Cigarettes. My Last thing to kick.

DanniB423
DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
edited January 30 in Motivation and Support
So I have been doing great on MFP. I have not had soda in almost a year, and have kicked red meat/pork for a month now ( just a decision I made for myself, eliminating those and sticking to leaner meat helps me a lot). My very last thing is smoking. I have been smoking for 8 years. I need to quit. But I do not really WANT to. Sounds weird to those who don't do it, but smoking is quite enjoyable. I am aware of the health risks, I am aware that getting healthy weight wise is pointless only to die of lung cancer, so I do not necessarily need a guilt speech. I feel that smoking helps me not eat so much as well, many people say they turn to food after quitting and gain x amount of weight, etc. I am nervous about being super hungry and not having a distraction. Wouldn't it be a perfect world if I could grow into a person that makes exercise my new drug of choice? Not to mention how much easier exercise would be with healthy lungs.. lol. any other MFP users struggling with smoking? Any tips for kicking the habit and not eating everything in sight to distract a craving? Thanks!

Replies

  • starling01
    starling01 Posts: 81 Member
    I quit. For the first week I pigged out on ice cream. After the first week, the cravings weren't nearly as bad and I knew when I would get them and how long they would last. Mornings in particular were very bad. The cravings last about 3 minutes. I would tell myself to wait 3 minutes to eat something. That eventually worked for me. It's been a couple of months now. Once in a while I still get hit hard, usually when I'm stressed, otherwise I never think about them.

    I think people use food to try to distract themselves from the cravings. It didn't work for me. If it works for you though, it's better to gain some weight than to be a slave to the cigarettes. And I enjoyed smoking, too, up until I got tired of having to think about them all the time and going out at night to get more of the things.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    :smokin:
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    You are so right... I am going to give it an honest go. Did anyone try to use any patches or fad ways to stop or just drop it totally?
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    After a meal is the worst for me! When I am full or just had a meal I feel the need to go outside instantly. Like a ritual. Lets not even mention the $! Right now I eat a balance of super clean healthy food.. with some processed "diet food" here and there. If I quit something I could probably afford clean all the way!
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
    Quit cold turkey after being hospitalized with an infection 5/19/10.

    I never looked back. Do I still get the cravings? once in a while, especially if i'm really stressed out - but I don't even think I would smoke again.
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    cold turkey
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    Quit cold turkey after being hospitalized with an infection 5/19/10.

    I never looked back. Do I still get the cravings? once in a while, especially if i'm really stressed out - but I don't even think I would smoke again.


    Good for you! I quit for my pregnancy.. the whole entire time. A week after my csection and she was born.. started right up again. I feel that my husband quitting with me is a must for success. I know its not up to him to quit for me but it would sure make it easier on me.
  • joakool
    joakool Posts: 434 Member
    I smoked for 26 years and used hypnosis to quit. I've been smoke free for 2-1/2 years and I know I will never smoke again. I have no desire to. I wish I would have tried hypnosis years ago but I really, really wanted to quit this time and that has A LOT to do with it. No matter what method you choose, you have to WANT to quit. You can do it ~ good luck!
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
    I stopped beacause some of the "warnings" I thought I knew( like yourself) became more real. I lost 110 lbs , so the old adage that if you quit you gain weight is untrue. If you quit and eat more and dont move you gain, same as people that do not smoke. No lecture, advice do something while you can.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
    oh, I used the patches for 2 months and tapered. I also used cinnamon hard candy as crutch for a bit.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    I stopped beacause some of the "warnings" I thought I knew( like yourself) became more real. I lost 110 lbs , so the old adage that if you quit you gain weight is untrue. If you quit and eat more and dont move you gain, same as people that do not smoke. No lecture, advice do something while you can.


    I appreciate it! It is very stupid and insane that I can see all the facts and continue to do it. But I feel like I am ready to really try. And a huge congrats on 110 lbs! I hope I get there someday!
  • oldandhealthier
    oldandhealthier Posts: 449 Member
    I smoked 3 packs a day for 35 years. Quit 10 years ago and do not miss it. Used the patch and pill both(I was hardcore) I truly wish you luck but brace yourself for a rough time. Just hang in there, I hope you do well but it appears to harder for women for some reason. I know I must of tried to quit a hundred times but until my mind was completely made up I kept failing. All the patches pills and everything else only helps. Determination is what does it. Some may say I should sugar coat my words but you have already proven you can quit things when you want to. You sound like you have what it takes. There should be site like MFP but for smokers trying to quit so they can get support. Good luck and I hope you make it:flowerforyou:
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    Hi Danni,
    People who start smoking before age 18 have a harder time quitting than people who start later. It is not a hard and fast rule for everybody. But, it is a pretty good association. My point being: You might want to seek out help -- counseling, hypnosis, nicotine patch, etc.
    I think, if you don't smoke, you will eat more. But those aids will help keep the increased noshing to a minimum.
    I smoked for over 35 years. I finally quit, but only with the assistance of Chantix, the nicotine-receptor blocker drug.
    And, don't let your addiction tell yourself that you enjoy smoking and are not 100 percent committed to quitting. That is a lie and a rationalization.
    Does smoking feel good sometimes? Sure. Can be the best. But, not really. Only that first one in the morning, or the one after the coffee, or a meal, is pleasant. But, nobody smokes that way. Nobody who gets the pleasure only smokes one cigarette in a day. The rest are terrible and the habit is terrible.
    Have you ever know a smoker who had never tried to quit? Probably not. I have never heard of anyone and I have known a lot. If it is so great, why does everyone want to quit?
    Get help. It is a very hard thing to do and few are successful on their own.
    Good luck.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    I smoked 3 packs a day for 35 years. Quit 10 years ago and do not miss it. Used the patch and pill both(I was hardcore) I truly wish you luck but brace yourself for a rough time. Just hang in there, I hope you do well but it appears to harder for women for some reason. I know I must of tried to quit a hundred times but until my mind was completely made up I kept failing. All the patches pills and everything else only helps. Determination is what does it. Some may say I should sugar coat my words but you have already proven you can quit things when you want to. You sound like you have what it takes. There should be site like MFP but for smokers trying to quit so they can get support. Good luck and I hope you make it:flowerforyou:

