QUIT SMOKING

I gather you are in the UK. I am in the states, But I imagine you can get e-cigs there. I bought one for when the urge to smoke was so bad i found myself stuffing food in my mouth. I have been tobacco free since 07/28/12. I am losing weight and smoke free! never thought it would happen. You could try going to a store that only sells healthy stuff, (we have Whole foods) and buy some crystalized Ginger. Very strong taste, kinda knocks out the urge. or suck on sugar free candy (not too much though cause you Could get the runs) or chew sugar free gum. All those things helped me. You can do this, hang in there. friend me if you like. Cindy

Today is my first day as an ex-smoker too - I have quit more times than I care to remember - But after a length of time, sometimes weeks, sometimes months, once 3 years I go back to it.
Smoking is now affecting my weigh loss - I am struggling to run any further as I can't breath and I NEED to run more than I need to smoke.

Do a puzzle, knit a jumper, clean your teeth, clean out a cupboard - Keep busy, it is the only way and if you must eat.....
a bag of seedless grapes, the really tiny ones works a treat as they remove themselves quite quickly and are fiddly so your hands and mouth are engaged

Good luck to us all and THINK OF THE MONEY lol

Good for you! I quit smoking over 2 years ago (also used e-cigs). You'll be amazed at how better you'll smell and taste food. I still "vape" daily but only because I enjoy the rhythm of smoking...it's the 4000 chemicals in cigarettes that are bad LOL. I would suggest that you do a little research on them if you're interested in em (lot of shoddy, expensive ecigs on the market). A good resource is ECF.

Good luck!

I was in the same situation as you. I was always afraid to quit smoking due to weight gain, then i would quit gain 10 pounds and go buy a pack of cigs. So I thought I have an idea I lost 20 pounds then quit smoking, 20 pounds came back within a couple of months so i picked up smoking again. Tried again a few years later gained 10 pounds, started running and joined mfp. Currently quit 14 months and weigh less than i did as a smoker. I guess my point is it can be done you just have to give yourself time and be a little forgiving. Now i dont think i will pick up again cause next time could be the quit where i gain 50 pounds lol.

I gave up Smoking in January , Yaaaaaay ! I was a 20 a day Smoker and had smoked for 32 years. I loved Cigarettes believe me. I had tried several times to quit to no avail. I went Cold Turkey a couple of times, and I tried Zyban which sent me nuts.

I quit in January after reading The Allen Carr book (Allen Carrs Easy Way to stop Smoking) and I have never looked back. I made sure I read as much as I could each day in complete silence so that I wasn't distracted by the TV or Radio etc. If I didn't understand some parts of the book I read and re-read it until I did understand.

Yes, some parts of it are quite monotonous and repetative but read it all. You can Smoke while you read the book, (He tells you to

do that) He really changes the way in which you think about Cigarettes and Smoking. We say that we love a cigarette to de-stress, relax etc.....we don't, we love a Cigarette because we are ADDICTS, we are addicted to Nicotine and the top and bottom of it is when we have a Cigarette we are feeding our addiction, end of.

When I had my last Cigarette I made sure that I always had the book with me wherever I went (Even t the Pub) because there is a chapter in there called 'Just the one'...a chapter which talks you out of having 'Just the one' when the urge strikes.

When I was a Smoker I couldn't even run to the end of the road without my heart leaping out of my chest and not being abe to speak because I was so out of breath....Now it's totally different. I Use the Gym every day for 1 hour 5 x per week, I can Jog on the Treadmill for an hour and a half, My Clothes don't smell (I truely cannot believe how a Smoker stinks so much, I never knew that I smelt like that ) Some people say that they can taste heir food more...I never got that, to me it tastes just the same as I did when I smoked.

I can tell you now that quitting Smoking is THE best thing that I have ever done. I have Loads more money, I am fitter, I don't smell like an Ashtray and I am no longer an addict, a slave to a substance. Believe me If I can quit Smoking anyone can.(Boy did I love Cigarettes)

Yes, I have put weight on, I have put a Stone on hence joining MFP to hopefully lose that stone. I only put the Stone on because I made bad food choices instead of Healthy ones.

Good Luck in quitting you CAN do it, you just have to really want to. You are slowly killing yourself at the end of the day by being an Addict.

YOU CAN DO IT !

I can also recommend reading Allen Carr's Easy Way book.

I quit cold turkey after 20+ years and I almost can't identify myself as an ex-smoker, it's just a thing I can't imagine myself doing.

It deprograms a lot of people.

You can't crave what you don't want ... no willpower required.

Absolutely this!! I too quit cold turkey after 20+ years. You have nothing to lose in reading the book so I would urge you to give it a go.

I have quit smoke for about 3 years. I still want one everyday. My husband on the other hand; he quit about 4 years ago and doesnt miss it.
I love being able to smell my perfume, and the extra money to throw towards other things is nice too.
Far as health, I do feel better. I notice I am less sick, and dont have this weird dry cough lol
My weight did reflect my decision to quit, but I think I just used it as an excuse to be honest. I agree with the other poster, its the whole rhythm. Lately my thing now is to chew straws. Nasty habit, but its what I do...and it helps.

Congrats on making the choice. Keep your hands busy and stay away from the refrigerator. When I get bored, I want to look inside and then I want to eat. You can do it!