I have no motivation to stop smokimg.

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  • LaurasClimb
    LaurasClimb Posts: 211 Member
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    Good morning OP, here's what did it for me...

    I have a person in my life (family member) who is a total witch (with a capital B). Loooong story...she's felt the need to compete with me my whole life. I'm not a terribly competitive person but, I guess, in a small way I can be.
    She tried to quit many times (so had I). One day I decided I was going to do it because she couldn't. And I did! It wasn't easy. I stopped cold turkey. But my motivation was being able to do what she couldn't.

    Well...I guess that was the motivation she needed, too. She also quit. So now my motivation is that I'm not going to fail at something she's succeeded in. It's been almost 9 years. I won't lie, the cravings still show up from time to time but I am not about to lose this competition!
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    Thank you so much for the replies. I have read each post and now have a lot to consider. The MFP community has come through in a big way! I am 52 and am very healthy according to my doctor. I think it is more difficult to quit smoking than lose weight because I can't see any results. With weight loss, I can get positive reinforcement from the scale, my clothes and the mirror. With smoking, it's all in my head. I am not smoking as much as I did two weeks ago, but I can't seem to stop completely. I have been at this two weeks and I am needing the extra push to stop cheating. Please keep the replies coming! I need each one.
    Beautiful.
    It is not all in your head. You affect the people around you, particularly those who love you/need you/are counting on you. You affect others, don't miss that reality.
  • Koshkaxo
    Koshkaxo Posts: 332 Member
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    like others have said you have to want it for yourself ...that will be the difference between temporary quitter and permanent quitter...good luck!

    I am stuck as a temporary quitter. I had a full 7 weeks in without a smoke and then I gave in D: I've been sneaking a few with friends the past few day and I feel guilty.

    OP Good luck! My advice is that you need to figure out your triggers for wanting a smoke (social time, stress, after meals, driving, etc). When you feel crappy during these times you'll at least know when it'll happen and why :)
  • jayjay12345654321
    jayjay12345654321 Posts: 653 Member
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    I like Bernadette's answer the best. I don't care if you're a doctor, nurse, cancer patient, or one of those scary anti-smoking examples on TV commercials, nobody is going to make me quit unless I want to. If you're having trouble quitting, even if you really want to, and I believe you. I know the feeling, but if you're having trouble, there is a part of you that just isn't ready yet. Smoking gives you that emotional "something" you still need. An escape during tense situation, a zen when you're seeking peace, a sense of relaxation after a meal, something else to focus on in frustrating traffic. Whatever it is, the act of smoking, not the cigarette itself, still provides that for you. I don't know a single person who wouldn't swap out their cigarettes for something entirely benign if they could, but it just doesn't exist. A few of my friends have switched to the e-Cigarette, but after that news report 2 years ago of one exploding in man's mouth, most felt it safer to go back to regular cigarettes. The one who stuck with his e-Cig did actually quit. He's been smoke free for 2 years, puffing away on his water vapor gadget. He smoked a pack a day for 25 yrs, Marlboro Reds.
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    Also, it is liberating!

    Typically, I'd get up..sneak to the bathroom to smoke.

    Volunteer to walk the dogs so I could smoke.

    Count the minutes till I left for work so I could smoke on the way to the train.

    Find the least crowded sidewalk so I could smoke on the way to the office.

    Watch the clock till I could smoke.

    Have to rush home and shower to get the smoke smell off.

    Push the family out of the kitchen so I could sneak out for a smoke.

    Walk the dogs again, to smoke.

    Not play with our son, cause "Mom was too busy working and she's going to Starbucks to avoid the noise"...but really to smoke.

    Smoking wasn't relieving tension and stress, it was adding tension and stress.

