Quitting smoking... Anyone else think its hard?

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srslycolette
srslycolette Posts: 40 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've quit a handful of times, just to have a few drinks or a really stressful day and start chain-smoking all over again.
On average I don't smoke everyday, but when I'm dieting I crave them more than usual.
Any of you feel like dieting makes it harder?
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Replies

  • Bufite
    Bufite Posts: 55 Member
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    I'm on day 10 of quitting. So far it's been fine, but that's because I've been on holiday. Back at work now and craving like mad. I think dieting does make it harder because quitting makes you hungry. Keep going!
  • agriffiths73
    agriffiths73 Posts: 108 Member
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    I quit twice. Last 6.5 years the first time, and so far 5 years this time. I still have the odd craving, but remind myself of a few things:

    It costs a fortune to smoke now!
    It makes my breath smell like I've been eating dog mess
    It makes my clothes stink
    It makes my wife want to pour toilet cleaner into my mouth
    It will pass potentially lethal carbon monoxide onto my son
    It could kill me at some point

    Give up smoking as soon as you can, your health will improve, your finances will improve and your relationships may improve too.

    Get support if you need it, get some of those electronic cigarettes, get gum, patches, whatever it takes.
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
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    I quit many times, most recently in March. This is the first time in a long time that I actually felt like I don't want to smoke any more. I think exercising (running and hill climbing) are the reason why I am having success this time - cardio makes me aware of how hard my lungs work. So, I don't want to smoke.

    It sort of looks attractive, sometimes. Like, I was camping this weekend. It looked kind of fun to sit and smoke and drink some wine. But, I knew that it would taste gross and that I'd regret it when I went running, again.

    I just have to remind myself of that and wait for the urge to pass.

    I also avoid drinking around smokers - I don't go to pubs.
  • agriffiths73
    agriffiths73 Posts: 108 Member
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    Can I just comment from my perspective - smoking does not look attractive. You can see someone across a room, and think - yeah, they look nice (in a window shopping kind of way) and then they put a cigarette to their lips and then you lose interest and look away.

    I have a lot of single friends who say this, who would really not want to even approach someone if they saw them smoking.
  • Kell_Smurthwaite
    Kell_Smurthwaite Posts: 384 Member
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    I heartily recommend the book ALAN CARR'S EASY WAY TO QUIT SMOKING.

    I quit 9 years ago using this book. I went from 40-a-day to zero overnight and had absolutely NO CRAVINGS at all. I'd been smoking at that level for years.

    I also knew that I would never smoke another cigarette as long as I lived. That has held true - I have never been even slightly tempted to put one of those disgusting things ni my mouth since the day I finished reading that book - I find them repugnant now.
  • VickyClare75
    VickyClare75 Posts: 63
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    I too have quit smoking on a number of occasions. The longest I've stopped for is nearly 2 years (then I went to a pub, drank too much and hey ho back on the ciggies :mad: )

    I want to stop again - especially as I want to try for a family. I wish they'd ban tabacco completely.

    All the best to all you quitters. It's hell. I'm thinking of setting a quit date soon, as I want to be fitter, I'm knackered after going up and down stairs, not good

    Keep up the great work

    xx Vicky xx
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
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    From my perspective, quitting was only ever going to be successful when I really WANTED to quit. I tried several times an lasted anything from a few days to a few months but it was always a fight. Once I decided that I didn't want to smoke anymore, I had no trouble quitting. Its been two and a half years now and I don't miss it at all. I'd been smoking for 20years with the amount varying from light (1-5 a day) to very heavy (50-60 a day) depending on my emotional health at the time.
  • minnesota_deere
    minnesota_deere Posts: 232 Member
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    went from reds, to lights, than ultra lights than used the 14mg patch only when i felt the need to smoke, than went down to 7mg, I used maybe 4 out of the box, and i think i still have some, took about 2 years to fully quit, i would have a smoke with my wife every now and than after a while it just became gross.. I still love the smell of the smoke when my wife lights up, but have zero desire to actually pull on one. its been about 8 years.
  • jarrettd
    jarrettd Posts: 872 Member
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    I quit March of last year. Yeah, it was hard, but I knew it would be. Being prepared is what got me through. Every quit attempt (and there were many) gave me a little more information about my relationship with cigarettes. I was addicted physically, mentally, and emotionally to smoking. Once I realized this, and developed strategies to cope with all the ways quitting affected me, it became a game of putting those strategies in practice.

