had.
My advice to you if you're an
adult smoker, is to give vaping a chance if you've tried every other product
and failed to stop smoking. Vaping might end up being your miracle cure
as well. These days I'm an advocate for vaping because it's very hard not
to support something that gave me the air I breathe back. If I can help
you on your journey to quit smoking, I'm always here. My vision of a perfect
world is where people quit blowing smoke and discover that there is a solution
to the epidemic of cigarette smoking. I support all forms of harm
reduction, but vaping was what saved my life.
Reach out to me on Twitter, Facebook, or drop me a message here. If you want to know how to quit with vaping, I will do everything in my power to help give you the same education my friend gave me many years ago. You don't have to die smoking cigarettes. There IS another way. Thank you for letting me share my story, if you'd like to share your success with vaping, I have a form I'm sharing to get the word out to the world about how vaping saves lives. https://forms.gle/XnjGSzPsMkgu2Gzk6
All My Love,
Michelle Hughes
Let's face it, there are things you miss when you start doing the Keto diet, but with a little help, you can turn some of your favorite comfort foods into delicious Keto indulgences that don't destroy your carb count for the day. Strawberry Shortcake Keto Loaf is a delicious way to make your mouth happy and still stick to a Keto lifestyle. My TOC Flavors have 0 carbs, and TONS of flavor. You'll feel immortal after making this incredible loaf for your breakfast or even as a snack. So let's make Strawberry Shortcake Keto Loaf, Tears of Crimson style!
What you'll need:
There are so many times I get discouraged in my battle for harm reduction, that I've wondered if my voice even matters. I attempted to quit smoking for ten years prior to my COPD diagnosis while trying every pharmaceutical method offered by my physician, and even attempting hypnosis. I would make it a week or so, then go back to smoking again. Vaping was my miracle cure, and I just hate that it took being diagnosed with COPD to find it. I was just like most smokers when it comes to vaping, thinking it was just another idiotic idea to set me up for failure, so I was very surprised when I picked up vaping and never touched another cigarette. That was in 2015.
As most of my readers know, I worked as a respiratory therapist for eight years before becoming a full-time author. I watched patients die, suffer, and fight to quit, just like I had. If I were back in that field today, I'd encourage every single one of those people to try vaping. I'm sure I'd be fired, but I'd tell them anyway because I know for certain it works. I'm not knocking pharmaceutical drugs like the patch, and drugs (even though Chantix almost made me kill myself) if that harm reduction method works for a patient, then, by all means, more power to them. It failed me. I am of the mindset that whatever works is the tool that should be offered. For me, that was nicotine vaping.
I've repeated this story over and over during the last few years, how I no longer have COPD symptoms, and people that are against vaping, call me a liar. I can tell you without any hesitation this is no lie. I was diagnosed with Chronic Bronchitis for my COPD diagnosis, and I haven't had that since I started vaping. For that matter, I haven't had pneumonia either. Vaping was my miracle cure, so when people refuse to listen, it really breaks my heart. So many people have been falsely misled to believe that vaping is more dangerous than smoking, and that's just a lie. America has truly dropped the ball on the scientific discovery of vaping because they've been too busy following incorrect information.
I strongly encourage you to read the UK Government article released this month about nicotine vaping, and the impact it has shown on smoking cessation. Please follow this link to read that information: Vaping Better Than Nicotine Replacement We as a country, should be leading in smoking cessation, but we are dreadfully failing and one of those reasons is because our physicians, scientists, and public health care sectors are not putting their time and effort into discovering how vaping can be a great tool in quitting. Educate yourself, educate your physicians, educate the public. Vaping is a great solution to ending the epidemic of tobacco related illness and deaths.
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Where do I put my new
garden?
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How do I prepare the
soil?
·
What vegetables should
I plant?
·
Is it better to start
new plants from seed or should I buy transplants?
·
What about watering,
feeding, and taking care of my garden?
·
What do I do if bugs
show up?
There are no stupid questions
here. Everyone has to start somewhere, after all. Not only will you learn
how to prepare, plant, and tend your first vegetable garden, you’ll also
learn:
·
How to design an
eco-friendly layout
·
How to grow with the
seasons
·
How to maximize your
harvest, even if you only grow in a small space
Jessica wants your first food-growing experience to be a positive one, and she’s prepared to go the distance to make sure tending the
earth becomes your new favorite hobby.
A single growing season is all it takes to fall
in love with growing your own healthy, organic, nutrient-dense food. With
Jessica as your guide, you’ll soon discover all the satisfactions, challenges,
and great joys of growing your own food garden.
This book is part of The First-Time
Gardener's Guides series from Cool Springs Press, which also includes The
First-Time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers. Each book in The
First-Time Gardener's Guides series is aimed at beginner gardeners and offers
clear, fact-based information that's presented in a friendly and accessible
way, including step-by-step instructions and full-color illustrations
throughout.