I'm done, I quit.

Woo hoo!! I don't know you but I know you can do this! My husband and I quit together two and a half years ago. I had been smoking for 18 years (I started when I was 15. How sad!) but after we decided to quit, we set a date (like you have) and neither of us have smoked since. It was extremely hard at first but we used nicotine gum for a little while to get through the cravings. We also put money aside each week (like you're planning) and we actually went on a short trip to Paris with the money we saved from not smoking. Unfortunately, this was before I started on mfp so I snacked a lot after quitting and started really gaining weight. One thing led to another and I ended up here and now I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my adult life!!

Please feel free to add me if you need extra support...plus, I would love to know how you get on. Good luck!! Once again, I know you can do this!

Good for you. Deciding to do it (and meaning it) is probably the hardest part.

I smoked since I was 16, quit cold turkey for 2 years in my mid 20's, then made the mistake of having "just one." My "just one" cigarette turned back into a pack and half a day habit within a year.

Nearly a decade later...

I quit in January of this year, again cold turkey. I made the decision to not have "just one" ever. Not a puff, not light anyone's cigarette for them, nada. Never again. I loved cigarettes and smoking too much that I will become its slave if I don't cut them out of my life completely.

One problem, however is that my husband still smokes. Luckily he is understanding and doesn't smoke around me, but I do get to see him excuse himself to go smoke, and I do find it hard sometimes being left while he goes off to smoke. But that passes once he comes back and reeks. Cigarettes smoke on others is not nearly as offensive when you're addicted to cigarettes. When you're not, my God, it's so offensive. Any temptation to smoke goes away when I smell him come back. And I tell him he stinks (because he does, truly, smell awful), and he just says, "I know. Sorry."

He says he smokes less since I've quit smoking, and is working on gradually getting down to no cigarettes. But I know I can't pressure him to quit, he has to decide to quit, just as I decided to quit.

Good luck to you, stay strong as you get over the 3 day hump. It's a lot easier after that, and easier yet as more time passes.

Excellent decision.

I quit in April, 2003, after smoking for more than a decade. I had the help of a drug called "Zyban." I also assuaged my withdrawal irritation by playing violent video games. Both helped a lot.

You can do it.

Awesome job making the decision! Most of the time that's the hardest part. I quick 10/31/13 so coming up on a year soon here. and I'll just tell you real quick what worked for me this time (Because it was probably the 10th time i'd tried to quit).

First of all, the reasons for my renewed desire to quit smoking were as follows:
1.) Too damn expensive/too much work (I was rolling my own because they had gotten so expensive)
2.) I actually sick of the smell. I used to enjoy it so much, but at this point it had become nauseating.
3.) And this was the most important one... my boyfriend and I had decided we were interested in trying to have a baby in the near future. I wanted to quit smoking and get rid of those chemicals long before that happened and have the healthiest pregnancy possible.

Well, we tried for a couple months and then stopped trying because through quitting smoking I gained an additional 40 lbs onto my already large frame and I decided I wanted to lose some weight before getting pregnancy (both for health and vanity reasons). Then we got engaged... so now it'll be another year and a half or so before baby.

How I did it:
I decided over a month ahead of time what day I was quitting. I read as much as I could and just tried to get used to the idea that I would no longer be a smoker. I stocked up on nicotine gum because from previous experience the patches had bad effects on me. I decided I'd only chew the gum when I got a craving I didn't think I could handle. I also bought a new hookah, because that was not at all the same as cigarettes to me. Oh. And I decided that I was NOT going to limit my food intake until I was comfortable (hence the 40 lbs. Still don't regret that decision.)

When Oct 31 came, I had my boyfriend throw away everything that was left over. All the filters, tobacco, etc. He got rid of the rolling machines, the ash trays, everything. I woke up that next morning a non-smoker. I chewed maybe 3 pieces of gum and smoked the hookah when I was drinking (still do). And I just.... quit. It was awesome. I had cravings. I was a HUGE B for like 2 weeks, but everyone around me was forewarned so they expected it and supported me regardless.

I have since smoked a few cigarettes here and there. I'm not proud of that. It's usually when I'm out of the house drinking... But so far, I've not had the urge to buy a pack or pick it up regularly again. It feels great. Especially when you look back and go "Wow, I did that. I quit smoking. I'm the ****."

Anyway, sorry so long. I wish you the best of luck on your journey!

TL;DR
Plan ahead. Get rid of everything smoking related. Warn everyone around you. Focus only on quitting smoking, nothing else. Good Luck! :flowerforyou:

That's awesome. I don't smoke, but I tend to drink sometimes. So I'm cutting that out for a while as well. You rock!

I've been on and off the smoking wagon for a while now. I use Nicorette gum, which, unfortunately, is as expensive as smoking. I'm trying to wean off of that to regular gum. But I do notice now that if I smoke I feel like crap physically. I feel much better without it.

Brilliant! Love your resolve. The money jar is great idea. I've done something similar with weight, where I have to glasses full of glass beads. As I lose weight I transfer a bead per pound into the other jar. It's inspiring to watch the one glass empy as it fills the other.

I quit 25 years ago after 20 years of addiction. I used to smoke roll - ups with no filter.
The thing that tipped the balance for me was the gradual de-socialising of my habit. I found myself smoking in the garden when everyone else was inside having a good time.
A good friend helped me through the tough times (I went cold turkey) by phoning me out of the blue and congratulating me on another smoke free day. He also gave me a mantra I found useful "just for today, I CHOOSE not to smoke"
Never looked back after the first 2 weeks. They were hard, I kid you not, but as do-able as a diet.

The difference it made in my life was worth all of it. I could taste things again! I hadn't realised my taste had changed, I thought the food had!
It also helped me in a relationship as he told me later if I'd been a smoker he would only have remained a friend. Now he's my life partner.

Good for you! Your wallet, and more importantly, your body will thank you. It took heart disease, and all sorts of other nastiness, for my dad to quit his 30+ year habit cold turkey back in the 90s. You are wise to get a jump on it now. Sending you oodles of good luck wishes!!

Great decision!! I quit cold turkey in 2011 after smoking almost 10 years.. ew!! Never looked back. Secret tip; chewing gum saved my life in those first few weeks. Good luck! Life is much better without that crap!!

WAY TO GO!!

If you find the cravings start getting harder to ignore, consider the patch. I forgot to mention that I did use the patch and I think it helps (the Skittles were for oral cravings). Every few weeks, you step down to a lower dose.

It takes 3 days for nicotine to get out of the system. After that, it's all a mind game. Whenever activities come up where you used to smoke, just tell yourself it won't make you happy. After awhile, the urges will subside.