Lorraine Fresquez stands at the front of the room, a wireless, hands-free microphone slightly concealing the grin on her face.

"Everybody ready," she says as the sound system starts pumping out beats.

It's not a question; it's a declaration. Class is now in session.

Fresquez teaches cardio kickboxing and Pilates at the Cheyenne Family YMCA. Anywhere from 25 to 50 people attend her 5:30 p.m. kickboxing class; usually about half or better stay for Pilates at 6.

Both classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays. Additionally, she teaches Pilates on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:15-12:45 p.m.

I originally signed up for the Pilates class about six weeks ago, shortly after I joined the YMCA. I did so on the advice of Ira Palmer, my former personal trainer. He recommended either Pilates or yoga because both focus on core training, which he and I did quite a bit of during our time together.

The combination of kickboxing and Pilates is similar to Palmer's ballistic cardio routines.

In ballistic cardio, Palmer would have me on the treadmill, stair climber or elliptical trainer for 10-20 minutes at a time and then have me do some core exercises on the physio ball. The idea was to burn fat with the cardio and shape and tone with the core exercises.

Fresquez's kickboxing class is just as challenging. After starting out slowly as a warm-up, she begins to crank up the intensity with a mixture of kicks, punches, power jumping jacks, shuffling and imaginary jump rope. She changes the routines every three weeks to make sure nobody is getting bored.

As she calls out the moves, she constantly reminds the class to keep the abdominal muscles tight. She does this to prevent injuries.

"We're doing a lot of twisting with cardio kickboxing, and if people aren't protecting their backs, they're going to have injuries," she says.

At the end of each class, she cools down with a hip-hop dance routine. She says she does this because the majority of the class is younger women, but she finds that the older exercisers like it too.

For people looking to lose weight, Fresquez recommends at least 20 minutes of cardio three to four times per week. She also recommends muscle conditioning for strength.

That's where Pilates come in. While kickboxing is all about high energy and constant movement, Pilates focuses on strength and stretching. In kickboxing, the music is loud and has a fast beat. In Pilates, the music is more serene and calming. But that doesn't mean it's any less intense.

"When you do cardio kickboxing, your muscles are already warm, so they're conditioned for that stretching that comes with Pilates," Fresquez says.

Just like in core training with Palmer, Pilates works the abdominals, back and buttocks.

In fact, Palmer and Fresquez use some of the same routines, such as planks. This is where the exerciser starts out lying on his or her stomach then lifts up the entire body with only the elbows and toes touching the floor.

The plank position is just the start. With Palmer, I would move from the plank position to my side for side pushups. In the current Pilates routine - like kickboxing, Fresquez changes it up every three weeks - participants move from the plank position to their sides for stretching exercises while holding themselves up. In both cases, you get a good stretch and work on strength.

In Pilates, breathing is especially important. The idea is to exhale on the execution of each movement, and Fresquez is constantly coaching the class on when to inhale and when to exhale. Not breathing right is the most common mistake in Pilates, she says.

One of the challenges of being an exercise instructor is designing routines that can appeal to young and old, beginner and expert, she says.

"Most members come to the YMCA looking for health, weight loss and feel-good goals," says Fresquez, who has been an exercise instructor for about 12 years. "To help create their training goals, we have to take certain things into account: time, inactivity, nutrition, rest and lifestyle for general well-being."

That's why Fresquez encourages her students to go at their own paces in both classes. And in Pilates she often demonstrates two different forms of a particular exercise - one for beginners, one for more advanced students.

But like any exercise, cardio kickboxing and Pilates take commitment. Fresquez says it can be 4-6 months before one gets really good at them.

"For those of you currently working on personal goals, never stop believing in your plan and stick to it," Fresquez says. "Always be aware that even the greatest exercise program has its flaws, and you will need to be willing to adjust your training by how you feel."

Getting her kicks has made Jeanne Butler a healthier person.

Butler began attending cardio kickboxing classes at the YMCA about 18 months ago. Her goal was to lose 80 pounds. She has just one pound to go.

"I got frustrated every once in a while but not enough to quit," Butler says. "Even when I wasn't seeing any weight loss for a while, I still felt better."

Losing that much weight has had a profound impact on her life, Butler says. She used to be uncoordinated and unmotivated; now she not only works out four to five times per week, she also has gotten into carpentry. Her daughter and son-in-law are building a home in Douglas, and Butler has been helping hang sheetrock and has done some shingling.

"I feel better, and I can do things I didn't use to be able to do," she says.

Her instructor for cardio kickboxing, Lorraine Fresquez, says she has noticed something else about Butler too: more confidence.

"I still say the way she even looks now, she's a totally different person," Fresquez says. "You can tell the self-confidence is there. The appearance by looking at her (is that) she has a lot more confidence when she walks in."

Fresquez was surprised to learn Butler had taken up shingling. But that surprise quickly turned to admiration.

