Quitting smoking?

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Replies

  • rikwaynik
    rikwaynik Posts: 724 Member
    I also quit 15 years ago. I agree with setting the quit date. On the way to the my quit date I made sure to pay close attention to every cigarette I smoked. I noticed the taste and the smell and how it made me feel. Ahead of my quit date I was prepared to stop, but I continued to the date I'd set. I can still remember the last one I smoked and where I was when I smoked it. I was so psychologically prepared. I had a few times afterwards when I wanted one, but it was not that bad. I could breathe better, climb stairs better and yeah food tasted better. :) I gained only a couple of pounds from quitting. Finding something to replace the cigarette is a good idea. My craving came after eating so I would pop a piece of candy in my mouth after a meal. Looking back I could have used sugar free candy. :) I wish everyone on this journey good luck. I have never regretted quitting.
  • goonas
    goonas Posts: 205
    On Wednesday its my one year anniversary of being smoke free.

    I have gained more than I thought possible, feel better than I thought possible and learned a lot about not having my life run by a small white stick that will eventually kill me, I learned how anti-social it is, you will realise just how bad it smells, how your taste buds liven and your senses grow.

    My biggest tip is to put whatever money you would spend on cigarettes in a clear jar and watch it add up - as off Wednesday I will be £2,600 richer !

    I've also learnt - If the money, the health improvement, or the good you'll be doing for the loved ones around you doesn't motivate you - nothing will.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/770883-my-success-results-of-quitting-smoking
  • rae_rae330
    rae_rae330 Posts: 39 Member
    I'm quitting too. Have been a pack a day smoker for about 1/2 my life and enough is enough. I just did the math and i spent at least $1500 on cigarettes this past year. Thinking of setting up a new savings account and each week moving $35 (which would normally be spent on cigs) into it and when i hit my one year anniversary i'm gonna treat myself to something nice! maybe a vacation! :-)
  • goonas
    goonas Posts: 205
    I'm quitting too. Have been a pack a day smoker for about 1/2 my life and enough is enough. I just did the math and i spent at least $1500 on cigarettes this past year. Thinking of setting up a new savings account and each week moving $35 (which would normally be spent on cigs) into it and when i hit my one year anniversary i'm gonna treat myself to something nice! maybe a vacation! :-)

    This might sound weird, but I find looking at numbers on a screen doesn't help, seeing cold hard cash makes the difference, I used to put £50 into a jar (every week) near the kettle in the kitchen, and I would see that jar get fuller and fuller with cash money... I hit 1 year tomorrow and there is £2,600 in there.
  • bobbisplayin
    bobbisplayin Posts: 4 Member
    I applaud you for quitting. I used to smoke years ago, and just wanted to share with you a breathing technique that helped me at times ... Give it a try...

    Inhale for 4 counts (big breath)
    Hold your breath for 2 counts
    Exhale for 8 counts (slow and controlled)
    Repeat twice more for a total of 3 times

    Now sit quietly for a minute and just relax. Pretend you just finished a cigarette.

    Good luck to you.
  • ebrown30
    ebrown30 Posts: 31 Member
    Good luck to you.

    My father in law never smoked, since years before my husband and I hooked up but he used to say

    "I'm a smoker I'm just not smoking today."
  • Richie2shoes
    Richie2shoes Posts: 411 Member
    I quit 15 years ago after smoking 1-2 packs a day for 10 years. When I quit, I used a fake cigarette. It was essentially a cigarette length filter. I carried a couple around in an empty pack and when the urge hit I would take one out and hit on it like I was smoking. After a couple weeks, i was done.

    Good luck to everyone quitting!
  • lorcart
    lorcart Posts: 406 Member
    I'm very very proud of all of you who are quitting. In Nov. it was 3 years for me. It SUCKED, I'm not gonna lie! It's also so liberating to not worry about it anymore, to not SMELL like it anymore and just be FREE of it! It's funny because sometimes I still really love the smell of it when someone lights up and then sometimes it gags me.
    I had some "weird" things that I did to help me. On the other hand I say find what works for YOU to help you and DO THAT THING! I loved that my hair didn't stink anymore and when I had an urge to smoke I would smell my hair! lol I TOLD you it was weird! lol Weird as it is, it worked for me! I took a LOT of really deep breaths as well. It seemed to help to get that influx of oxygen that my body had been missing out on for so long.
    You can do this! It's not easy..but worth it!
  • BrenWOW
    BrenWOW Posts: 95
    I quit 12 days ago cold turkey- I've been smoking a pack a day for 25 years. I'm doing good but I joined a smoking support group too and it helps! I was "lucky" enough to get a bad respiratory infection and I absolutely could not breathe- I was going to go to the hospital. I slept through my withdrawals because I was sick! I feel like I'm not tied to the gas station anymore and I feel FREE!!!!
    Anyone who needs support should get and give it because it's a godawful habit to break. Good luck to everyone:) :)
  • lorcart
    lorcart Posts: 406 Member
    I should say one of the other things that SERIOUSLY motivated me was this: If you're trying to quit you ALREADY know you aren't going to be a smoker the rest of your life. At SOME point quitting has to work! The beginning of quitting sucks BIG TIME! Every time you start back again, you have to go through that AWFUL beginning all over again!!! Why would you want to keep going through that over and over? Do it and be done! :)
  • BrenWOW
    BrenWOW Posts: 95
    I applaud you for quitting. I used to smoke years ago, and just wanted to share with you a breathing technique that helped me at times ... Give it a try...

    Inhale for 4 counts (big breath)
    Hold your breath for 2 counts
    Exhale for 8 counts (slow and controlled)
    Repeat twice more for a total of 3 times

    Now sit quietly for a minute and just relax. Pretend you just finished a cigarette.

    Good luck to you.


    I just tried that, it's so relaxing!!! Even if you weren't having a craving. Thanks!
  • Angecus
    Angecus Posts: 19 Member
    I'm bringing back this thread, lol. On October 1st it will be 9 months ago that I quit smoking. My last cig was on Dec 31, 2012. I just woke up on New Year's Day and figured it was as good a time as any to quit. 100% cold turkey and I've never looked back. The first 2-3 months was hard. The social aspect most of all. But I distracted myself, did breathing exercises, and tried not to think about it at all.

    But now, lemme tell you - I taste food so much better, I don't get heart palpitations at all anymore, I don't get out of breath so quickly, and I look and smell better overall. And I'm using that $35/week I used to spend on cigs on way more productive things!

    If you are determined to finally quit smoking YOU CAN DO IT!. You can do anything. They call it a vice for a good reason. Break free from it.

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