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MyFitnessPal Community

How to put down that last cigarette!

Ayirela

I have been "quitting" for what seems an eternity. When I tell myself that is it I'm done I end up smoking double! I love cigarettes more than anything but it is so bad. Now that I've started my weight loss journey I want to give up that last stupid cigarette...but for some reason I just can't put it down. Any advice? Oh and I tried Chantix psshh all that did was make me an insomniac mixed with a bit of crazy LOL.

Replies

ninerbuff

Honestly, until you probably have a health scare you won't unless you TRULY want to commit to doing it. For many it relaxes them and to give it up can terrify that person.
I used to smoke (casual) and told my wife that once she was pregnant I promise that I would quit. She got pregnant and reminded me of my promise. I really, really, really didn't want my child to be around a smoker, so I kept my promise and quit cold turkey. I made the commitment and stuck with it. I had dreams where I smoked for about 3 months, but never went back to smoking. It's been 8 years now.
Good luck.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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sobriquet84

I hear ya. Heaven forbid you don't let me have my morning cigarette with my morning coffee or my after work cigarette. Though its not like I'm smoking a pack a day (I'm a "casual" smoker), and same with my husband, it seems that we've quit 20 times.

Two of our buddies made a bet with eachother last Decemeber that went into effect January 1st-first one to light up ponies up $1,000 bucks to the other. The bet was lost about a month ago, but the one that won the bet is still going strong.

bradphil87

I smoked a pack a day for 10 years, I smoked my last cig on feb. 1st this year. The way I did it...I couldn't stop dispite wanting too, which is why my new years resolution started one month later haha. I went to the store, and I told myself "this is the last pack of cigarettes you will smoke, regardless if if takes you 1 day or 2 to smoke them" after that pack was gone I was done, it kinda helped that I had it planned out from the start....not just abruptly telling myself I cannot smoke anymore out of no where lol it work though. As for the cravings, gum didn't really help at all, but what I found helpful were sunflower seeds (oddly enough lol) I'd get a pack of ruduced sodium seeds and eat them throughout the day (my brand I'd 190 cals for a very good size portion, so not bad.) and when I felt like smoking I put a handful in my mouth. Because of picking a low cal high fiber snack to "replace" smoking I was able to avoid weight gain completely. I even had some of my best losses after quitting. Hope this helps and you can do it!!!!

Erica27511

You can do this. Get your mind right.

Marll

I smoked for roughly 15 years, and most of that was about 3-4 packs a day, tapering off to 1-2 packs a day the last 3 years.

I knew that I couldn't quit cold turkey, I was around other smokers and we all smoked on breaks and my wife smoked too. We decided to get Chantix. Some people disagree with the medicine, or think it's not necessary, but I can tell you that it totally reduced my enjoyment from smoking.

You smoke for the first week while taking the pills, and by the end of about day 5, I'd get MAYBE 1/2 way through a cigarette and think to myself "Why am I even bothering, I'm not getting anything out of this". By day 7 I didn't have another cigarette, and it's been 4 years now. The perscription runs 1 month, but I was completely done and stopped the pills after 2 weeks.

Ayirela

Some really great advice out there! Also grats on quitting! I know what you mean about wanting a smokeless environment for your kids. I always said I am going to quit before I have a baby....and I will. I was down to 2 or 3 a day at one point and I'm back up to about 10....but really thinking of telling myself when this pack is over it's over...! We'll see how it goes...

I just hope I don't end up killing my partner in the process lol losing weight and no smoking hmmmm I could become a bit *****y LOL

Ayirela

You smoke for the first week while taking the pills, and by the end of about day 5, I'd get MAYBE 1/2 way through a cigarette and think to myself "Why am I even bothering, I'm not getting anything out of this". By day 7 I didn't have another cigarette, and it's been 4 years now. The perscription runs 1 month, but I was completely done and stopped the pills after 2 weeks.

I smoked on Chantix for 4 months and other than the mood swings and insomnia it didn't touch my cravings....sadly...my partner quit after the 2nd week she did great!

I think I'm going to have to go cold turkey....

Marll

You smoke for the first week while taking the pills, and by the end of about day 5, I'd get MAYBE 1/2 way through a cigarette and think to myself "Why am I even bothering, I'm not getting anything out of this". By day 7 I didn't have another cigarette, and it's been 4 years now. The perscription runs 1 month, but I was completely done and stopped the pills after 2 weeks.

I smoked on Chantix for 4 months and other than the mood swings and insomnia it didn't touch my cravings....sadly...my partner quit after the 2nd week she did great!

I think I'm going to have to go cold turkey....

Did you smoke the entire 4 months on it? You are supposed to stop after the first week.