"To me that's showing she has strength," Fresquez said. "The confidence though, just with that, to be able to shingle a roof. I mean, she's doing that! It's a benefit of what a workout can do for you."

Butler began working out after her younger daughter came home from college with 10 of the dreaded Freshman 15. With her daughter on a diet, Butler decided "I better join the wagon and do it too."

Butler began to alter her eating habits by patterning her own diet after Weight Watchers. She cut back on sweets and fast food. She ate more vegetables. And she ate smaller portions.

"I was eating a lot of fast food, especially when my kids were in high school," Butler says. "They were involved in athletics, and we were on the road a lot and just ate junk."

Now she allows herself one fast-food meal per week, but she is much choosier about what she eats - she's more likely to go for a salad than a burger.

Butler got involved with cardio kickboxing because it fit into her schedule better than other classes. And while she has tried other courses, she says she gets more from kickboxing than yoga or Pilates.

"If it hurts and you sweat, you feel like you're really accomplishing something," Butler says.

Getting started wasn't easy. Butler says she felt out of sync and out of step with the rest of the class for about the first six months.

"Like I said, I wasn't very coordinated, and I honestly thought I couldn't do part of it," she says.

But as she began to lose weight and feel better, her interest in cardio kickboxing grew. Now she not only attends the twice-weekly class, she works out with tapes at home. She also bought a treadmill a few months back.

Her instructor has noticed the difference.

"She can keep up with the class as if she was doing it for three or four years," Fresquez says, adding that Butler now works out near the front of the class instead of in the back.

"But she took her time with it. That's the thing I admire about her: She set goals for herself. You can see she achieved them just by all the different things she's been doing now."

Butler doesn't seem too worried about losing that last pound. She feels better, she is more active, and she is not about to give up her new healthy lifestyle to return to her old life.

No, the woman who once described herself as being uncoordinated has big plans this summer: She wants to learn to water ski.

"I have a new grandbaby too, and I decided I didn't want to be a fuddy-duddy old grandma," Butler says with a grin.

She adds that simply getting down on the floor to play with 1-year-old Brock would have been a challenge had she not adopted her new healthy lifestyle.

"I have never been an exerciser before, but I think it gets into your blood after a while," she says.

This city is ready for a serious discussion about a smoking ban.

The nearby communities of Laramie and Fort Collins, Colo. have adopted smoking bans. According to last year's Citizens Survey, 61.5 percent of respondents want a ban in restaurants. And your Wyoming Tribune-Eagle's editorial page has received numerous letters from readers calling for a ban.

But there are still many questions to answer. If a ban is even adopted, how far should it go? Just on smoking in restaurants? Or should it be all-inclusive, like Laramie's, which means no smoking in bars, restaurants and any public buildings?

I'm pulling for a ban in all public places. As I stated last week, my opinion is based entirely on my desire not to go back to smoking. My last cigarette was on Jan. 8, but I have been tempted to have one almost every day since then. And I'm most tempted when I'm around smokers.

On the other hand, the WTE Editorial Board favors a ban in restaurants only. And there are no doubt several thousand smokers here who don't want a ban at all.

But what do members of the City Council think? After all, they are the ones who will get this debate rolling. How things play out from there will depend on what citizens tell council members they want.

So where do the council and the mayor stand? I asked them that question this week. Their replies:

• Mayor Jack Spiker - The mayor says he support a ban for restaurants. To him, public health is more important in this instance than the right for business owners and their customers to choose.

"We legislate - and by 'we' I mean the country - we legislate a lot of things when it comes to health," he said. "We ban certain drugs, we limit the consumption of alcohol for certain ages, and we do that to protect our citizens. There is little doubt secondhand smoke is very dangerous."

• Rich Wiederspahn - The freshman councilman favors letting the marketplace decide whether to allow smoking. He says if citizens want more smoke-free restaurants, they can send a message by frequenting the restaurants that don't allow smoking; if the market demands it, other eateries will follow.

"People have a choice where they want to eat and drink," Wiederspahn said, adding that he too is offended by cigarette smoke but manages to avoid it. "If they're offended by cigarette smoke, they should go to those places that don't allow it or go to places where it's segregated enough. If the public demands it, eventually all businesses will be smoke-free."

• Jimmy Valdez - When he ran for election last year, Valdez told the editorial board he would welcome a restaurant smoking ban if 75 percent of the restaurant owners supported it. On Tuesday he said he wants to see a ban in all public places.

"If you're going to do something like this, it's got to be done all the way," the Ward 1 councilman said.

Valdez said a ban may cause some short-term pain for restaurants and bars but eventually those customers will come back and business may even double. He added that just going with a restaurant ban would be discriminatory toward bar employees: If a ban is passed to protect public health, it needs to encompass the entire public.

• Judy Case - "I'm just one of those people who thinks less government is better government," Case said in explaining her reasons for opposing a ban.

Like Wiederspahn, Case said demand can drive restaurants and bars to ban cigarettes. She says she would rather see more education about the dangers of smoking taught in school.

