I'm done, I quit.

Cheekies_

You're doing a great thing for yourself. I myself quit years ago. I know it's tough but so are you! Good work!

Fsunami

I'm here losing 20 lbs so I can get on the lung transplant list. I didn't quit in time.

Does that help?

Oh, and Skittles got me through quitting. Now I'm trying to quit Skittles.

It helped me just realize I need to quit. thanks. and good luck

goyologo

I was a 1+ pack/day smoker for 20+ years - I quit cold turkey more than 2 decades ago without any relapses since.
What worked for me was :

(1) Telling myself that I could have ANYTHING I wanted except a cigarette & then giving myself that thing (in my case that was See's candy so, yes, I did gain almost 30 lbs using that technique - but I later lost all of it ; it worked for me to take one health problem at a time, and the priority was to stop smoking).

(2) Avoid hanging out with smokers and even hold my breath or breath out when passing or being passed by smokers so as to avoid getting any smoke in my system.

(3) Being grateful for and really relishing the return and improvement of my senses of smell and taste and ability to breathe as the tar and congestion cleared out of my system. I had forgotten some smells like pine trees, the ocean, roses, and what it was like not to be hacking away in the morning and during exercise. It was so sensually wonderful to have those senses come slowly back.

(4) Once I went through the withdrawal and improved my sense of smell (and how I smelled!) and my ability to taste and to breathe and no longer felt like a social pariah due to my smoking addiction and enjoyed not feeling like a slave to my withdrawal symptoms and a slave to the cigarette companies -- I would remind myself that I NEVER wanted to go back again to being a smoker -- it just is not worth going through the withdrawal and losing my gains in health again.

Good for you. There are so many of us here to tell you - if WE could do it, YOU can do it.
This is absolutely essential for your health, it is THE most important thing you can do for you health, and you can and will do it.

FitOldMomma

Yippee!!

Best decision of your life.

I quit a 3 pack a day habit 80 days ago today. $17.55 per DAY!

I smoked for more than 40 years and didn't think I'd ever be able to quit. Once I realized that I was being successful in losing weight I decided I could be just as successful at being tobacco free.

Good for you!!!

snusp

You go! Good choice!

dhall2011

Yay for you! I've been quit about three years. One of the best decisions of my life! I quit for other people, but I stayed quit for myself because I refuse to go through the pain of quitting again.

FitOldMomma

Yay for you! I've been quit about three years. One of the best decisions of my life! I quit for other people, but I stayed quit for myself because I refuse to go through the pain of quitting again.

^^^^This.

One thing I tell myself " I'd rather be a non-smoker craving a cig, than be a smoker wishing I could quit".

andreavarangu

Great choice! I smoked a pack a day for 15 years. I tried to quit numerous times and sometimes was successful for months.....then there came the day when I was truly DONE! That was 17 years ago. The thing that made the difference for me was that this time I truly meant it when I said "I will never smoke again". And I never have. For me it can't be a part way thing. Now I hate the smell of cigarettes and the way it makes people look gray.

When I joined MFP and started losing weight this spring it felt just like it did when I finally quite smoking for good......I think it has to do with how much you mean it. Now I'm saying," I will never be overweight again."

I used the patch the help me get through the first 3 weeks but then it was just pure determination. Feels as good as losing weight! Good Luck.....Hang in there it's worth it.

Miss_1999

I'm here losing 20 lbs so I can get on the lung transplant list. I didn't quit in time.

Does that help?

Oh, and Skittles got me through quitting. Now I'm trying to quit Skittles.

That is sobering. I am beyond sorry, and will definitely be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers that you are able to get on the list, and get the lung you need.

Yeah, it does help, and hits home. I lost my mother-in-law a little over a year ago. She was barely 60. She had lung cancer, and they had removed part of her lung. We thought she was doing well, despite living with COPD, now, I'm wondering if the cancer never *really* went away, and she knew she didn't have much time, and enjoyed the few years she had with us. I suppose I was in denial with her, because it wasn't enough to make me quit.

