Still Smoking!!

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  • claire_donegal84
    claire_donegal84 Posts: 47 Member
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    I am still smoking too - while it doesn't hinder my breathing (yet) I know eventually it will. We've lost 3 family members in the past 3 months at fairly young ages - all due to smoking. My uncle was 67, my aunt was in her low 50's and my other uncle was in his early 60's.

    3 family members due to smoking..... please stop... or your other family members may be adding you to that list in the future.
    My uncle was only a few years older than my dad and he died recently from smoking related heart disease etc...he looked 30 years older than my dad just before he died, it was so scary... and entirely smoking induced.


    You're young... you're here making so many positive decisions about your daily life & health... so quit... just quit... you ***can*** do it!!!!!
  • BreeNJesse
    BreeNJesse Posts: 150 Member
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    Check out the halo e cig online , best investment EVER! Haven't smoked in over a year, 25 year smoker :)
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
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    I quit smoking close to 20 years ago. I did it cold turkey with the help of a 4 session class offered by my husband's employer. One thing they suggested in the class was to replace smoking with a "substitute" behavior. There's always chewing gum, but I'm not that fond of gum and one's jaws get tired after a while. One of their tips was to chew on cinnamon sticks, which is what I did and it worked for me. Not really any downside, other than cost (and I think cinnamon sticks might be cheaper than nicotine gum and the like) - tastes good, good for your breath, no significant calories. Also shaped like a cigarette, a bit, so get the same hand to mouth "satisfaction". As everybody else has said, you have to be totally ready, though - and recognize that like with true alcoholics, the addiction never really goes away - you're simply deciding not to smoke this minute, hour, day, year....
  • DesireeAshley90
    DesireeAshley90 Posts: 137 Member
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    Okay I know how hard it is to quit and having had grandparents die from lung cancer, my mom refused to quit after 25 plus years of smoking. Listen, have you tried electronic cigarettes? My mother is the most stubborn person out there and she tried everything from nicoderm to chantix to every pill and aid she could find and she couldn't quit. She tried an electornic cigarette one day and never looked back. She has had three physicals since (three years cigarette free) and her blood oxygen level is normal and the doctors tell her she's the healthiest they've ever seen her. I myself have an electronic cigarette and though I don't vape as much as she does, it does not affect my breathing or exercising at all and I jog a lot. I have also lost 26lbs. If you have anymore questions feel free to message me but you might want to look into this. It can also help you quit smoking altogether AND it's cheaper.
  • kerri55345
    kerri55345 Posts: 11 Member
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    I quit six months ago. I agree with many posts. You have to be absolutly ready. Not kinda, not sort of.... REALLY DONE! I woke up every morning after I quit and said to myself, I choose to not smoke today. i didn't worry about tomorrow, or the next day, but for that day, i was not going to smoke. The first 2 weeks pretty much sucked, but after that it got better and better and better.

    Set a date, get some nicotine support (gum, chantix, lozenges) and you can do it. I wont be easy, but you can absolutly do it and be smoke free.

    Hugs!:smile:
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I have never smoked, but my husband did for over 40 years...until May 17 last year when he went to the dr for a physical and found out that 100% of his brachial artery coming from his heart was blocked. He had only 50% blood flow to his brain (the body is remarkable in that it was keeping minimal blood supply to his left arm by "borrowing" it from vessels going to his brain). The only actual symptoms he had was lower blood pressure in his left arm and occasional minor dizzy spells. The vascular surgeon attributed most of his problems to his nicotine habit and $32,000 later his artery was opened with a stent. He quit smoking that day and hasn't had a cigarette since. Once he realized that his life was in real danger from his smoking it was easy to make that decision. You are young and have a chance to change and improve your life, do it.
  • suewestcountry
    suewestcountry Posts: 35 Member
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    I smoked for many years when I stopped 3 years ago I did it without any help and have never thought about it since however I put on 3 stone which I am am now losing. I have no breath at all and am suffering from emphysema due to smoking. I would sooner be fat for a while than dead. Thats the bottom line.
  • Lonewolf1507
    Lonewolf1507 Posts: 507 Member
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    The general rule coming from here is that you need to be ready to quit, I started living cleaner and healthier in February 2012 but still smoked till November. By then I had lost around 80 lbs and felt I had the eating and exercise part down, also 4 days later I was going on vacation in America to a non-smoking house, now 150 days smoke free with only occasional thoughts about having a cigarette. One thing that I think has helped was having lost so much weight I had to buy new clothes and went a bit wild on Black Friday sales, replaced just about everything, so there are no smoke smelling clothes around.

    Now I am also getting the ex-smoker problem that I don't like someone that has just had a cigarette being to close to me because of the smell :laugh: so maybe that will also help keep me away from going back.