"Get them when they're young - grade school, junior high, high school - and educate the populace on how harmful smoking is to your health," the Ward 1 councilwoman said. "Over time the problem will correct itself."

• Joe Bonds - Believing that by the time people are 21 they can decide for themselves whether to frequent businesses that allow smoking, Bonds says he would like to see a smoking ban but with an exception for bars.

"I also believe all other public places, especially where children can be around, a smoking ban is necessary," he said.

• Tom Segrave - The Ward 2 councilman says he prefers to let private enterprise take care of the issue, though he wasn't willing to give a hard yes or hard no on the topic without first seeing a proposed resolution. He said he would vote no on a Laramie-style ban and added that it's important to exhaust all options before turning to legislation.

"I'm not a big-government intervention guy," Segrave said. "If industry can take care of it, why should government interfere?"

He said he would rather see restaurants do a better job of partitioning smoking sections and invest in better ventilation systems. He also suggested toughening the requirements for smoking sections so non-smokers are not affected, adding that is one of many options that should be part of a public discussion.

• Don Pierson - Several council members said they expect him be the one who gets this debate started. He said last year while running for re-election that he planned to introduce a restaurant ban. He still plans to do so, he says, but not until next year.

Pierson said he has been approached by an anti-smoking group in town that asked him to hold off on introducing the legislation so it would have time to educate the public on the dangers of smoking. He said his current plan is to introduce it in either January or February.

"Smoking shouldn't be allowed where there is a lot of youth," he said. "If we could keep smoking out of public places where youth are, we can help keep them from starting the habit."

Pierson added his goal is to also protect restaurant employees and patrons. After all, he says, eating is something that's done to stay healthy. So why breathe the toxins while you eat, he asks.

"People can wait; they don't need to smoke at the table," he said.

Pierson added he personally would like to see a ban in all public places, but he doesn't believe he could get the support.

• Brent Beeman - Since he is a non-smoker and a certified personal trainer, one might think Beeman would champion a ban. But like Wiederspahn, he says the marketplace will drive whether a restaurant or bar allows smoking.

"If a guy is dead set in this country on running a restaurant or bar (that allows smoking), we as patrons can decide whether to patronize those businesses," he said. "We know the risk and accept those."

Beeman added that smokers and business owners have rights too and that the rights to smoke or allow smoking must be respected.

• Patrick Collins - The council president says while he would like a smoking ban, he would prefer to see it go to the voters.

A non-smoker who sells bicycles and exercise equipment for a living, Collins said one reason he would like to see voters pass a ban is to protect the health of those who work in secondhand smoke in bars and restaurants.

And he added that he doesn't buy the argument that those workers made the choice to work in a restaurant or bar. He says some of those workers have no choice but to wait tables or bartend based on circumstance.

Maybe it's a single mother working odd hours so she can also go to school. Or maybe it's the only job available during an economic downturn. Regardless, those citizens deserve protection too, Collins says.

• Pete Laybourn - While his fellow Ward 1 council members share opposing views on the issue, Laybourn says he wants to study the issue further.

"If I sound ambivalent, it's because I do have a personal belief that cigarette smoking is an addiction and a health risk," he said. "But whether we should be regulating that is something we should be talking about while respecting people's rights on both sides.

"I don't know that that's possible, but I think there's a lot of talkin' to do and a lot of thinkin' to do. Hopefully we'll come up with something that works for Cheyenne."

As of last Wednesday, my hometown of Laramie is smoke-free.

But that doesn't mean everyone's happy about it.

I went to Laramie last Saturday to try to get a sense of just how contentious the smoking ban is. After all, the Laramie Boomerang reports the ban only passed by 366 votes, hardly a mandate. Furthermore, there is a lawsuit in the works to overturn it.

I arrived at Third Street Bar and Grill at 8:41 p.m. to meet up with friends and begin polling the locals. I was the sixth member of our party, but I only knew two of the people in the group.

One of the people I hadn't met was Jenn Coast, a non-smoker who was celebrating her birthday. Unfortunately, she was forced to enjoy it without her husband, who is deployed oversees with the Wyoming Army Guard as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When ask about the smoking ban, she gets fired up. Her husband, Shawn, is a smoker. And she doesn't like the fact he is fighting for another nation's freedom while he's losing his freedoms at home.

She says Shawn was allowed to vote absentee for everything except the smoking ban, which had its own ballot.

But that's not her only complaint. She says money from interest groups outside of Wyoming was used to campaign for the ban. If the ban is going to happen, Coast says, it should be a Wyoming ideal, not something from out of state.

The other two people in the group I hadn't met were Fred McLaughlin and Seth Wittke. Although Wittke is a smoker and McLaughlin is not, their opinions on the ban are similar.

While McLaughlin admits he'll "appreciate it when it goes into effect," he says it was still the wrong thing to do because it takes away his right to choose.

