How did you overcome the 'empty feeling' when you quit smoking?

I'm prepared to quit soon. I know I'm probably going to gain weight when I stop (I quit for 9 years before), so I made a promise to myself that I will quit when I've lost 2 stone (28lb). If I'd quit at, say, 5lb loss I might have regained that and quit calorie counting due to being disheartened, but 2 stone is too far to want to go back.

I'm fluctuating at 18-20lb loss at the moment, but I've got a new vaper ready and I'm quite looking forward to being a non-smoker.

I believe that quitting smoking, like weight loss or increasing fitness, starts in the mind. I just needed to find the right tools to follow through on my thoughts. MFP did it for weight loss, and the vaper (I've used them for a long time, as back-up for when I run out of cigarettes!) will do it for smoking cessation.

Best of luck to you, whatever method you use.

first time i quit cold turkey, i never gained a pound. i walked around the house with an orange slice between my lips and teeth, chewed on it when i got an urge to smoke or munch and a little over 3 days later, i literally craved nothing, not even cigarettes!! i was smoke free without urges for 5 1/2 yrs, than i stupidly picked it back up when my ex husband screwed up our marriage..for some reason i never tried the orange slices to quit again afterwards and i failed everytime too and ended up replacing my cigarettes with a vaporizer (not the cig look alike ecig type that don't work for most) and have been smoke free again since june 2012 but, i still vape 3mg of nicotine a day for it helps me stay focus i believe)

There is lots of misinformation and conflicting information so it's probably best to do your own research (bearing in mind that the tobacco industry has a very vested interest in demonizing vaping). From what I understand the nicotine is the addictive part but the rest of the rubbish in a cigarette is the harmful part. Vapers/e-cigs (and like @SylvieKuchma says, the e-cigs that look like cigarettes don't work for most) deliver the non-harmful nicotine - just like any other NRT such as patches.

The "juice", i.e the liquid that contains the nicotine, can be bought in various strengths including 0 strength. So if you wanted to wean off nicotine whilst still keeping the sensations and hand movements of smoking, you could.

I think it's about finding out what your particular need is. For me, although I'm clearly addicted to nicotine I also need the rituals - the 'marker' at the end of a meal, or during a phone call with a friend for example - and so I'm minimising the things I'll miss whilst still feeding that addiction. I don't know if I'll wean off nicotine completely, but that's not my goal so I'm not thinking about it now.

After my last post here yesterday I vaped all night, and didn't smoke any cigarettes. I've got one pack left but I don't think I'll buy any more when they're gone (but don't hold me to that, I'm still not at 2 stone yet LOL!)

Edited to add this recent news report, which is about Public Health England's findings http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33978603

amelialoveshersnacks wrote: »

Ummm, is an e-cig or nicotine based gadget easier to give up?

yes! i went from 24mg nicotine ejuice to 0 nicotine ejuice between june 8th thru july 15th. i only went back up to 3mg because i like the slight peppery nicotine taste in my ejuices plus i feel a low nicotine level helps me keep focus better (am 48yrs old, the brain does not work as good without it).. Not only is it easier to give up than cigarettes were (IMO), the various ejuice flavors actually helped curve my appetite too. when i had say a strawberry milkshake craving, i would make a low nicotine or zero nicotine strawberry milkshake ejuice and my craving went away with out gaining an ounce (you can buy or make your own ejuices, i prefer making my own after a few months)..
I cannot say if vaping is good for you or not but, clearly my body has proving it is a better choice than smoking tobacco or using patches that made me sick and did not work. all the problems i had from smoking (out of breath just walking to parked car, not even being able to inhale deep enough to complete a yawn, etc.) has disappeared. i do choose to vape at a low wattage (7-8watts) and i feel it is safer than vaping at the crazy very high wattages (50-100w) that some are vaping at these days but, thats my opinion.
There are loads of vaping things available nowadays, very few fail to quit smoking when they switch to vaping with a non cig like ecig. for a beginner i recommend an innokin MVP 3.0 or the current innokin mvp version. the battery in these vaporizers will last you days and allows you to switch the wattage up to 30 watts, more than enough for most I think. As for a topper to put on your vaporizer & put your ejuice in, i use a small chambered rebuildable atomizer, its what has worked for me for years but, today there are so many new things out that it would be best to research what the majority feel works best now, i don't keep up with the vaping world much these days but, last i read the replaceable coiled 'tanks' were very popular amongs those that did not preffer a dripper atomizer like me.. if you need more info. on what to get or where to buy/etc., visit the ECF forum, you are sure to learn everything you need to know there

I went cold turkey over 3 years ago. I still think about cigarettes every now and again, I don't think it ever fully leaves you. Like you posting this topic has triggered something.
I bought sugar free lolly pops. My other half gave up at the same time he used nicoret lozenges.
It's about finding what works.
Also it's about what you want too, we were able to move from a 1 bedroom flat to a 2 bedroom house. The £200 a month we saved between us covers the extra rent.