    In two years, I've saved roughly 5,000.00 by not smoking and I've gained at least an hour each day. Both my money and my time are better spent than smoking.
  • Raven2evil
    Raven2evil Posts: 73 Member
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    It mostly depends on how much you smoke. I've been smoking on and off since i was 15-16. I used to be able to stop completely whenever I wanted. I can't do that as easily now but I can easily curb how much I do smoke. I now only smoke when I'm at a party and maybe one cig when I'm super stressed but otherwise I usually smoke a little bit of hookah with my boyfriend and I'm fine. If you don't feel you need to quit then don't. Yes its healthier to quit but if that isn't reason enough for you to want to quit then your simply not going to. Some people just won't that's okay, some people do and congrats to them. You have to decide which one you are on your own.
  • A_Warrior_Princess
    A_Warrior_Princess Posts: 344 Member
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    I know I am struggling too with quitting smoking. I seem to do well and then when I am around my family which most of us smoke then I revert back to my old habits of smoking. I took Chantix and quit for several years and then my brother moved in with us for about a year and I started smoking again, ugh I hate it. The smell, taste, it seems to dictate my life - my husband hates it, BUT you gotta figure out if that is what you really want to do quit or stay smoking.
  • LaurasClimb
    LaurasClimb Posts: 211 Member
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    In two years, I've saved roughly 5,000.00 by not smoking and I've gained at least an hour each day. Both my money and my time are better spent than smoking.

    This made me think...In the nearly 9 years since I quit, I should have saved well over $16,000. (I figured $5/pack which I know is low) Where did all that go??

    OP, here's a thought...everyday you don't smoke put aside $5.00. It will add up!
  • roxweb
    roxweb Posts: 19 Member
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    Ah this is not easy! I have empathy for your situation. For me, it took YEARS before I finally committed, and then quit (has been going on 7 years now!) But what clicked for me wasn't the "desire" or knowing it was healthy (it is) or that I wouldn't die of cancer or something. Basically it was a change in circumstance. I bought a new car, and didn't want to lose the "new car" smell, plus, I had just moved into a new home and didn't want the smell all over the carpet and me and my children's clothing. That was it! It was like one day, the switch clicked in my brain and VOILA! Just like starting to eat healthy again. For some reason I just started doing it again.

    But, it will "feel" different, when you are really ready. If you're not committed to doing it, it will be hell (believe me, I've lived it). I think ultimately, whether you quit or not, don't stop trying!! One of these times, you'll quit for good, because just posting this question in the discussion board, asking others for help, is the first sign that your brain is moving in the right direction :) Hang in there!
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
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    My husbands step father and mother quit smoking 20 years ago. Both are in their 70's now. MIL has copd and step father in law has lung cancer and struggles to get through every day. Surgery was not an option. He did all the radiation and chemo he could handle and is now giving up. He's sick all the time. Falls down due to being so weak from the chemo and lack of oxygen. He is so weak he falls down trying to pee. Boy what joy ha?? Poor guy is in the hospital at least twice a month with problems. MIL had stents put in due to narrowing and hardening of her arteries all due to her past smoking. Neither one is allowed to drive anymore due to health issues. They have nurses in and out of their house constantly to check on them, oxygen treatments, physical therapy appointments, constantly going for tests and treatments etc. THey've both been having serious medical issues since in their early 60's. Way too many medical problems to list here. It would take me all day! ALL of their medical problems are due to their past pack a day habit.

    You want a life like this? I don't think so.
  • buffywhitney
    buffywhitney Posts: 172 Member
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  • bdubya55
    bdubya55 Posts: 506 Member
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    As a smoker for 43+ years I'm currently reading Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Stop Smoking" and have a date set of 9/2/13 for my final cigarette. I strongly recommend his book and encourage you to check it out.

    As smokers, we know the health "risks" associated with smoking. The vid below shares the health "benefits" when we stop smoking from the onset, and it's pretty darn good too.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfVq9b0uHZ0&feature=youtu.be

    Good luck!:drinker:
  • JanMarie2BHealthy
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    I am an ex-smoker and will be 12 years smoke-free the 15th of this month. Here is a website that has a forum and some useful info http://www.quitnet.com if you want to take a peek at the site.