Wittke, on the other hand, says he has no room to complain because the public voted for it. But when pressed, he echoes McLaughlin's assertions that the ban impedes an individual's right to choose. After all, he says, nobody is forcing the three non-smokers at the table to be there.

The group soon heads for The Parlor for techno night. That's where I meet Darek Farmer, the 21-year-old manager who is doubling as one of the bartenders.

We hit it off right away: He quit smoking on Jan. 1; I quit on Jan. 8. He voted against the ban when he was still a smoker, he says, adding that he still would vote against it today.

Farmer said he would support the ban if it included an exception for private clubs. He also argues that there are other ways to keep smokers and non-smokers partying in harmony - namely, a good ventilation system.

Around 11 p.m. we arrive at The Ranger, a bar that voluntarily went non-smoking several months ago.

Back in college, I always thought of The Ranger as the smokiest bar in town, which is why I was shocked when I first heard it had gone non-smoking. But for someone who is just coming up on three months quit, it was a welcome destination - hanging out with smokers always tempts me to cheat.

Not surprisingly, I meet my first smoking-ban supporters at the Ranger.

Much like myself, Maegen Jahner started smoking in high school. But unlike me, she was smart enough to quit before she graduated. That's because she had a physical education teacher who made a deal with her: Her tardies and absences would be excused if she would quit smoking, which she did on March 10, 1999, she proudly tells me.

Sarah Burstad also tried cigarettes in high school, but just once. A rugby player and student at the University of Wyoming, Burstad said she lit up once her senior year at the county fair and almost threw up. She hasn't touched one since.

Burstad said she voted for the ban but had a hard time deciding. On the one hand, she supports an individual's right to choose. On the other hand, she doesn't like the effect secondhand smoke has on her or her boyfriend, a non-smoker who works as a bartender.

What the arguments boil down to is this:

• Whose rights are more important? Does an individual's right to light up trump another's right to not be exposed to secondhand smoke?

• Who is the burden on - the smoker to keep the aftereffects of his or her choice away from the non-smoker? Or is the burden on the non-smoker, who can make the choice between smoking and non-smoking businesses?

I have no doubts I would have voted against this referendum on Election Day if I were still a Laramie resident. But now that I've quit, I know I'm going to appreciate it when I go home to visit friends and family.

After all, I'm a tobacco addict. And the more I'm around it, the more tempted I am. So from a totally selfish standpoint, I am a fan of smoking bans.

Think of it this way: You don't send a crackhead to a crackhouse for rehab.

It almost sounds like something out of "The X Files:" The federal government recommends that Americans get 60 to 90 minutes of exercise on most days.

Sounds like a vast conspiracy to get the nation in shape.

A recent news report said members of a government panel that came up with recommendations tried to clarify where they stood on the idea of 60 to 90 minutes. Some say 30 is plenty.

"There's an enormous need to clarify that," said Russell Pate, a panel member and professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina School of Public Health. "I have no doubt that if we all met that 30-minute guideline, we'd have a lot fewer of us that have weight problems."

While I have no reason to doubt Pate's opinion, it's smart for the government to recommend the higher level. After all, when it comes to exercise, this is a nation of underachievers. If by telling Americans they need 60 to 90 minutes but they only get 30, America's problem with obesity still improves.

The guidelines are being used to update the government's food pyramid, due out this spring. This is what they say about exercise:

• People need 30 minutes of physical activity on most days to ward off chronic disease.

• To prevent unhealthy weight gain, people should spend 60 minutes on physical activity on most days.

• Previously overweight people who have lost weight may need 60 to 90 minutes of exercise to keep it off.

One local expert agrees with the government's recommendations. He's Ira Palmer, a personal trainer at United Medical Center Health and Fitness. He also is the man I credit with helping me lose 20 pounds since I began my quest for better fitness.

"At least 60 minutes of exercise is a good start, but an active lifestyle is the key," Palmer says, adding that taking part in city league sports or 5K and 10K runs are good examples of an active lifestyle.

And if you're wondering, Palmer himself does about 90 minutes each day, not counting work hours. He does 30 minutes of cardio in the morning, resistance training around noon and stretching and abs before bed.

Tina Hayes-Siltzer, a dietician at UMC Health and Fitness, says she makes exercise recommendations based on the client's goals and beginning fitness level. For instance, she recommends 30 minutes of exercise most days for clients who don't exercise or who exercise little with the goal of moving up to 45-60 minutes.

"I sometimes see clients stopping their exercise programs due to what they see are a lack of results when all they really need is a tweak here or there to get them to their long-term weight or fitness goals," she says.

One important aspect of a good exercise program is a good nutrition plan. Hayes-Siltzer says the formula for weight loss is not complicated: You have to burn more calories than you take in. But that doesn't mean you should quit eating.

"A good exercise program without having the proper nourishment leaves many feeling frustrated and at a dead end," she says.