Ayirela

You smoke for the first week while taking the pills, and by the end of about day 5, I'd get MAYBE 1/2 way through a cigarette and think to myself "Why am I even bothering, I'm not getting anything out of this". By day 7 I didn't have another cigarette, and it's been 4 years now. The perscription runs 1 month, but I was completely done and stopped the pills after 2 weeks.

I smoked on Chantix for 4 months and other than the mood swings and insomnia it didn't touch my cravings....sadly...my partner quit after the 2nd week she did great!

I think I'm going to have to go cold turkey....

Did you smoke the entire 4 months on it? You are supposed to stop after the first week.

Yep! LOL I couldn't put down the last one....like I said it didn't make me not want a cigarette it just made me super crazy moody and gave me bad insomnia where I would hardly sleep

spikefoot

Can you perhaps smoke a ton so it becomes repulsive? That always seems to work with some types of alcohol? Just a thought from an ignorant non smoker.

SelkieDiver

I'd quit 4 times in the past, once for 4 years but I always started back up again. the last time (and I do mean the LAST time) I tried the lozenges. They made me sick to my stomach so I ended up quitting cold turkey. i just kept telling myself if the cravings got too bad I'd use another lozenge (which I didn't want to do, b/c they made me nauseous). That was 6 years ago now, and now I'm the obnoxious ex smoker who can't be around it. the smell makes me gag!

I will say I think it too much to try to lose weight and to quit smoking at the same time. I would probably concentrate on the smoking and then start the weightloss/journey to health in about 6 months when you're completely over the lack of nicotine. But, hey, I do know people that have done both and lived :laugh:

LuckyLeprechaun

I went cold turkey. Hubby and I decided we were sick of smoking, and we finished the packs we owned. Then we didn't buy any more. Period.

It was about a week worth of crankiness on both our parts, and then we were done. It's been 7 years.

Worth doing. I love the clean fresh smell of my clothes and my hair now.

BigDaddyBRC

Stop "wanting" to quit. And take Action. I did it cold turkey after 30 years of smoking just over a yeah and half ago.

As with anything in life, you cant achieve without action

Ayirela

I'd quit 4 times in the past, once for 4 years but I always started back up again. the last time (and I do mean the LAST time) I tried the lozenges. They made me sick to my stomach so I ended up quitting cold turkey. i just kept telling myself if the cravings got too bad I'd use another lozenge (which I didn't want to do, b/c they made me nauseous). That was 6 years ago now, and now I'm the obnoxious ex smoker who can't be around it. the smell makes me gag!

I will say I think it too much to try to lose weight and to quit smoking at the same time. I would probably concentrate on the smoking and then start the weightloss/journey to health in about 6 months when you're completely over the lack of nicotine. But, hey, I do know people that have done both and lived :laugh:

The lozenge sounds like a good idea....but as far as stopping on the weight loss journey not a chance in hell LOL...I'm dedicated completely to getting this weight off of me...I cannot stand myself anymore! I'm just going to try and quit during the journey. I'm trying to tell myself the pack I have now is my last and hoping it'll stick like I need to stand strong against my own urges.

macpatti

I went cold turkey.

9 months ago, my mother did the same thing. She's 69 years old and has been smoking since she was 16 (used to be Winston!). Good luck to you, OP!

MassiveDelta

I actually weaned my way down to 1 cigarette a day then quite over christmas break when I knew I would be around a lot of family and friends and very busy.

It WAS hard but I wanted to quit. dont confuse My wanting to quit with hating smoking...I WANT A SMOKE right NOW!

Im 5 years clean, not one puff!

BrettPGH

Can you perhaps smoke a ton so it becomes repulsive? That always seems to work with some types of alcohol? Just a thought from an ignorant non smoker.

*lights another* Nah that doesn't work so much...

Good luck to you!

mariaperry

CHANTIX! I know you said it made you crazy and you couldn't sleep and it did the same to me but I only took it for 4 weeks. I quit on my 3rd week and stopped the chantix after only 4 weeks. I havent smoked since the first week of May. You dont need to take the full 12 weeks of Chantix for it to be effective. It took maybe 2 weeks for me to start feeling normal again but hey at least I'm not smoking. I feel the benefit of being a looney for about six weeks is worth never smoking again!

And you have to just stop smoking for Chantix to work on the cravings, if you continue to smoke you will continue to have the cravings! Just put the smokes down...lol

taunto

I quit smoking in about 2007. I still crave it. Its hard ot get rid of that craving specially when its associated with a trigger. For me stress triggers the need to smoke.

However with time I have learned to control to deviate the trigger from wanting cig to something else (reading, weight-lifting, pushups, listening to music or something else).

