introduce yourself

craft338

Hi! i'm Sandra

i quit almost 200 days ago, and i feel fantastic!

I smoked for about 9 years, at least 5 cigarettes a day, but sometimes I went over half a pack. I smoked in high school and college and with my friends after that. It was always fun for me, and pretty much always a social thing. Now that I've grown up a little, it was just an unhealthy addiction. I wasn't going out to places where I could smoke anymore, like house parties or bars and clubs, and i didn't have a job where I could take a bunch of cigarette breaks with my co-workers. I usually found myself smoking alone, in the car or out my bathroom window. It wasn't fun anymore, it' was just smelly, dirty, ashy, and i set several things on fire on many different occasions...

The main part of my diet is "clean eating" or getting as close to it as possible. I'm working so hard to be healthy and spending all this money on stuff like goji berries and quinoa and organic natural food because it's so good for you....but then i would go and spend $10 on cigarettes and ruin the whole thing...

I picked my 100th day of MFP, May 3rd 2011, to quit smoking. I did the whole ritual last cigarette at midnight the night before. I started off just using the e-cigarette, but after a few hours, had to go to the store to buy the gum. I only needed the gum for a few days to get over the really bad cravings, but then the e-cig was enough. I stopped needing the e-cig after a few weeks, and haven't touched them since. They're still on my night stand, but I just don't have the urge anymore.

My weight loss slowed for about a month, but picked up again after that and i've lost over 40 lbs since then! :drinker:

Anyway, I hope people are willing to share their stories and experiences on here. Knowing people are going through the same thing will definitely be a big help to a lot of people! :bigsmile:

Lauren8239

Thanks for setting this up Sandra. And congrats on your ability to quit and stick with it. I'm looking forward to quitting this Tuesday, Nov 15th. I was going to make it tomorrow, Monday, but I still have some smokes left and I want to get to the end of the pack and feel the satisfaction of having that last one tomorrow night and saying "see yah!". I smoke very light cigarettes but it's been a habit for about 30 years. Gawd......that's a long time. I'm 47 next month. Actually longer than 30 years because I smoked my first cig at age 11. I totally agree with your posts - it's places like the car, and gatherings.....but like you, I see that not that many people actually smoke any more. If you light up, you feel like a monster. You feel like you're sitting there injection heroin or something. You were my inspiration to quit...reading your posts and seeing how you stuck with it gave me that final shove to say to myself that it's now or never. :flowerforyou:

kel7298

Hi Lauren and Sandra.

Lauren, I thought about going that extra day too, but decided I was stronger than that and smoked my last cig at 9 PM. I then took the remaining cigs and crushed them between my fingers. Man that felt good. Good luck!

CandiceCandyCane81

Hi, my name is Candice. I am 30 yrs old and I've been smoking since Sept. 2006. I still can't believe I smoke seeing as though I hated when my husband smoked and i couldn't stand the smell of cigarette smoke! I've tried to quit numerous times and it doesnt last longer than i week. And really need to stop because i have high blood pressure. I was just talking to my bf telling her that times i really dont even wanna smoke buts its become such a habit now that i automatically think i need one at these certain times: when i first wake up, in the car, on my break, on the ride home and after eating. Even then i will take a couple of puffs and either put it out or toss it. Im really looking for the support to help me stop and i hope i have found it here!


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kernowprincess

Hi, I'm Lynn. I have been quitting for the last five months. I had been smoking since I was 15 (now 46). I have been using a nasal spray to help me quit but now find I'm stuck on that.

carolinegeorgia

Hi I'm Caroline, smoke 20 a day and hate it, I know I smell, I know I look stupid, I know I spend way too much money on them, about £7.50 a pack in the UK.... I REALLY want to stop, I know if you really want something you can do it, I felt like that with weight loss and I lost over 4 stone. I'm maintaining now so if I put on a few lbs it won't hurt.
I'm going to start tomorrow, Tue 15/11 - don't know why but I'm scared, excited not sure which....
well done to everyone that has given up and good luck to everyone that is giving up :happy:

patiencez2

Hi I am Phyllis, it took 4 bypasses to get me to quit smoking. I smoked for 40 years and kept thinking oh it will never happen to me.
I have been smoke free for 6 months but beleive me I was at deaths Door it did happen to me.
I have 4 beautiful Children and 8 Grandchildren I want to see grown. I have never felt better in my life> I can breath ! I don't stink.

Please do all you can do to give up this deadly habit!

smoochiepink

hi, i'm ally, i quit 3 months ago and managed to put on a stone in weight which is probably why i never did it before, i do not feel any fitter or better.

Lttlbird

Hi, I'm Robyn, and I quit 7 months ago tomorrow. Best thing I've ever done!!

charm_quark

Hi, I began smoking at the age of 18 and quited at 31. I am clear 8 months and 3 days. I feel very proud for myself and healthier than ever in my adult life!

Lauren8239

Hi Lauren and Sandra.