A runner herself, Hayes-Siltzer reports that she tries to go for four runs per week, more if she's training for a marathon. She also enjoys circuit training. But she also realizes that what works for her in the gym won't work for everyone, especially those who are just starting out.

"So often when people hear from their doctor, loved one or whoever that they need to exercise, they immediately shut down," she says. "That's because most people have the image of the Gatorade guy sweating from his eyeballs, and they just aren't into that kind of pain.

"Physical activity should and very much can be fun and very enjoyable. You just have to find what you like. Research shows that regular vigorous activity is a stress reliever. And studies also show that stress in our lives just continues to escalate.

"I truly believe our society would see a dramatic reduction in the use of antidepressant medication if people just started moving more."

The key is to make the exercise fun. I like working out for about 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer, followed by what I call my abs-and-chest circuit, which I vary regularly based on exercises I learned from Palmer.

While I won't profess that my routine is particularly fun, I have found two key motivators:

• I tend to enjoy my workouts more when I can go on my dinner break. That probably has something to do with working out any stress that has built up during the first part of my shift.

• I gotta have my tunes. This is why I love my iPod. I can create playlists of my favorite songs that get me pumped up to pump iron.

Hey, it works for me. And that's all that matters. Now find out what works for you.

I’ve been slacking off. And it shows. I took my third and final personal health assessment at United Medical Center Health and Fitness last week. While I’ve made some significant progress since starting the project, progress was in shorter supply when comparing last month’s assessment to last week’s.

Take the body fat category for instance. On Dec. 17, my body fat was at 28.1 percent. As of last week, it’s down to 17.5, which puts me just barely into the “fit” category for the first time in my life. While that’s good news, I know I could have done better – my score on Feb. 4 was 21.4, which means I missed this month’s goal of 5 percent less body fat by just over 1 percent.

My personal trainer, Ira Palmer, was still happy with the overall results. He pointed out that not only has my body fat gone down, I’ve lost 19.1 pounds since the project started. And I’ve doubled how many pushups I can do. Plus my flexibility has steadily increased.

On the other hand, I tend to focus on the categories where my progress regressed from the Feb. 4 test. My aerobic fitness score decreased from 38.1 to 32.6. My biceps strength, which last month was in the excellent category, regressed to the fit category. And my systolic blood pressure rose from 129 at the start of the program to 136 last week.

Bottom line: I feel like a slacker. Ira, on the other hand, was happy with the results while acknowledging that yes, I could have done better, but sometimes life gets in the way. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing for fitness.

Ira attributes much of this month’s gains to the fact I did slack off. Or as he calls it, rest and recovery.

“The recovery period was a lot longer than normal, so your body had a chance to adjust itself, which is exactly what it did,” Ira says. “The adjustment period needed a lot of energy to adjust, so it pulled from that fat – that stored energy.

“The human body has the ability to lose about 10 pounds per month if pushed hard enough and if the rest and recovery is pretty sufficient,” he adds. “That’s normal, especially for men our age, 25-32 range, because that’s our peak around those ages.”

Excuses, excuses

For me, the bigger question is why I slacked off as much as I did. Some of it has to do with how I’ve felt – I skipped a few days while fighting off a cold I didn’t want to share with the rest of the gym membership. I’ve also been adjusting to a new medication that has killed my appetite – over the two weeks prior to the final health assessment, I was averaging about one meal per day. Consequently, I barely had the energy to function, much less get to the gym.

Those are my legitimate excuses. Then there are my lame excuses.

For one, I’ve stopped hitting the gym on the weekends. I work hard at my job during the week, so when the weekends roll around, I’m ready for some fun. And that hasn’t included getting to the gym.

And secondly, I’ve simply skipped out of laziness. Some days get so stressful that I convince myself I can’t possibly be bothered to work out. Fact is, I probably handle my stress better when I do work out. After all, the guilt I place on myself when I don’t work out translates into additional stress. I need to quit making excuses and just do it.

What’s next

One of the goals I set for this project was to experience as many options for better health that Cheyenne has to offer as possible. That means my gym membership at UMC Health and Fitness and my time with Ira are both over.

Starting this week, I’ll be joining the YMCA and begin exploring all that this facility has to offer.

Specifically, I want to try some fitness classes. Ira suggested that I focus on yoga, Pilates and yogalates to continue targeting my midsection, which is still where I carry the majority of my fat. For cardio, he recommends spinning, and for weight training he says to find a pump class.

As for goals, I’m scaling back. Right now, I’m on the verge of falling out of my workout habits entirely. Over the last few weeks, I’ve only been making it to the gym on the days Ira has been scheduled to work with me. And now I don’t have him to keep me coming at least twice per week.

So my first goal will be to simply get to the gym at least five days per week. To accomplish this, I plan to schedule workouts with several of my friends who are YMCA members. Additionally, my roommate Michelle and I have talked about finding a class we can both attend.