    Quitnet has a neat little 'gadget' to keep track of stats - not that I agree with everything on the stats but financially it is inspiring *LOL*.

    My Stats:
    Your Quit Date is: 8/15/2001
    Time Smoke-Free: 4378 days, 10 hours, 7 minutes and 1 second
    Cigarettes NOT smoked: 87568
    Money Saved: $20,795.50

    Sometimes we just have to "go for it" just like logging into MFP and choosing healthier food options.
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    Also, I think smoking is like losing weight...you have to find a strategy which works for you and you have to be willing to change your strategy when another strategy isn't working.

    I "quit", but before I quit totally I:

    . Restricted where I could smoke.

    . I stopped buying multi-packs.

    . I kept the cigs in one place only and if I wanted one I had to go get it (upper desk drawer and the office, guest bathroom at home.)

    . I logged the "triggers": coffee, disagreements with family, etc.

    Smoking is a habit...it becomes an automatic part of your day. If you can find ways to make it less automatic and look for a substitute

    I did Nicorette with smoking...bad I know...until I was finally doing more Nicorette than cigs and then no cigs at all. I put Nicorette on my Amazon subscribe and save monthly so it was always available.

    I had a motivator (our son), but what got me there was a plan which made it easier and what made it easier was taking small steps to making NOT smoking easier.
  • rainydays5
    rainydays5 Posts: 217 Member
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    This video is all I got. If you can watch this and still want to smoke then you will never quit.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOPYoalGL9k
  • SmallMimi
    SmallMimi Posts: 541 Member
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    Smoked for 33 years, sorry there is no magical reason. YOU have to find your own!
  • mlfrailing
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    I quit several years ago for 1 reason only. Finances. I was smoking 2 to 2 1/2 packs a day. Wisconsin (and other states) realized a while ago that taxing tobacco is the easiest, most popular, PC way to raise money. It went up $.50 one year, then $1.00 after that. They have pushed smokers out into the sidewalks, alleys and streets for the smoke free atmosphere in buildings.

    That being said, when I decided to quit smoking, I did it on New Years. Last cig was at 11:45 on New years Eve. You have to want it or no amount of gimmicks are going to help. I gained a lot of weight, but I have now lost that and more. As far as feeling better? I didn't feel any better at all until I lost the weight. It was a rough month or so, but it will get easier. You will get ornery, but let that drive your determination.

    This may have sounded negative, but it is all up to you.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    Also, it is liberating!

    Typically, I'd get up..sneak to the bathroom to smoke.

    Volunteer to walk the dogs so I could smoke.

    Count the minutes till I left for work so I could smoke on the way to the train.

    Find the least crowded sidewalk so I could smoke on the way to the office.

    Watch the clock till I could smoke.

    Have to rush home and shower to get the smoke smell off.

    Push the family out of the kitchen so I could sneak out for a smoke.

    Walk the dogs again, to smoke.

    Not play with our son, cause "Mom was too busy working and she's going to Starbucks to avoid the noise"...but really to smoke.

    Smoking wasn't relieving tension and stress, it was adding tension and stress.

    In two years, I've saved roughly 5,000.00 by not smoking and I've gained at least an hour each day. Both my money and my time are better spent than smoking.

    I have appreciated the extra time I have each day just by cutting down. Smoking is a time waster, which may be part of my cheating. I seem to like to escape with a few puffs by myself. I haven't had an entire cigarette in two weeks, but I still can't seem to not sneak in a few cheat puffs each day. I need to stop completely or this isn't going to work.
  • liesevanlingen
    liesevanlingen Posts: 508 Member
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    Watch the movie "Dead Again"- with Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson.
  • mommy3457
    mommy3457 Posts: 361 Member
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    There are videos out there of those who have tubes in their lungs from getting lung cancer from smoking. Do you have loved ones? They are reason enough.