    I am still weak if in a social drinking atmosphere, even after all this time. And yes, it is a challenge to deal with craving both cigarettes AND food. It's the whole oral-fixation thing, I guess. (My husband generously offers to help with that, anytime! LOL)

    If you don't have a set of strategies in place to get you through the tough ones, I suggest you work some out. And in the event that this quit isn't successful, don't give up. NEVER STOP TRYING TO QUIT! My family would've bet their combined yearly wages that I would eventually die with a cigarette in my mouth. I was hard-core. And I quit. So can you!
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
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    I quit just over 3 years ago.

    It is hard, but the great thing is that it gets easier all the time. At first it can be so hard you can't imagine how your life could ever be good without cigarettes, and then a few years down the line you feel nothing but pity for smokers. Nothing would persuade me to go back now. Hang in there, every day is easier than the day before.
  • lizzie1030
    lizzie1030 Posts: 60
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    I started smoking when I was 14 and quit when I was 44 - 5 years ago. I always wanted to be a non smoker, but never really wanted to quit...if you know what I mean. I was afraid. But getting older and realizing there is so much I want to do, I finally realized I really did want to quit. My husband and I quit together, which made it easier. I never miss it, we go all day hiking now, I workout everyday (I don't know how anyone who smokes can really exercise). I feel so free, I used to be afraid to go to the movies for fear that I can't go that long without a cigarette, air travel? forget it...Now I am planning a trip to Europe. I don't think there is anything in the world that would make me have another cigarette.

    Anyway, my point is....it is so worth it. I only had a couple tough weeks and then, once the physical addiction is done...it's all in your head and that is something that is individual, but I believe we all have the ability to overcome - sometimes we can be our own worst enemy.
  • richdee
    richdee Posts: 2
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    I too have quit a few times. Then after the new year and a slight hangover I didn't want one. And I am pleased to say not had one since. And don't feel like One at all. Feels like I never smoked !
  • deanna_bond
    deanna_bond Posts: 104 Member
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    YES It is very hard. especially if you have people who never smoked harping on you saying just quit or I dont believe you quit. I tried EVERYTHING. I still have my electronic cigarette (the expensive one) the ones in gas station taste REALLY BAD. Its also harder cause I quit before everythime I wanted one I took off for a walk (and it was frequently) But I have a kid now and can't just take off. I am still in the process of trying to stop buying them. Its like an a emotional tie to food. Plus I get really mad when the electronic one needs charged I had 2 but lost one (grrrrr). I went almost a month the first of the year but broke down for a reason I dont remember. I know it will get easier. and I wouldnt have "PITY" for people who smoked after I quit either. Thats just mean. Its like losing weight you have to make a lifestyle change and really want it. Excercising does help get the fustration out. Try to do stuff that will require you not to smoke cause your habds are busy or you really cant smoke while doing it. Like rock climbing, running, parasailing, jet skiing, zip lining, any sport, painting , gardening, home imporvement, wood wokring , biking, ect. Try new things you will feel proud about yourself and before you will know it the craving will be gone. I am still with you cause I have yet to smash them to bits. Also clean your house, car, get rid of all lighters and empty packs anything that will remind you that you smoked.
  • pamschell
    pamschell Posts: 1
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    I had been trying to quit smoking for years. Each time I would gain some weight *more and more at each additional attempt* and then I'd go back to smoking so I'd get the weight off. At the age of 40, I woke up after New Years (having been out at a party) and my lungs were burning and breathing was difficult. For the first time I think I really felt how the smoking was actually effecting me. My husband has brought home some pills *champix* and said "we are going to quit smoking together. Well, today was the day. I started taking the champix and quit. Thinking he needed the champix more than I did, I finished the first two packages and left the remainder for my husband *to whom has still not totally quit to this day*. I have not smoked now for 5 years BUT,,,turns out I just traded one bad habit in for another. I gained 100 lbs! I am on my way now to losing that weight but it's not easy. I think in the end quitting smoking is MUCH easier than dieting. You can quit smoking and walk away from them forever where as food you must budget and keep putting it in your mouth each day. Imagine if we had to ration cigarettes. However I must say my breathing has greatly improved and no more burning sensations in my chest. Now I am trying to get off this weight. I started dieting a while ago at a starting point of 251 pounds..hoping to be 200 by Christmas at least,,,then from there,,working out and getting HEALTHY....not just to quit smoking or to say I am dieting again...but to improve my over all health...like they say Life Style Change.....changing an entire lifestyle is difficult to say the least but anything worth having is worth fighting for! Keep trying you can do it...I think it's more of a mind set than anything,,you have to decide you're going to do it and do not let any one or any thing get in your way!!! For me I had to accept the fact that I was fighting two battles and to pick which battle to fight first. I knew I was going to gain weight,,so I allowed that for myself. NOw I'm totally grossed out by cigarettes not even desiring one at all...so on to phase two! GETTING THE WEIGHT OFF AND GETTING HEALTHY AGAIN!!!
  • imlik
    imlik Posts: 64 Member
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    I heartily recommend the book ALAN CARR'S EASY WAY TO QUIT SMOKING.