The second is to keep working toward the general goal I set at the start of all this – I just want to look good with my shirt off. I’m closer than ever – I just need to lose a little more body fat. And maybe get a tan.

I finally feel comfortable calling myself a non-smoker.

It's not because Tuesday was the two-month anniversary of my last cigarette. It's because I wrote this column in the wee hours of March 2, a good six days ahead of the anniversary.

Yes, I really think I've conquered the beast this time. Here are a few reasons why:

• My whole way of thinking about cigarettes has changed. I've adopted a mantra given to me by Kevin Dager, a registered nurse at United Medical Center and the co-leader of the Thursday night Butt Busters group: "You're a puff away from a pack a day."

In past attempts to quit, I often have reasoned myself into thinking I could have just one. Now I know: Cigarettes are more addictive than Lay's chips.

And neither is good for you.

• I realize I have to limit how much I'm around smokers. After all, you don't send a crack head to a crack house for rehab. Fortunately, my friends who still smoke have been understanding when I do things like drive separately to avoid the temptation.

• I'm even off the gum. I had resigned myself to the idea that I'd be a nicotine gum chewer for a long time, if not for life. Still a better option than cigarettes.

I managed to kick the gum with no problems. I just kept chewing less and less. When I had minor urges, I popped a piece of wintergreen. When it was a major urge, it was nasty nicotine.

Now I have a piece only every so often, and it's usually because of nearby temptation.

• Compliments go a long way. From readers of this column to my nearest and dearest, I've gotten such an outpouring of support that I have to say thank you and add how much I appreciate it all.

But let's face it, we all love compliments. And there's no greater compliment than "Wow, I hear it's harder to quit than cocaine" unless it's "Wow, I hear it's harder to quit than heroine."

Another effective phrase: "Honey, if you go back to smoking, I'll kill you."

• I find inspiration in others. From the people I've met who have told me their success stories to those I've met at Butt Busters who struggle with it daily, all of their stories offer inspiration in one form or another.

Like the gentleman who said quitting drinking was 10 times easier than quitting smoking. This reminds me of how hard it was for me to quit and how I hope never to go through it again.

Marketing better health

Thailand is laying some serious smack down on the tobacco industry. As you can see by the picture accompanying this article, packs now include pictures like these of the real health risks posed by smoking.

Talk about a great marketing tool. What if this nation were to apply some of these ideas to other industries? What if .

• Each fast-food hamburger came with a picture of a diseased heart or liver?

• Convenience store junk food like Twinkies came with pictures of coronary bypass surgery?

• Diet pills came with pictures of you burning a stack of cash?

Trust me, I've ordered them. And I would have gotten the same results just burning the money.

• Diet supplements came with pictures of people exercising? After all, that seems to be the thing we most often forget about diet supplements - for them to work, you still have to exercise and eat right.

• Spit tobacco came with a photo of a cancer-ridden mouth? Or, perhaps more effective, what a member of the opposite sex looks like when they're leaning in for a kiss with a huge wad in his or her mouth? Not sexy.

On second thought, it's doubtful these ideas would work. It's not like I've ever heard a smoker exclaim, "What? Cigarettes are bad for me?"

We Americans, we're are a stubborn bunch. If a person is going to eat poorly or use tobacco, there's not a magical marketing tool out there that will change that.

For those who are looking to eat healthy, there is a new enemy: trans fat.

Tina Hayes-Siltzer, a dietician at United Medical Center Health and Fitness, calls it "Frankenstein fat." That's because it's largely manufactured, though a small amount can be found naturally.

"It's just a cheap way of making an oil into a lard or shortening," Hayes-Siltzer says. "So then what happens when we eat it, it affects our cholesterol, triglycerides and all that."

According to an article by The Associated Press, to find trans fat, look for the word "hydrogenated" in the list of ingredients on a food label. Hydrogenation is the process of turning liquid vegetable oils into hardened fats. The end result is trans fat.

Once upon a time, hydrogenation was seen as a good thing.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods with these fats. But studies show trans fat can lead to a greater risk of heart attack and raises bad cholesterol while reducing good cholesterol, the AP article says.

Unfortunately, avoiding trans fat is tough, largely because it can be anywhere. Margarine, cookies, chips, crackers, candy and baked goods are just a few places it lurks, Hayes-Siltzer says.

"This is the problem people have when they shop: They see this oil that says pure 100 percent vegetable oil," she says. "But that doesn't make it healthy. It's full of saturated and trans fat."

That's why she recommends alternatives to vegetable oil, such as canola or olive. And keep the frying to a minimum.

"What I recommend is that you don't fry because frying really packs in the calories," she says. "Whatever you are frying soaks (calories) up. You add a ton of calories when you fry food."

Instead, she suggests pan broiling and saut‚ing with either canola or olive oils. Another alternative: Instead of eating bread with margarine or butter, try dipping it in a mixture of olive oil and herbs. Besides avoiding trans fat, it keeps calories down.