    You are SO right! Thank you and I do think I can do it. I am at about 3/4 a pack a day right now, I can not imagine having to kick it after 3 packs! I commend you! I feel the same, I quit for a week once other than my pregnancy and I do not feel I was really into it. But seeing all of the other positive changes I am making for my health has made me realize if I am going to continue to smoke then all of my other efforts are almost worthless. Thanks again!
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    Hi Danni,
    People who start smoking before age 18 have a harder time quitting than people who start later. It is not a hard and fast rule for everybody. But, it is a pretty good association. My point being: You might want to seek out help -- counseling, hypnosis, nicotine patch, etc.
    I think, if you don't smoke, you will eat more. But those aids will help keep the increased noshing to a minimum.
    I smoked for over 35 years. I finally quit, but only with the assistance of Chantix, the nicotine-receptor blocker drug.
    And, don't let your addiction tell yourself that you enjoy smoking and are not 100 percent committed to quitting. That is a lie and a rationalization.
    Does smoking feel good sometimes? Sure. Can be the best. But, not really. Only that first one in the morning, or the one after the coffee, or a meal, is pleasant. But, nobody smokes that way. Nobody who gets the pleasure only smokes one cigarette in a day. The rest are terrible and the habit is terrible.
    Have you ever know a smoker who had never tried to quit? Probably not. I have never heard of anyone and I have known a lot. If it is so great, why does everyone want to quit?
    Get help. It is a very hard thing to do and few are successful on their own.
    Good luck.

    I started when I was 17! And you are so right, I am so guilty of the old " It is not even the nicotine, its the action" or " I just love escaping for a few minutes" LOL I need to escape on a walk instead. I was on Wellbutrin at one time a few years ago and it stopped my cravings 100% I did not smoke at all. But it gave me side effects in other areas and as soon as I stopped taking it I was looking for a cigarette again.
  • jade2112
    jade2112 Posts: 272 Member
    I used the gum for a couple months. Doc said it was better to be addicted to gum than cigarettes.

    It's been 13 years now and I never have a craving. In fact, when I see someone smoking it makes my lungs hurt.

    You can do it and not gain weight.
  • bambishealth
    bambishealth Posts: 134 Member
    I just totally quit one day. Have never looked back.
  • oldandhealthier
    oldandhealthier Posts: 449 Member
    How about keeping us posted on your progress?:flowerforyou:
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I started smoking when I was 12 or 13 and, as an adult, smoked about a pack a day. It's been about 23 years since I quit cold turkey and I can tell you from personal experience that food tastes so good when your mouth doesn't taste like an ashtray any more.

    I suspect everyone packs on a few founds when they quit but it's still a much lower health risk than the smoking.

    Good luck!
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    Try Chantix then. As I said, I smoked for over 35 years, and I tried to quit for probably 30 of those. Seriously tried. Never could, until Chantix. It was a God-send for me.
    The only trouble is: It is hard to get a prescription. I think that is because it is expensive (on patent). Plus, the health insurers know that people who try to quit usually don't, so why spend good money trying to help them.
    I had to have my physician write a special note to my insurer, and had to get a certificate showing I had successfully completed a free, state, education program and still could not quit.
    As I recall, in the clinical trials testing Chantix, they found that only about 20 percent of the subjects who used Chantix actually were able to quit for a year. That was good because only 4 percent of the people who got a placebo had quit that long. It is a five-times better result with the drug. But, it is not the kind of thing a health insurer is going to want to pay for -- an expensive drug that only helps one in five people.
    Or, try Wellbutrin again, since it worked last time. You don't have to take it forever, just a few months to get over the hump.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    How about keeping us posted on your progress?:flowerforyou:

    Yeah. ^ this. Please
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    you can do it girl
    I quit alcohol
    quit cigs
    quit ecigs

    I started by doing Nicorette lozenges
    when I ran out of them I did e- cig and cinnamon hard candies
    then quit the e- cigs and the candies
  • MadDogManor
    MadDogManor Posts: 1,621 Member
    Like others, I started smoking at age 13 or 14 - stealing my pop's smokes

    I stopped for boot camp, and while I was pregnant. Finally, when we bought a new house across the country, I said I wasn't going to smoke anymore. I was 30 yo.

    I used the patches and gum both, patches every dang second and gum when I "needed" a smoke - habitual times: getting in the car, finishing a meal, cracking open a beer, etc.

    It's been many years now since I've bought a pack, and I still get a craving or two almost every day. I don't know if it's because I'm an addict to other things as well, but it's always there in the background.

    Good luck!!
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