    I quit 9 years ago using this book. I went from 40-a-day to zero overnight and had absolutely NO CRAVINGS at all. I'd been smoking at that level for years.

    I second this. Look the book up - I believe you can get the ebook on amazon for a low price. It's kind of a short, conversational, low-pressure kind of book that helps you get into the right mindset to quit before you actually put the cigarettes down.

    My transition wasn't quite as pain-free as above, but what a big difference it was from the other times I've tried to quit.

    I think it's a great thing that you want to do this for yourself, and I wish you good luck! A support system definitely helps, as does planning for (non-food) rewards at milestones.

    ETA: To answer your actual question, dieting does make it harder. BUT, you have to keep it in perspective; dieting makes lots of things harder, lol. It's just another habit to replace with healthy habits, bump in the road to get over, and you can do it!
  • gavini
    gavini Posts: 248 Member
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    i posted this in another thread but got no responses so maybe someone here will know what i am talking about and have some thoughts, i am on day 21 now, anyone else feel the same as me now or in the past? it is funny how i dont think about smoking at all for hours or most of the day really and then all of a sudden i start obsessing over it and thinking about how much i miss smoking, not a physical craving but a mental or emotional one (my relationship with cigarettes was very close).

    when i am not in those moments i think about how silly smoking is, how much of a waste of money it is, how whenever i see a man smoking i think they look silly and unattractive and i dont want to look that way of course but on the flip side when i see a woman smoking i immediately want one. i really do miss it a lot and i assume i always will which is kind of a hard thing to accept, it is hard enough to miss something you cant have but to miss something that i could get any time i want is pretty tough - i just need to think of it as something i cant have but i am not fully there yet. how do i get past this or will it always be something i have to deal with?
  • robinhardysmall
    robinhardysmall Posts: 246 Member
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    I'm struggling with it~ I got to three days and life blew up and so did I. So I went back to my best friend my cigarettes~ I was trying Chantix and my husband called me psycho b*tch, and I totally felt like that. So I'm planning to quit again in the future but really need to get my head around how to handle stress as well.

    Good luck to all who are trying and congrats to all of those who have beaten it!!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,672 Member
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    I quit twice. Once for 1 month, the last time forever. Honestly for me it wasn't that hard since I took a whole month to convince myself that I would quit. I thought about it and stated it to myself everyday. When the target date came, I quit cold turkey. Yeah there were cravings and I dreamed about smoking for about a month, but they slowly went away.
    IMO, it's the biggest regret of my life because I could be so much better endurance wise than I am now.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • 3LittleMonkeyMom
    3LittleMonkeyMom Posts: 259
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    I quit twice. Once for 1 month, the last time forever. Honestly for me it wasn't that hard since I took a whole month to convince myself that I would quit. I thought about it and stated it to myself everyday. When the target date came, I quit cold turkey. Yeah there were cravings and I dreamed about smoking for about a month, but they slowly went away.
    IMO, it's the biggest regret of my life because I could be so much better endurance wise than I am now.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    This sounds partially like my story. I quit a few times, for a month, a few months. Finally I just got to the point where I realized I was an idiot. My mom had lung cancer, thankfully it was operable and she is doing well. That was my turning point. Seeing her go through that hellacious surgery/recovery...and still craving cigarettes. I quit cold turkey exactly 7 years ago and never looked back. Oh yeah....cravings were terrible, but they are survivable. The dreams about smoking and guilt from those dreams were terrible!!

    You can do this.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I am getting ready for my third attempt to quit smoking. This is my first time ever trying to log/pay attention to my food intake, so I am a little scared about it. I plan on today being my last day smoking. My husband is not on board yet, though, so I know it's going to be really hard.

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