And when it comes to fat, make sure less than 30 percent of your daily calories come from it, Hayes-Siltzer says. Some is good. According to the FDA, when eaten in moderation, "fat is important for proper growth, development and maintenance of good health."

The key, according to both Hayes-Siltzer and the FDA, is to know what kind of fat you're getting into and then don't go overboard.

Simply put, there are two camps fat can fall into: saturated and unsaturated.

The unsaturated camp contains mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Hayes-Siltzer says about 20 percent of your daily calories should come from these two.

According to the FDA, polyunsaturated fats can be found in soybean, corn and sunflower oils. Monounsaturated fats come from canola and olive oils.

The saturated fat camp, which includes trans fat, should be avoided as if it were Camp Crystal Lake. Hayes-Siltzer says less than 10 percent of your calories should come from that, and the government recommends people eat as little trans fat as possible, the AP article says.

Unfortunately, it's going to be tough for a while. According to the FDA, trans fat won't be required on food labels until Jan. 1. Until then, it's a good bet to play it safe and keep saturated fats as a whole on the low side.

When it comes to exercise, Evelyn Mercer is a no-frills kind of woman.

The local retiree logs 10 miles on her stationary bike every day. If the weather is nice, she'll take a long walk around the grounds at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. If Mother Nature isn't cooperating, she does floor exercises like sit-ups and pushups.

No fancy gyms. No expensive exercise equipment. No celebrity workout tapes. Just good old-fashioned exercise.

"You've got to do it," Mrs. Mercer says. And she does.

I met Mrs. Mercer two weeks ago after her neighbor, Bob Miskimen, arranged for me to interview her. He called to tell me about Mrs. Mercer's daily workout routine, which includes 10 miles per day on a well-used stationary bike.

That bike sits in Mrs. Mercer's laundry room. It's a simple machine - no electronic gizmos, just a speedometer and timer. She picked it up back in 1990 and has ridden it faithfully almost everyday since. She also oils it herself and fixes it when it breaks.

While the bike has served her well, it's Mrs. Mercer's attitude that carries her even farther. Not one to sit in front of the television all day, she also enjoys working in her garden and prides herself on keeping a spotless home.

For seniors like Mrs. Mercer, maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle is the key to longevity. Ira Palmer, the personal trainer I've been working with at United Medical Center Health and Fitness, says an active lifestyle also is important for mental health.

"Just sitting around gets you depressed. The serendipity lifestyle, that's pretty much how most people get fat, they sit around all day, and that leads to some type of depression or anxiety," Palmer says.

According to the third annual State of Aging and Health in America Report, which was released in November, one-third of older adults do not get enough leisure-time activity, and one-fifth are classified as obese, which means they're 30 pounds or more overweight.

But it's never too late to get started on an exercise program.

"Flexibility is the biggest thing with seniors," Palmer says. "If they don't have any flexibility, they won't be able to do much."

That's because aging causes muscles to become less elastic and tissue around the joints to thicken, according to an article on the AARP's Web site. If a person stays active, the effects are lessened. But if a person is inactive - 34 percent of people over the age of 50 don't exercise at all, according to the AARP - the effects are more likely to be felt.

Helpguide.org, a non-commercial resource for mental health and lifelong wellness, notes that seniors looking to start an exercise program don't necessarily have to do it at a gym. Just like Mrs. Mercer, seniors can benefit from simple exercise around the house like gardening. The site also recommends finding activities that are enjoyable instead of those seen as "work;" for example, dancing instead of jogging.

It also doesn't hurt to get friends involved - after all, passing the time with a pal makes exercising more enjoyable.

I've lost almost 7 percent of my body fat and four inches from my waist in the last month. And yes, I love my personal trainer.

Those were some of the results from my Feb. 4 personal health assessment with Ira Palmer, the personal trainer at United Medical Center Health and Fitness whom I've been working with since launching this project.

Back on Dec. 17, I went through a personal health assessment that told me just how out of shape I was. But I've made some pretty impressive strides in the last month, and now I'm anxious for more.

My biggest jump came in biceps strength. I jumped from the "needs work" category with a score of 48 to the "excellent" category with a score of 117.

"We actually put on . muscle with the dumbbells, the barbells and the little bit of lifting we were doing," Ira says. "Some of the callisthenic training we did also contributes to muscle gain."

Ira was more impressed with my gains in the body fat department. My percentage went from 28.1 to 21.4, which Ira said would come out to about 11 pounds lost. My waist also shrunk from 46 inches to 42.

As for the scales, I weighed in at 234.6 inches in December. Now I'm down to 229. I was a little surprised that I had only lost about five pounds, but at the same time I don't really care how much I weigh. I just want to look good.

The fat loss also contributed to solid increases in my resting heart rate (which is now in the "excellent" box) and blood pressure. Quitting smoking helped too.

"When you first came in, you weren't getting a lot of oxygen to your blood," Ira says. "Now that you've stopped smoking, that's created more oxygen. The cardio also created a heck of a lot more oxygen."

Although I've yet to escape the "needs work" box in flexibility, I did make some solid strides. I can now stretch out to 27 centimeters after only getting to 18 when I first started. Ira says he saw me hit 28, but the computer registered 27.

"We're going to add more flexibility exercises, but we also have to get rid of more body fat," Ira says, adding that once I lose more fat around the midsection, my gut won't be the obstacle it currently is.

Less impressively, my pushups score increased from 14 to 20, but had I gotten one more I would have escaped "needs work." My hand-grip strength remains my weakest area with only a minimal gain.

Still, I'm happy with the results. I'm the thinnest I've ever been, I haven't smoked in more than a month, and I'm stoked to keep things rolling.

Ira set the following goals for the next month:

• Lose another 5 percent off the body fat index and another two inches off my waist.

• Lose 7-8 pounds.

• Get to 37 centimeters on the flexibility test.

• Increase pushups to 27.

"We've got to work harder for those goals now. Instead of intensity two days a week, we're going for intensity three days a week," Ira says.

That means more hard cardio and longer sets of "ballistic cardio," which means about 15 minutes on the treadmill, stair climber and/or the elliptical trainer followed by hard sets of various exercises for my fat areas (stomach, chest and love handles) before going for another 15 minutes on a different machine.

Sure enough, that was exactly the case Tuesday. By the time we were done, I was dripping sweat like never before and plodding along at the speed of a tortoise.

I wonder if it had anything to do with me oversleeping and showing up 10 minutes late to our session that day?

Glenda Trosper was 14 when she took her first dip of spit tobacco. Twenty-one years and three major surgeries later, she finally quit.

"Basically my father had said if I started using tobacco it would be chew tobacco because that was safer than cigarettes," Trosper said. "Well, that's what we used to think."

Today, Trosper is program manager for Tobacco Free Communities on the Wind River Indian Reservation. She has been tobacco-free since 2001, when she decided to quit following bypass surgery on an artery in her leg.

"After thinking about all the problems I'd been having, I was just ready," Trosper said. "I was finally ready this time."

For Trosper, the third time trying to quit was the charm. Her first attempt came after her first open-heart surgery in 1998. She managed to quit for three months. She had a second open-heart procedure in 2000, and she vowed to quit then as well. But again, she relapsed.

"My father had passed away from emphysema in 1999," Trosper said. "I knew I had to quit then. But I didn't until I had my leg surgery."

Her father, who started using tobacco at age 12, was diagnosed with emphysema about 10 years before his death. Trosper, who had replaced spit tobacco with cigarettes, knew she was a prime candidate for emphysema as well.

"Before (my father) had passed away, he said: 'Don't do this to your children what I've done to you,'" Trosper recalled.

She followed her father's advice. Since her two open-heart surgeries made her high risk for having children, she chose to adopt. She ended up adopting two kids with asthma, which meant recreational smoking was not an option.

"That kept me going to be smoke-free," she said.

Trosper is not entirely smoke-free. As a member of the Northern Arapaho, tobacco is used in some tribal ceremonies. But she has learned there is a big difference between recreational smoking and ceremonial smoking.

"Now I can go into our ceremonies and smoke and am able to use it the way we were taught to use it and not be worried that I'll start smoking again," she said.

Four weeks without

For me, today marks four weeks since my last cigarette. It hasn't been easy, but the support I have gotten from friends, family and readers really has gotten me through.

For those of you trying to quit, here are a few tips that have helped me along the way:

• Pay at pump. When I was a smoker, picking up a couple of packs after gassing up my truck was like killing two birds with one stone. The first time I gassed up after quitting, I ordered three packs out of habit and had to ask the cashier to put them back. Now, just to make sure I don't make such a silly mistake again, I pay for my gas at the pump and try not to even enter convenience stores.

• Support groups. I've been attending Butt Busters the last couple of weeks. This support group meets from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursdays at United Medical Center-East. Talking to others who are going through the same thing is incredibly helpful. We can discuss our successes and failures, encourage each other to stay strong and gather tips from each other. I know not everyone is into therapy, especially group therapy, but don't knock it until you try it. Trust me - it helps.

• Calendar. See the big calendar attached to this column? Try clipping it and marking each day you don't have a cigarette or a dip with a big X or a sticker. If you're a parent, let the kids do it - it can be their way of helping you quit.

• Cessation aids. Personally, I have been just fine using four milligram gum and nothing else. But there are plenty of other options out there, including inhalers and patches. If you need help figuring out what will work best for you, try calling Brian Hoflund with the Wyoming Tobacco Cessation Project at 630-1071 or call the Wyoming Quitline at 1-866-996-7848.

One more thing: If you have friends or family in other parts of Wyoming who are trying to quit, tell them there are programs in Albany, Campbell, Johnson, Sheridan and Natrona counties. Just call the Quitline for details.