    If you wish to add me to your friends list for extra motivation/support for both weight loss and quitting smoking I will be happy to help.

    Andy
  • ashleylynn8888
    ashleylynn8888 Posts: 16 Member
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    My own 2 cents: I'm not sure if you're opposed to going the medical route or not, but I tried Chantix a couple times and quit successfully for a few months but the cravings always became overwhelming and eventually I started smoking again each time when the pills ran out. In January I was put on Wellbutrin and I have found amazing success. Not a single craving. The thought of cigarettes repulses me now.... even when drinking- when my temptation was the worst and always got the best of me in the past. I am 100% positive that I'm officially done smoking for good this time. I highly recommend talking to your doctor about whether or not this may be an option for you. Good luck!!
  • Shelby1582
    Shelby1582 Posts: 191 Member
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    I smoked for over 10 years and quit for good exactly 92 days ago. It was hard but really after three weeks it was fine and it was the best decision I ever made. I was afraid to quit because a. I didn't really want to even though I knew how it was killing me and b. I didn't want to gain weight. Then I decided it was time and I just had to do it. I told myself one day without a cigarette. That's it, just do one day, and I did and kept repeating it. After a week smoke free something stuck in me and I became determine. You can do it!!!

    The top things that helped me were the Livestrong quit app if you have a smart phone and the website whyquit.org. I like the Livestrong app, (get the paid one) becuase it's a whole community on there and they are very supportive and going through the same things you are. If I had a craving I would get on there and see so much encouragement and look up to the people who had been quit longer than me. I'll look for you on there, same user name Shelby1582.
    Whyquit.org- just read it. I knew smoking kills and causes cancer but when I read the heart wrenching stories of women who were only a few years older than me and they chronicle in detail their battle with lung cancer, losing everything, what they wish they had done differently and the pain they are in. It's so sad. I didn't really think that smoking affected people until later in life but it does. It can even cause rectal cancer and you will have to carry a poop bag around with you forever! Check it out, I went home crying after reading it and regret every cigarette I ever smoked.

    I support you, you can quit smoking. I used fruit flavored Nicorette gum for a couple days and the e-cigarette for a few weeks then weaned off of it. Once the nicortine leaves your body you won't physically crave so that helped alot. I think that's why the patch is harder, because your body is constantly in a state of withdrawel. Whichever method you choose you can do this and stay strong!
  • piq0409
    piq0409 Posts: 8
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    What worked best for me was changing the habits of when and where I smoked. It is a slower process, but made it a lot easier to just stop.
    1st I cut it out of my car. I use to smoke anywhere from 5-10 a day in my car!! Everytime I got in the car, I lit up. So one weekend I cleaned my car out really good, changed the air filters and had the car place clean the vents with something they called ozone. Then no more smoking in the car.
    A few weeks after that I started to look at the other times that it was a habit to have a smoke. After meals was a big one. This habit I couldn't just stop, I had to replace it with something. So now I walk for 10-20 minutes after each meal. I realized it wasn't the nicotine I needed but the aide with digestion or something bc I was eating too much. So this helped in lots of ways. I started eating a little less, becuase I hate that too full feeling, I started walking, and I was having 3 less cigarettes.
    Those 2 habits were most of my cigarettes. The hardest was (and still is) drinking of course. But as my workouts have gotten longer and more intense, the cravings are less. Once I got rid of the bulk of it, it wasn't so hard to just stop the last 2 a day. I still break down once and awhile when I am drinking, but the next day I feel it and am reminded why I don't want to do it anymore.
    Oh! I also put aside my smoking money into a clothing fund. As you start to lose weight, it can get expensive to buy new clothes. But new clothes are so much more fun than cigarettes!!
  • LassoOfTruth
    LassoOfTruth Posts: 735 Member
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    I have been working on my Healthy eating habits and going to the gym and loosing weight!!! I am very happy with how things are going . I started about 4.5 weeks ago. Since then I have lost 14lbs BUT I am still smoking!!! I know I need to quit... I want to quit... I know how unhealthy it is.... I have trouble breathing when doing stuff and I know I could do MORE When not IF I quit. Im doing pretty good with my eating habits but I smoke more instead of eating. Before I would sit and munch on chips or candy or whatever Now I Don't do that so I smoke instead of grabbing that bag of chips. Im afraid that when I do quit im going to put weight back on. So how do I quit smoking and LOSE weight at the same time with out wanting to "kill" the people around me... For those that have ever smoked before you know what I mean!!! Please help

    I am attempting to quit smoking as well. I am down to 15 a day (from a pack and a half--so that's a big deal to me.) What I did was buy the packs of cigarettes for the week, and then count out 15 per pack (helpful to have some empty ones laying around... lolz) and next week, I'll count out 14 per day..... following week 13 per day.... until I get down to 1 a day. After that.... I'll either just smoke that 1 or quit completely. But, its been working for me. But, I'm pretty retentive and like lists and plans and "setting up" that plan... so sitting down to count out my cigarettes for the week is sort of therapeutic for me. Don't judge me..... hahahahaha.