Lauren, I thought about going that extra day too, but decided I was stronger than that and smoked my last cig at 9 PM. I then took the remaining cigs and crushed them between my fingers. Man that felt good. Good luck!

lol - I'm going to still have some over by tonight, so I'm going to do what you did....crush them and laugh an evil laugh. :bigsmile: :devil:

nurseheather13

Hi! I'm Heather. I started smoking when I was 17 and I quit this year right after my 30th birthday. I will tell you my lungs feel so much better. I can breath without weezing and no more coughing!! But I feel horrible in every other way. I have gained ~40 lbs since I quit and have debated weather I should just start up again in order to lose this weight. Of caurse I don't ever want to go back to smoking, but i'm just being honest, it's definitely on my mind. I can't beleive I let myself gain that much weight! I definitely need some help.

Lauren8239

Congrats to those that have already quit, and yay for those of us starting that smoke free journey. I think a lot of it is mental....I'm actually excited to quit! :happy:

chnkydnknmomma

Hi, I'm Caroline, I've been smoking since I was a teenager. I quit for 2 years but I had gained an enormous amount of weight. It was a very bad time in my life and I'm sure smoking wasn't the only reason for the gain. I struggle with weight issues and it's one of my excuses not to quit smoking.

In my mind, I know I really NEED to quit. I cant' stand the smell of myself or my clothes, I sometimes have trouble breathing, especially when I'm exersizing. My dad was recently diagnosed with lung cancer (and you'd think that'd be enough to make me quit cold turkey) and I don't want that to be me in 30 years. Not to mention that it costs a small fortune a week to smoke.

I'm thinking about tryin the e-cigs, I know a few ppl who have had great success with them.

Thank you all for your support...

craft338

Hi! I'm Heather. I started smoking when I was 17 and I quit this year right after my 30th birthday. I will tell you my lungs feel so much better. I can breath without weezing and no more coughing!! But I feel horrible in every other way. I have gained ~40 lbs since I quit and have debated weather I should just start up again in order to lose this weight. Of caurse I don't ever want to go back to smoking, but i'm just being honest, it's definitely on my mind. I can't beleive I let myself gain that much weight! I definitely need some help.

i know the feeling! i stuck to my diet 100% and i didn't lose a single pound for a month after i quit, but then my body got used to it and i started losing again like normal. so, i figure that if i WERE to start up smoking again, it would do the same thing in reverse. it would speed up my weight loss for about a month, and then it would slow down again. but by that time i would be addicted again and be in the same mess. BUT, i would be a few pounds lighter. is it worth it to start up smoking again after all the hard work you've done just to lose an extra few pounds in a couple months? it's a struggle, but you have support here, and a lot of us know what you're going through. don't give up and stay strong! :flowerforyou:

Krizzle4Rizzle

Hi I'm Kristy. Smoke free since August 12th 2011. Now I am trying to get my boyfriend to quit!

babygurl48

Hello, I'm Pina. I smoked for 28 years. My last cigarette was on June 9th, 2009. The best thing I ever did. I had lost 50lbs on my own prior to quitting smoking and gained it all back in the course of a year. Now back on track to get that back off and hopefully some!!!..lol..I quit cold turkey, and only used the nicorette inhaler occasionaly to help ease the cravings.
I feel good now.. hate the smell of cigarettes and I love the fact that I don't smell like a tobacco factory any more.

Shishkeberry

Hi, i'm Mary. I'm 28 and I started smoking when I was 14. I had my last cigarette on friday around 1 am, so I've been 5 days smoke free. I didn't plan on quitting that day. But I tried to start c25k and my lungs did not like it. I came home and laid on my floor gasping for breath for about an hour. After that I was done. The hardest part is the after dinner cig, but so far I haven't slipped.

carolinegeorgia

35 hours no smoking, found during the day fairly easy, evening was difficult but did it ;-)

Cait_Sidhe

I quit 3 months ago. I've been a regular smoker since I was 12 years old. 3 years ago, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer which had already metasticised to her brain. She'd never been a smoker herself. I left my life in San Francisco and moved to the east coast to take care of her and be her live in nurse. I clothed and bathed her. I medicated her. I cleaned up after her. I fed her. I held her hand. I permanently injured my shoulder lifting her off the floor one of the many nights she'd forgotten she couldn't walk. She cried when I asked if she wanted a feeding tube when the nurses told me the next thing to go would be her ability to swallow. Still I couldn't quit smoking.

She lapsed into a coma for 9 days before passing away. I wore a baby monitor around my neck when I wasn't next to her bed, listening to her labored breathing and moaning. Still I couldn't quit. I'd listen to her breathing while outside smoking, and I'd hate that cigarette. But I needed it.

3 months ago I quit using an electronic cigarette. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done and I think it's my biggest accomplishment thus far.

I knew I could lose weight. I really didn't think I could quit smoking.

I've been on a plateau with my weightloss since I quit. But that's okay. Someday my body will normalize and I'll start losing again.

^This was copied and pasted from the other quit smoking group.

jrcox520

I'm Jackye. I started smoking a few months before I turned 13 and now I'm 29. I've tried and gotten addicted to a lot of things but cigarettes were the only thing I could never just walk away from. I went to the library on Sunday and picked up Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. I didn't intend on quitting, but I read that whole book in one sitting and put it down a nonsmoker. That was on 11/13, and aside from some cravings I've been doing and feeling great.