I had made a decision today I wasn't buying another pack of cigarettes. It wasn't easy. I haven't been feeling the best. I smoked the last two cigarettes of my pack last night, and had a few too many drinks at a friend's house tonight, so I ended up bumming a few cigarettes from a friend. I'm not going to beat myself up over that, I just realize I can't keep doing it. I know I have to get through tomorrow without buying any, then I'll worry about Friday.

missiontofitness

WAY TO GO!!

If you find the cravings start getting harder to ignore, consider the patch. I forgot to mention that I did use the patch and I think it helps (the Skittles were for oral cravings). Every few weeks, you step down to a lower dose.

I like your Skittles idea though...cheaper, and delicious! Luckily haven't gotten to the oral craving phase yet, but I did treat myself to a ton of homemade pizza today to celebration my journey to get my full sense of smell/taste back. Hoping to avoid the patch, just given that I've heard its expensive! May consider a pill if it gets really bad, since my insurance will cover it and it's a tiny copay.

missiontofitness

I was a 1+ pack/day smoker for 20+ years - I quit cold turkey more than 2 decades ago without any relapses since.
What worked for me was :

(1) Telling myself that I could have ANYTHING I wanted except a cigarette & then giving myself that thing (in my case that was See's candy so, yes, I did gain almost 30 lbs using that technique - but I later lost all of it ; it worked for me to take one health problem at a time, and the priority was to stop smoking).

(2) Avoid hanging out with smokers and even hold my breath or breath out when passing or being passed by smokers so as to avoid getting any smoke in my system.

(3) Being grateful for and really relishing the return and improvement of my senses of smell and taste and ability to breathe as the tar and congestion cleared out of my system. I had forgotten some smells like pine trees, the ocean, roses, and what it was like not to be hacking away in the morning and during exercise. It was so sensually wonderful to have those senses come slowly back.

(4) Once I went through the withdrawal and improved my sense of smell (and how I smelled!) and my ability to taste and to breathe and no longer felt like a social pariah due to my smoking addiction and enjoyed not feeling like a slave to my withdrawal symptoms and a slave to the cigarette companies -- I would remind myself that I NEVER wanted to go back again to being a smoker -- it just is not worth going through the withdrawal and losing my gains in health again.

Good for you. There are so many of us here to tell you - if WE could do it, YOU can do it.
This is absolutely essential for your health, it is THE most important thing you can do for you health, and you can and will do it.

It is a bit hard to avoid my old smoking buddies, BUT I had my first test on Monday. One of my smoking buddies was at an event I attended, and he smoked a few cigarettes around me/within eyesight of me. I will admit I had to do the "I don't need it" dance and really focus my willpower on not doing it. But then the urge went away almost immediately, and I went back to drinking. laughing, and eating with my friends at the party. I think I'll have to learn to co-exist; especially since its hard to avoid smokers by bars. But it helps that I've let the bouncer know at my favorite hangout that I quit, that my friends know that I quit, and I have some people looking to keep me on the right track should I get tempted.

AglaeaC

I'm so happy to see you've kept posting updates, well done on staying away from it! I see a week has passed from your first post and theoretically it isn't about nicotine craving anymore, but just the psychological pattern of having a habit, so anything you need to do to outsmart the "need" is up for grabs now. You seem quite busy, which is good. Keep posting, it seems like many want to check up on you and cheer you on, myself included!

jennifer_417

I was sorta hoping this was a ragequitting thread I could troll.

But seriously, great decision, OP!

lamps1303

Well done you on deciding to curb the habit. It's not easy (I know from experience).

One thing I would say though is be careful - smoking supresses hunger and if you're trying to lose weight, quitting at the same time may increase your desire to eat. Although reaching for a healthy snack (oranges) instead of a cig is great, especially if it helps with your cravings!

I'm not trying to dampen your enthusiasm; just wanted to give you some advice from my own experience - I was once advised not to lose weight and quit smoking at the same time...

But I really do wish you all the best of luck!

sharonpink

Good for you! I quit smoking about 35 years ago. My husband is still a pack a day man. If I could only get him to quit!! The financial aspect alone is worth it, not to mention what it will do for your health. Again, congratulations!!

cdoesthehula

I used to smoke 1oz of rolling tobacco (from which I'd make 50 cigarettes) a day. I stopped in 2004, and haven't looked back.

You don't need drugs, or to do something to help occupy you, or to help you focus, or to help you relax. You could do all those things in the years before you started.