    Good luck to you... whichever way you do it! It'll be worth it! Smoking sucks.
  • msjack32
    msjack32 Posts: 15 Member
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    I also agree that YOU have to be ready. I quit over 2 years ago and so far so good. My husband nagged me for so long and I tried to hide it from him etc, but I didn't stop until I was ready. I used the patch, which did help with cravings, but you have to tough out the "behaviors", like having a cig after you eat or driving in the car. Those were the hardest for me. My mom died from lung cancer and I am an oncology nurse, so I have seen first hand, many, many times what the end looks like and it's not pretty. But I didn't quit until I was ready. I took care of my lung cancer patients and still went out to smoke on my breaks for about a year, which is ridiculous. Once you do it, you will never feel better. You can do it, if you want to. Good luck!
  • watchhillgirl
    watchhillgirl Posts: 597 Member
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    My biggest problem is in the car.
    A friend suggested I buy a bag of sunflower seeds and focus on cracking each one individually.

    I mean, you can just spit them out if you don't want the calories!

    That was my biggest problem when I quit. What I did, was a put a pack of the floss picks in my car, (I know it sounds gross), but I floss my teeth when driving down the road. so I ended up with really clean teeth too. My dentist loved me for it. It is a really tough thing to do, but you can do it. I will tell you, there are days that I could just eat a pack, but you get thru it, and you will be able to really run again. You don't have to worry about your clothes smelling either. You will also notice when you got to places, how many people DON'T smoke, and you will realize you made the right decision!
  • lenniebus
    lenniebus Posts: 321 Member
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    I focused on quitting smoking first, then losing weight. I sure don't think I could have done both at the same time...and smoking to me was by far the first thing that needed to go...

    Once I felt I had that under control a bit, then I started incorporating more exercise and healthier eating...
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    YOU have to be ready
    I agree with this somewhat...however, its likely you'll never truly 'be ready'...so you just have to decide that its TIME to do it.

    Don't focus on losing weight, but instead set some fitness goals (for now), and watch how quickly your lung function improves. I quit over a year ago and another huge thing I noticed was sodium! The foods that I loved when I was a smoker taste horrible and overly-salty now that my taste buds have recovered from being assaulted by nicotine for years.
  • krissy_krossy
    krissy_krossy Posts: 307 Member
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    I quit for a month with the help of Zyban (same thing as the anti-depressant Welbutrin but under a different name) until they realized that SSRI's send me through the roof. So I don't take that, Chantix is pretty awful from what I hear, and I've seen enough people get addicted to nicotine gum instead of cigarettes that I don't go for those aids.
    I smoke, I'm honestly not trying to quit, but if I wanted to I would. I get that it's really hard, but it's one of those things that you don't need to survive (unlike food) and it's something you have to go out of your way to do.
    Like any addiction, you have to be determined to quit. Use some sort of aid if you want, but be aware of side-effects. And just quit. I don't know, add up all the money you'd save if you quit. Ask your doctor too, as a long of places offer help for those trying to quit for free (I know mine does, but it might be just because it's at the Naval Hospital here and the Navy is going bananas with anti-smoking junk lately.)
  • missymakayla
    missymakayla Posts: 309 Member
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    I used to smoke, and I loved it. But I quit cold turkey.in August of 2012. I went on vacation to what they call AMSA, it's where you camp on beach for three day's in truck campers( Members only) and I just couldn't do all the activity's (out of breath) and I told myself after this weekend,I was going to stop, and I did. Now I'm not saying it was easy, but I put my mind to it, and did it, just like in Jan 2013 I had enough of being over weight, and have lost 35 lbs since 1/15/13. MIND OVER MATTER ... Good luck......
  • santje00
    santje00 Posts: 95 Member
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    I'm a smoker as well and I don't want to quit before being on my ideal weight. Losing weight is already hard enough without extra things to cut back on. I say focus on one thing at a time. Quit smoking is really difficult, but if you want to quit now I'd try one of those electronic cigarettes. It made me cut back to 5 *kitten* a day and once I lost all the weight I will stop completely.

    I wish you lots of luck trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle.
  • paige_eloise
    paige_eloise Posts: 170 Member
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    I'm still smoking as well, I figured that I had to lose weight and stop in some sort of order.
    I figured if I train my eating habits first, I won't put on tons of weight when I quit when my hands are bored!
    I have, however, managed to SERIOUSLY cut down. I smoke around 7-10 a day :)
    Good luck!!!

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