Need Support...

I've never smoked a day in my life, so I can't really relate to what you are going through. But you just have to look ahead, ... what is the best thing for you in the long run. And in the long run, you will be a much healthier person if you quit! I wish you the best of luck and that you'll succeed!

OK, some of you know me.... I've been on here awhile but am not really an active poster. However, I really need a support net right now. I am currenting in my first week of Chantix and have a quit date of May 21. I really want to quit smoking and I know it is selfish to say that I am extremely worried about gaining weight... bc the goal is to be healthy, right??!! Yea, yea, yea, I know that, I understand that, but I have worked really hard to lose the weight I have lost and want to get to the next stage of training and exercising which is going to mean I need a healthier body with more stamina and endurance... ie, give up the crutch of smoking. The Chantix is help, cigs taste like crap so obviously my body doesn't want them any more. Down to just a few a day, but my brain is going "No, No, they're Mine... something I have "control" over" I don't know if any of this makes since, if you've never smoked then I am not sure you can understand. I want to quit but I panic at the thought of it, I worry about gaining weight, I worry about being a bit@# to my husband and children, I worry that the smokers around me don't want me to succeed, anyway I am a little bit of a wreck right now and don't know ho to ask for support s oI am coming to my MFP family and asking for help. I would appreciate any and all assitance in this hurdle in my life! Thanks, Cindy

with chantix have you had wierd dreams or anything like that. I have known a few people who have used it and had to quit becasue of the nightmares. I am so afraid to try it becasue of that and waste the money spent on it.

I also really want to quit . I already hate the smell and the taste but i can't seem to put them down. I chew gum all the time because i hate the taste i am constantly spaying body spray. i just don't get why i can't give them up. I can give up french fries and cupcakes with no issue but to put down a cigg is like the death of me.

I wish i could offer some help for you as to i can't im still seeking my own. But please keep me posted on your results.

Cindy,
2 yrs ago I pretty much declared war on myself. I was about 300 lbs and a heavy smoker. Had tried to quit several times, and yes used chantix, but had to come off it because of the dreams, so I started smoking again. I went after the weight loss hard for the first year, lost 90 lbs, started running 10k's so I felt completely justified smoking. Then last august a friend of mine from many years ago passed away from lung cancer at 42 years old. While at his funeral, I looked at his daughters who were not far away in age from mine and something just clicked inside my head. All of a sudden the warnings on the side of the pack became real. I right there and then threw the pack into the trash and have not smoked since. I allowed myself to gain back 10 lbs of self pity weight, knowing that if I shed it once I could do it again. The first week was miserable, and I thank god my job as a pilot kept me away from home, otherwise I would have been kicked out for sure. It got just a little easier with time thiugh. It is more about breaking routines. Now 9 months later I can honestly say, I go days without thinking about them, and I do feel the health benefits, but I am not going to lie, I still crave one from time to time. But you know the way you feel about being determined to not put the weight back on, well ur mind will do the same about not going back to cigs. Oh and the 10 lbs of pity weight, well it turned into 20 and I have only 6 left to lose again. You can do this, trust me. I smoked for 25 years, grew up in Ireland where everyone smokes, and now about to turn 40 and in the best health of my life. Get a support buddy, that really helps. Messege me anytime, I would love to help you, but do this!!!!!!!!
good luck

I smoked for several years. I quit smoking a dozen times, only to resume weeks or months later. The biggest problem is that you have to overcome two separate addictions, the physical addiction to nicotine and the mental addiction to smoking. Here, you are now adding a third concern, which is not to replace smoking with snacking. My success at quiting smoking came when my wife and I decided together to quit, and we smoked our last cigarette together just before driving home for Christmas. We used the gum for the physical addiction, being in the new environment at that time helped to curb the mental addiction, and when we returned home, we joined a gym to try to get healthy - the benefit of being healthy and the encouragement not to return to smoking.

As you prepare to take the plunge to truly quit, I would suggest thinking about a full plan to address the three concerns. As you are weening yourself from cigarette right now because of the taste, be wary, because your mind will overcome it. Your body's desire for nicotine will lead you to want a cigarette regardless of the taste. You have to address the physical addiction, by mind or assistance. Also be very aware of your triggers, at home, at work, at meals, etc. The hardest thing for me was to come up with something that I would do after I would eat to replace the routine of having a cigarette. Think about the times that you smoke now, and try to be conscious of your mind's desires for a cigarette. Make plans as to what you will do instead of having the routine cigarette. Finally, you might consider the food you have in your home and work. If you snack on carrot sticks, pretzels, string cheese, and the like, you will be better off than snacking on potato chips, cookies, and snack cakes. If you can find a gym, or start an exercise routine, often that will help counter-act the additional food you take in.

In the end, though, any doctor would tell you that if you gain some weight by quitting smoking, it is far healthier than being at your current weight and still smoking. But if you address it and make a plan for it, you can minimize the weight gain and quit smoking at the same time. Make a plan now, before you try to quit. I can tell you from my experiences that without a plan to address these three issues in place when you try to quit, your chances of success at quitting smoking are minimal, and you certainly don't want to add the eight AND wind up smoking again in a few weeks or months.

Good luck!!!

I am on day four of my Chantix and day three smoke free. I was a smoker for 32 years. I found that this drug really works for me, and I can live with the dreams. Yesterday was my one year anniversary on MFP and I decided last year when I made my lifestyle changes that one year from that date I would quite smoking and drinking. So here I am, smoke free, drink free, and fat fee (almost). My husband is a heavy smoker, and that he is my next challenge. :noway: