quit smoking?!

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  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    hey guys,

    whos quit smoking here?? im going to try again this week it will be tough but i know i can do it. so social events are of for a month. what other inspiration can be used.

    also did you gain weight?

    thanks.

    I quit in October of last year. It's one of those things that you have to be ready to do, in your heart - don't use words like "try". Do or do not, there is no try :wink: . Once I made the decision that I was done, it was actually really easy for me - I had a few days that were hard, but I just didn't allow having a cigarette an option. I'm actually one of those people who is totally grossed out by the smell of smoke now, too - so my cravings are nearly non-existent.

    And no, I didn't gain any weight

    You can do it if you genuinely decide it's what you want and don't allow failure to be an option. No starting "tomorrow", or Monday, or "just one cig". It's all or nothing! And it was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself and my kids.

    ETA: I was a pack a day smoker for 20 years, so you can do it. And another fabulous bonus? The money you save.
  • Morethanwillpower12
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    I quit smoking in 2008. That, along with beginning to eat better and exercise are the best decisions I have ever made in my life because those are decisions that will add time to my life and make the quality of living it better.

    I did not do them both at the same time. Quitting was hard, very hard but it was worth it! I kept thinking to myself...I did it for an hour why smoke now and waste all of that hard work. Then....I did it for a day why smoke now and waste that work. Then....I did it for a week and there is no way in heck I am putting myself through all of that just to start back and so on.

    This may seem weird but something that helped me was to take a pen cap (the blue ink pens the have the blue caps with little holes in the end) and kind of drag on it like a cigarette. It gives you the hand/mouth motion smokers get used to and it gives you the sensation of sort of like dragging in the smoke, only its just air. Like I said, may sound weird but it seemed to sooth my need for the hand/mouth motion and the need to feel like I was sucking in the smoke from the cigarette.

    I also chewed a lot of gum. Take my advice and get sugar free gum, not so much for the calories but for your poor teeth! I chewed so much gum that I am pretty sure all of the sugar gave me a cavity.

    And finally, I surrounded myself with a good support group who was there for me even when I got cranky. They told me I could do it enough that finally I started to believe it and did it!

    I don't know you, but I know you can do it! Good luck!!!! :)
  • Monkey_Business
    Monkey_Business Posts: 1,800 Member
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    I quit smoking back in 2002 and never looked back.... cold turkey basically, and I chewed a little nicotine gum in the beginning until I eventually lost the desire to smoke completely.

    I quit also in 2002 after 36 years off smoking. Did 1 nicotine patch and basically over-dosed. Said never again and have never regretted it. I lost a bunch of weight at the time and then gained it and some back. I track now to losing more weight.
  • mmenuey27
    mmenuey27 Posts: 51 Member
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    I am a 29 year old female. I smoked for 14 years, and had tried to quit many times. I quit while pregnant twice, but went back to it not sure why, but who does. March 30 of this year I decided that enough is enough. I quit that day and was doing great till me brother died in June while on a rafting trip. I started smoking again after that for about a month. I have not smoked since July 2nd of this year. Now that you have my story the best advice that I can give anyone is to not think of smoking in a long term. Instead think about it as a daily goal. I found that this makes the urge easier to ignore. If you think about it daily then it turns into weeks, months, etc. Once you haven't smoked for one day continue to the next.
    For the weight portion of the question, I personally did gain about 10 pounds, but not everyone is the same. I have been told by many that quitting smoking is much more important than weight loss. Focus on quitting then worry about the later. I unfortunately had some breathing problems when I quit smoking which resulted in getting treatment for asthma. They believe that the smoking was covering up those symptoms. I overall feel much better, and now I have one goal down. Weight loss here I come :)
    Good luck with your goals!!!!
  • prettyfitchick
    prettyfitchick Posts: 502 Member
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    Tips that help me:
    There are free apps to help they are ok
    I said out loud every time I smoke I am killing myself ( made this one up one my own) but when I did this never would a smoke the whole cig.
    E-Cigs work for some ppl not me and some nictone in them and are addictve also but the non nictone ones just made me want a real cig.
    The Patch work for me to get my mind off of Cigs Make sure are a ready to start the patch dont just put it on think it will cure everything but when get down to a few cig a day that u know you dont need but mind wont get off thats where the patches steps in. if u do smoke with the patch it will make u sick ( i did it ) but After a while u realize u dont need the patch anymore or use at times u feel like u want a cig like bad stressful day. Then after a while wont need at all.
  • TLIVIGNSTON
    TLIVIGNSTON Posts: 81 Member
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    so i feel like i hit a milestone. went to the pub with my mates... didnt drink and didnt even feel like smoking. however its only day 5 cold turkey... seeing a DR today about champix. :) feeling good
  • shankasaurus
    shankasaurus Posts: 116 Member
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    One thing I want to add. Relapses don't make you a failure and you don't have to start all over again. I've quit many times, my most recent was back in April 2012, I consider that my quit date, even though I've had a few cigarettes since then. Just like having one candy bar won't make you fat, one cigarette won't make you a smoker. It's what you do after that matters. Do you beat yourself up for being a weak willed failure and give up? Or do you recognize you made a mistake, shake it off and move on, continuing with your healthy goals?

