Quitting Smoking and need help!!!

bumping this for later. i'm trying to quit and the cravings are killer, and i really don't want to put on any extra weight. so this info could be helpfull.

A friend of mine recently quit, and she took a product called Smoker's Cleanse - by Renew Life. It really helped her! Se said it worked wonders for her cravings and stress. I also noticed she was less irritable hahaha. I don't know if you could find it, or something similar.

I got really lucky. I read somewhere that caffeine can trigger nicotine cravings and that dropping caffeine can make quitting easier by reducing cravings. I gave up Mtn. dew and once I made it 30 days without Mtn Dew, I gave up the cigarettes and it was soooo much easier than it's ever been on any attempt i've ever made before. I have now been 33 days smoke free!!! (yay me!) Also I use chia seeds (don't laugh, just check them out!) and they have really helped.

Bump for more responses later. I've quit 18 times in the past week....

It's been 22 hours and I want to go on a rampage.

Try www.quit.org.nz it is like this website, only for smoking

Skye, I just came here and was about to do a search to see if there have been previous posts on this topic. I really need to quit as well. Mostly, I'm trying to get off my meds and the doctor told me that if I quit my BP would probably drop 10 points off the high and 5 points off the low.

Ah, the cravings. One thing for certain is that we can't substitute food for the cigs. I'm going to try to substitute a little exercise instead. Then the other thing is that the nearest store that sells cigs is about a mile away. If I really can't overcome the cravings, I'm at least going to walk there instead of driving. What is scary is that I need to go out tonight with the car. I'm not too sure how I'll manage to keep the car from turning into the store with the cigs. :ohwell: You see, all the rationalization will go on in my head that if I buy a pack and then just limit myself to two or three cigs a day. . . Who's kidding whom?

If anyone out there has tips on getting over the mental hurdles, please share. This is especially tough since I've been a smoker for decades.

every time you want a cigarette, do five push ups.

I do breathing exercises when a craving hits. I stopped drinking when I quit ( 27 days ago) so that had helped with cravings ALOT!!!!! Don't get me wrong when it hits its pretty strong but I try and find other things to occupy my time. Thinking of my uncle ( who passed of lung cancer) seems to snap me out of it too!

I quit in June. I had to break the habit before I completely quit though so I cut down on how many cigarettes I smoked each day. I also refused to go on smoking breaks with coworkers and stopped smoking in my car before I completely quit. I think that was the hardest part for me, giving up the habit. Just remember that a craving only lasts a few minutes. Time it if you need to, but you will make it!

I quit smoking three weeks ago and I sympathize with the appetite thing! In my case I did need the extra appetite, but it was still super-annoying to be constantly binging all the time and having food cravings even though I wasn't really hungry. However, in my case it went away in a couple weeks. I still have a little bit more of an appetite but nothing out of control like when I first quit. So, I'd just give it time. How about allowing yourself to eat as many fresh fruit and vegetables as you want?

One thing that I found helped me to think they are gross is to imagine the tobacco as earwigs and the filter as bug eggs. When I see it that way, I think it's so disgusting

I know someone who quit and dealt with the cravings by always having a bottle of water with her. When she wanted to smoke or eat something instead of smoking she just drank water. She quit cold turkey that way. And since it's good to drink lots of water, it's better than eating junk.

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Here's what helped me get through it:

Water, water, and more water. It helps flush the toxins.
Celery. Cucumbers.
Really, anything alkiline will help.
Lemon water.
Add apple cider vinegar to your water.

GOOD LUCK!

Its been over a year since I smoked! YOU CAN DO IT! Do not give in to it! Get some sugar free candies to suck on, or if you can do 20 jumping jacks every time you are going crazy for one! Your goal right now is to take your bad habit and replace it with a new one and we all know you don't want to do that with food. Yes candies are ok and jumping jacks are great even sit ups or planks until you feel better! You can get through this! Think about how much that stupid cancer stick holds on you! You can STOP! You already did just by saying you won't pick up another one! GREAT FOR YOU! KEEP IT UP!