Project Description
Doug, ON, Canada
Length of Smoking: 40 yrs.
Amount Smoked per Day: 40 cigs
Quit Day: Tapered down before arrival, had the last cigarette on the 3rd night upon arrival
“I was having shortness of breath and was getting tired pretty quickly. I am a fairly active guy. I have two companies and I was having shortness of breath doing normal chores. Your mind tells you you’re 25 years old, but your body’s talking, you’re 50 years old. But since I’ve been here and quitting the cigarettes, I’ve noticed I’m not coughing and hacking in the morning. I’m not short of breath anymore. And being here, I am going on walks every day and I feel my lungs have improved tremendously… I don’t feel 53 anymore, I feel 33 or so.”
Improvements with: Quit Smoking, Breathing/ Lung Issues, Digestive Health, Insomnia/ Sleep Issues, Neck, Back and Hip Pain.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits. Smoking 1.5 pack a day, or 300 cigarettes per week. Last time I quit 15 years ago, but was at the time in Cuba, where dad had a heart attack and I was left to take care of him. Stress took over, and I started smoking again. | I started the process of weaning 2 weeks prior to coming. With the Fresh Start counsellor I agreed on Friday as the quitting date. But I quit on Tuesday and did not look back. I was given pills that cured the cravings. By now 90% cravings are gone. |
| Smoking Habit. The habit to have it first thing in the morning when walking a dog, when drinking cofee, after a meal, as well as boredom were the biggest trigger for craving. | I didn’t have my dog here to take for a walk and I also wasn’t drinking coffee. The program here helps me because it keeps me busy, keeps my mind off the things. You didn’t have time for boredom here. If you weren’t busy, you could be busy and fo gor a walk. That’s what I did when when getting little stressed and wanting a cigarette. |
| “Sticky” Blood. My blood did not look healthy when I arrived. | Everything improved 100%. |
| Lung Issues. I had breathing difficulty, was hacking, coughing and getting out of breath with simple tasks. | I don’t have those symptoms anymore. I can walk. |
| Neck, back and hip pain. I had neck pain and hip pain pretty much constantly. And then I had a back pain that was come and go every once in a while. | While I was here one of the therapists here realized that I have a rib that's popped out of place. So that's what was creating a lot of my pain. My neck and lower back are feeling great. Once again it's due to the massages. It's something to be said to have three or four massages a week and it does good for the body. The only total pain I got is my hip and I do believe it just still needs to be worked on. I believe that worked and most of that, but it's still there every morning when I wake up. |
| Sleep Issues. Before I came, I’d sleep about 3 to 4 hours a night, then I’d toss and turn for the rest of the night. | Since I've been here, I've been going to bed at 10:00 and I've been pretty much sleeping through the night besides getting up to go to the bathroom because I've been drinking so much water. There's a couple other people that were here that I've met with and talked with, and they're very connected spiritually that I felt like I actually gave them my whole portfolio before I got here. I never even met people before, but they knew all about you, even before I talked to them. So emotionally, they worked me through a lot of stuff that I actually didn't know existed so that I'm grateful for. |
| Grief, loss of a few family members | I met with the counselor and I believe we've kind of worked through those losses I had. |
| Extra weight | Lost 9 lbs. |
Experience Highlights:
- Great people that I met here between the staff and the people that are here on their own journeys
- Open class for people to say where they’re from and what they’re here for. I enjoyed that time when you can actually hear the truth coming out of people and it’s not frosted, covered and their life is great.
- Salt Cocoon and craving support supplements.
- Body treatments, Swedish, Thai Massage, Salt Scrub – were tremendously helpful for my neck, back and hips
The information above is based on the following resources:
- Unedited Video Testimonial Materials
- Before and After Self-Assessment
- Program Participation and Progress Sheet
Disclaimer : Results of participants differ and the Fresh Start cannot guarantee that you will experience your improvements in the same way as in this testimonial. The Fresh Start is not an allopathic medical facility and does not claim to either diagnose or treat any disease. The Fresh Start does not guarantee a recovery from any specific disease or a health symptom.