    Not that I'm advocating having a cigarette, just that in the past that's how I would always start back up again. More power to you if you never have another one again.
  • Miss_1999
    Miss_1999 Posts: 747 Member
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    Just wanted to check in with everyone and leave some love and support! How are we all doing? With the exception of my slip up with half a cigarette on Tuesday, I've been smoke free 8 days! We can do this! :happy:
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
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    Day 17 here! Still got a death grip on my e cig. Its going well!
  • TLIVIGNSTON
    TLIVIGNSTON Posts: 81 Member
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    on my 6th day of champix, and today is my official quit day. had a few ciggies over the weekend but nothing major. time to kick it.
  • xael1234
    xael1234 Posts: 51 Member
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    I quit in 1998, just broke the rest of my cigarettes in half, threw them in the garbage and never looked back. Chewed tons of gum, yes I gained weight but I probably didn't have to, I was not very disciplined back then but boy am I glad I quit. With asthma and allergies, I am positive I would be in more of a health crisis now than I already am had I not quit when I did.

    now soda on the other hand, I couldn't quit cold. I had to wean myself off over a good 6 months and have times my body still says heyyyy where is the sugar and caffeine??!!
  • Teresa_3266
    Teresa_3266 Posts: 298 Member
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    I smoked for 22 years and quit 9 years ago. Greatest thing I ever did for myself!!! You can do this and I promise you will NEVER look back and wish you were still a smoker. :smile:
  • pugloverin
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    E-cig
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    I quit cold turkey in January 2012. I didn't have much trouble quitting, I had developed asthma and had actually coughed so hard from the asthma that I blew blood vessels in my left eye, making me look like Satan for a few hours, but later looking more like I had the ever loving crap beaten out of me. Somehow I had no motivation to smoke any more, no amount of nicotine cravings could have made me start again.

    Best damn choice I ever made.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    This Sunday is one month for me cold turkey. Only had one slip up eight days in, and that one cigarette was so gross and unsatisfying (which made me super proud!). I was really motivated to do it, so no symptoms or side effects from immediate withdrawal. I personally have not gained weight (have seen drops, actually), since I am staying mindful of my intake, and not snacking to keep my hands occupied or to curb a nicotine craving. That's definitely key when quitting; cigarettes can suppress appetite, which makes gaining weight super easy without noticing once you quit!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    Yesterday was 27 weeks for me. I quit cold turkey on March 6. No tapering, no planning, no patches/gum/e-cigs. I just up and decided to quit. In retrospect, I'm not sure that was the right approach. I still have cravings every day.

    And yes, I gained some weight although I can't attribute that entirely to smoking although there were certainly a number of times where I chose to indulge in food rather than cave to a cigarette craving.
  • TLIVIGNSTON
    TLIVIGNSTON Posts: 81 Member
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    Yesterday was 27 weeks for me. I quit cold turkey on March 6. No tapering, no planning, no patches/gum/e-cigs. I just up and decided to quit. In retrospect, I'm not sure that was the right approach. I still have cravings every day.

    And yes, I gained some weight although I can't attribute that entirely to smoking although there were certainly a number of times where I chose to indulge in food rather than cave to a cigarette craving.


    thats awesome.. i have been two weeks. i had a toke of a smoke on sat and spewed my guts up. so these meds must be doing something because after that i am not going to want one ever again...gross.
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
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    I hit the one month mark yesterday. Still loving the e cig & feeling pretty damn good! ;-)
  • rained23
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    I am on my second week without smoking ...

    The way I do it by using the entire money that I used to spend on cigarette and bought something
    that benefit my others purpose, as me gaining weight, I bought some weight gainer, shaker n etc.

    So now I am out of budget to buy a cigarette. Even though I am pressured to have 1 but I dont have a nickel for it.
    Problem solved.

    hehe
  • TLIVIGNSTON
    TLIVIGNSTON Posts: 81 Member
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    I am on my second week without smoking ...

    The way I do it by using the entire money that I used to spend on cigarette and bought something
    that benefit my others purpose, as me gaining weight, I bought some weight gainer, shaker n etc.

    So now I am out of budget to buy a cigarette. Even though I am pressured to have 1 but I dont have a nickel for it.
    Problem solved.

    hehe

    haha this is fantastic.. im just into my third week now and going strong :D