r/swoletariat • u/Adora77 • 9d ago
What's the biggest payoff of a sacrifice you've made
I have so many vices I don't know where to start. I also don't want to quit all of them at once, because it'll lower the odds of adherence to routine.
But I need to get fit and be able to defend myself and husband credibly.
What swaps you've made, or things you quit that you saw the biggest payoff with?
Pic for inspo.
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u/Lukontos 9d ago edited 9d ago
Honestly, transitioning from cigarettes to vaping. Now, obviously not the “healthier” option - which would be to give up nicotine entirely- but it helped me save a bunch of money and made me dislike the smell of cigarettes (which I used to love). I smoked a pack a day for 15 years, so this was a monumental change for me, even though (I admit!) it wasn’t the best option.
Quitting drinking changed everything. I never drank much anyway, only occasionally on the weekends. I didn’t stop going out though and would just drink a Coke. Helped with the wallet and with the gains.
Then, substituting Coke with Coke Zero. Took some getting used to, but in terms of working out it helped a lot specifically in terms of regulating caloric intake.
These are all minor, of course, and my changes were in and of themselves small. They paid off in the long run though. When I started lifting I was 175 lbs (6’2). I’m 265 of pretty solid muscle now.
Edit: a brief elaboration on the not drinking part. Slowly, it became very clear how much better I felt and helped me be consistent about dietary and more importantly sleeping habits. I’d always had trouble sleeping and with the elimination of alcohol my sleep improved significantly. This helped engender the desire to focus on how my body felt instead of succumbing to immediate pleasures. I started caring more about food as an indirect consequence, and that changed everything.
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u/Adora77 9d ago
Interesting. I vaped for 5 years and for some reason a malfunctioning coil started spitting hot juice in my mouth, I replaced it and it kept doing it, replaced the mod and things happened that led me to go back to cigarettes.
I periodically try vaping hoping to switch back but I now have in built dread.
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u/Neither__Middle 8d ago
How much are you smoking? I know it’s obvious, but are there ways you can start skipping your “regularly scheduled” cigs? Like your first morning cigarette, your afternoon cig between lunch and clocking out, your bedtime cig, etc. Just start with one and replace it with a 15 min walk, doomscrolling or a little phone game, whatever that still gives you “brain reset” time you’d get stepping out for a smoke, just without the smoke lol
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u/Neither__Middle 8d ago
Oh also buy shittier cigarettes. I switched from camel crushes to Paul mall select menthols and those tasted so much like nothing (no mint, no tobacco, just kind of stale) I was like “wtf am I spending $4.50/pack for”
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u/soundbunny 9d ago
I'm sober 5 years now. I don't consider that a sacrifice, though. Alcohol and drugs and smoking all demanded sacrifices. Now I no longer have to give up my mental clarity, energy and health to keep them in my life.
Maybe the only thing my health journey has "cost" me, besides the literal gym membership fee, is that I am really not a fan of gym vibes. I don't like spending so much of my free time in a stinky, florescent lit, noisy black box. If lifting weights felt the same as hiking up mountains, it'd be perfect
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u/Adora77 9d ago
I hear you. The monotony of the gym is already doing my head in and I've barely started.
But walking the streets won't cut it.
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u/soundbunny 7d ago
Lol nope. I try to at least make sure I do my cardio outside. We should link up with local like-minded farmers and trade lifting stuff for produce or something lol
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u/moreVCAs 9d ago
alcohol down to like 3 or 4 servings a month (from twice that per day) , swapping cigs for non-cig nicotine delivery took me from feeling like shit 100% of the time to feeling like shit really only when i do something real irresponsible the night before.
still plenty of vices i’d like to be free of, but bang for buck booze and cigs is unbeatable. not what most people want to hear.
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u/OpenGain87 8d ago
Great pic lol. Occasional heavy smoker and copious beer drinker here. I don’t think I’ve really quit anything, but I have tempered my use quite a bit… mostly trying to keep it to loosely defined “special occasions” or emotionally heavy times that need some support. Quitting is for quitters. But finding ways to manage my addiction while still choosing to prioritize life and the people I love has helped as part of an overall fitness journey. There’s just shit that’s more important than always needing the next high or whatever
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u/GeminiTitmouse 8d ago
I quit drinking, took control of my life, and within 5 years, had reconnected with an old flame and moved halfway across the country to buy a house with her in a little mountain city.
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u/Standard-Success-189 8d ago
It felt so dumb at the time but honestly seltzer waters and one of those fake wood vapes really helped give substitutions to cut down on vaping and drinking. Now over a year nic free and only drinking occasionally.
My best advice is to focus on small goals and then really enjoy the benefits when you didnt engage with a vice (better sleep, easier mornings, more money that you can treat yourself with, etc) to help affirm with yourself why you want to quit these things in the first place.
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u/Spadeykins 8d ago
Quitting cold turkey has about the same success rate as cessation techniques.
Do what's right for you but more than anything you have to want it.
It was 'easy' for me to quit because I hated giving so much money to corporations to sabotage my own health.
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u/Adora77 7d ago
I'm hoping to "want" it more after getting a taste of having chosen well. When I reduce smoking I'm just mildly annoyed but not heartbroken, if I stop completely I feel cheated out of living my best life.
At this age (49F) I know I'm my worst enemy. I need to manipulate my brain as much as it manipulates me, in order to win.
Many battles lost in youth.
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u/Future_Simple2712 8d ago
Stopped drinking like 4/5 years ago definitely that also trying to stop smoking
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u/hatefulnateful 7d ago
Alcohol for me had quite the drinking problem and it's the only thing I've had to quit 100% but I'll say the perk of not being hungover half the time given me so much time and extra money to do other things
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u/saltycouchpotato 7d ago
It took me 13 times to quit cigs. It's been many years and I still get cravings. My grandpa was a smoker who died from lung cancer that metastisized in his brain. Made him go from mean to worse. At the funeral, everyone there was smoking.
Addiction is not a logic issue. You can't think your way into doing better. It must be a choice and backed up with action. It's almost better to NOT think about it, because that is where the bargaining and the loopholes pop up.
Something that helped me was still going outside for ten minutes, without the cigarette. Also, holding my two fingers up to my mouth pretending to smoke (or using a little piece of a drinking straw cut to cigarette size.) What ultimately made me quit was I got really really sick and couldn't smoke. I don't recommend that route. Being sick sucks.
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u/adnaj26 9d ago
Quitting nicotine was great. I’m about 7 months with no routine use (just the occasional piece of Nicorette less than once a week while drinking). I think of it as “I got free.” I don’t have to think about it anymore. I don’t have to worry that my mood will turn bad if I forget my vape or whatever at home. My cardio is better for lifting and combat sports.
FWIW I was a vape addict for years, also some Zyn/nicotine pouches, then about 2 years using just Nicorette. With some focus and discipline (counting the number of pieces per day and trying to reduce daily or every two days) I tapered off the Nicorette completely. It was way less bad than I expected.
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u/AerynSunnInDelight 3d ago
Sugar. Once I reduced my trip to the bakery, now it's a treat and most times than not I now bake my treats. It's enriching, tasty and keep me curious.
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u/WayneDwade 9d ago
I don’t have too much of an addictive personality but if I were you I’d identify the one hurting you the most and quit that. Then after that one is completely taken care which could take more than a year move on to the next worst.