The cravings are only there because you started smoking. They aren't a physical need like hunger or thirst, the feelings are the addiction trying to trick you into smoking again. As I'm sure you realise, they go away after a bit.

When you see that, they don't have the power over you that they did in the past. Or they didn't for me, anyway. I could have another cigarette if I wanted to, but I wouldn't. Cigarettes are disgusting.

Hope that helps.

I feel much better now I've stopped. My sex life improved(no-one mentions that, but it does), and I feel more energetic. My clothes don't smell of cigarettes anymore, and nor does my home. And no yellow fingers!

Let us know how you get on

missiontofitness

Well done you on deciding to curb the habit. It's not easy (I know from experience).

One thing I would say though is be careful - smoking supresses hunger and if you're trying to lose weight, quitting at the same time may increase your desire to eat. Although reaching for a healthy snack (oranges) instead of a cig is great, especially if it helps with your cravings!

I'm not trying to dampen your enthusiasm; just wanted to give you some advice from my own experience - I was once advised not to lose weight and quit smoking at the same time...

But I really do wish you all the best of luck!

Thank you! I definitely was worried about that, since the eating habits I've learned since restarting on this website have been while I've smoked. I've actually maintained the last two months, just because I'm happy with how I look right now. If I need to maintain for another month while I focus on this, so be it.

sebenza512

Congratulations on deciding to quit!

I smoked for almost 30 years before I quit almost 11 years ago. I used the patches (step down) and I joined Quitnet. That is an online support site for people who are quitting. I think the thing that really got me through the worst of quitting was the Daily Pledge -- a new thread every day where people go to pledge to not smoke for that day. For about 3 months, that was the FIRST thing I did each day -- make the pledge to not smoke. There's also a widget that keeps track of how much money you have saved, how many cigs you have not smoked and how much of your life you have gotten back, which is pretty motivating. Each week, I take the money I saved that week and put it in a savings account. That's a pretty sweet bundle after awhile!

Good luck to you!

ninerbuff

Making the DECISION is the answer. I quit cold turkey in 2003 and have never looked back and now I detest it. Mostly because I did it for so long and the nicotine strung me along to not seriously want to give it up. It hampered my endurance and fitness up till now. I'm sure I'd be in much better shape and enjoy cardio more if my air sacs were in better condition.

Congrats.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

pmowers

One of the things coming out of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is the following regarding insurance plans:

The law requires all new private health insurance plans and Marketplace plans to cover services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, with no cost-sharing fees. That includes tobacco cessation treatments.

What this means is that:
The Departments will consider a group health plan or health insurance issuer to be in compliance with the requirement to cover tobacco use counseling and interventions, if, for example, the plan or issuer covers without cost-sharing:

* Screening for tobacco use; and,
* For those who use tobacco products, at least two tobacco cessation attempts per year. For this purpose, covering a cessation attempt includes coverage for:
* Four tobacco cessation counseling sessions of at least 10 minutes each (including telephone counseling, group counseling and individual counseling) without prior authorization; and
* All Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved tobacco cessation medications (including both prescription and over-the-counter medications) for a 90-day treatment regimen when prescribed by a health care provider without prior authorization.

If you have insurance, then the costs for Chantix, patches, gum must be paid in full by the insurer.

I went cold-turkey after many years. It is tough, but you need to break those connections. For me, it was coffee and cigarettes. I actually quit drinking coffee for a period of time, now I do not feel the craving for a cigarette with it.
I did not use gum or patches, but instead every time I wanted a cigarette, I popped a cinnamon Altoid- the burning of the mint killed the craving, and helped with the oral fixation. Did I gain weight, yeah, but I also switched from a job where I was constantly on the move (6-8 miles/day) to a desk, 1.5 blocks from my favorite sandwich shop- you win some, you lose some. I am not going to lie to you, even 15 years later, sometimes a whiff of cigarette or pipe smoke will make me want to light up, but it passes.

Keep up the good work. Don't get discouraged if you have a cigarette, you need to use the A.A. approach- today I am not going to have a cigarette. Just take things one day at a time. Nicotine actually changes the cells in the brain and its pull is strong, but you are stronger!