When I quit, I tried almost every day to quit. Eventually I succeeded. For me, slowing down didn't worked. I HAD to quit cold turkey. Hardest part isn't quitting, its to keep it off. I had to try to keep myself away from stressful situations etc.

One advice I would give you, donot try to eat healthier, workout AND quit smoking at the same time. I know it sounds like a horrible advice but its too much of a "change" for anyone to undertake and such dramatic changes with old habits can put you back to square one very easily. I suggest eat better and workout. Once you start feeling better about yourself via better eating and working out, you'll want to take the next step. I have to remind myself that with smoking my lung capacity was reduced by alot and quitting cigs made me breath easily during workouts so when you slowly gain control of your life via eating right and exercise you will want to eventually quit smoking without much effort.

I wish you good luck

Ayirela

A HUGE congrats to all of you who have quit! That is amazing!

_Elemenopee_

I quit cold turkey after years of lying to myself that I would. My mother asked me to stop for years and years. Even when she was dying of cancer and begging me to stop I yes’d her and still smoked. The week following her passing I just stopped. Couldn't do it anymore. I just stopped without even thinking about it. I was so consumed in grief that even the habit grabbing a cig after of waking up, eating, leaving the office, breaks, all meals, everything. I had no joy in anything so it wasn't an issue.

Don't wait for something like that to happen...just do it for you! :flowerforyou:

taunto

Can you perhaps smoke a ton so it becomes repulsive? That always seems to work with some types of alcohol? Just a thought from an ignorant non smoker.

*lights another* Nah that doesn't work so much...

Good luck to you!

With this dude, it doesn't work. At one point I was smoking 2 packs a day. Thats pretty much a cig after another anytime I'm not sleeping and not eating/drinking

auroranflash

http://www.provape.com <-- had a ProVari for a year. You CAN quit with an e-cigarette. Best e-cig on the market, in my opinion. No USB charging BS. You will still want a real cig because of all the other chemicals (other than nicotine) in them, but it gets you through.

I stopped for 3 months, then stupidly started up again. Looking forward to quitting cigs again in July. It's not easy, but you won't believe how much easier it is to exercise without all that crap in your lungs. And... you'll start to taste and smell again (sometimes that last part sucks a little, ha)

Best of luck.

DangerJim71

I smoked for about 25 years since I was 15. I knew how bad it was for me and just kept telling myself how much I enjoyed it and that I would never be able to quit anyway do I never even tried to quit.

What changed? My wife quit 8 months ago which was an inspiration, I am in my 40's and overweight so I figure if I want to make it to 50 I should probably quit, the money I wasted on it was getting painful. Imagine, paying thoussands of dollars to die a slow and painful cancerous death. How idiotic is that?

Anyway, here is how I quit 59 days ago:
-Stopped lying to myself about how I liked to smoke.
-Decided that I will be damned if I am gonna let cigarettes rule me, what would that say about the kind of person I am?
-Started eating better and losing weight before my quit date so I didn't end up at 300 lbs.
-Set a quit date and time that coincided with a good time to let go of it.
-Loaded up on sugar free gum and hard candy to get me through
-Fought the urges the first few weeks by exercising, drinking water, chewing the hell out of some gum, and telling myself over and over that I can never ever do it again. Not even once for any reason. EVER!!!

So far so good. I feel better, sleep better, digest better, breath better, feel more verile, can go up dozens of flights of stair without passing out, have lost 35 lbs, plan to live into my 80's, started running, realized I am awesome and so am I!!!

I hope you can do it. You will be glad you did.

sarahsaur

I smoked for about 8 years, from 15 to 23. I quit four years ago, when my mom caught pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week. During that week, it was discovered that she had COPD. Seeing her lay in that hospital bed, barely able to breathe really woke me up. I did the patch for about a week, but it made me crazy, so I stopped using it. I haven't smoked since. My mom used Chantix to quit. And I'm telling you, seeing her struggle every day...seeing her hooked up to oxygen and having to take breathing treatments...seeing her have five different inhalers that she has to use. I will NEVER smoke a cigarette again. It's just not worth it.

XxOMG_ITS_PINKxX

I would LOVE to quit but I'm terrified of being miserable! :sad:

But, I'm getting more and more sick of it everyday!

danabrash

I quit cold turkey at 11:53AM on 12/30/2011. but who's counting...

I've been smoking since I was 8 years old (I was 41 when I quit), and I'd quit multiple times before. Wellbutrin, the patch, gum, lozenges, etc. nothing took. Any type of 'aid' ended up being a crutch for me, and a constant reminder that what I really wanted was a cigarette. So going cold turkey cut me off from that completely.

What got me through was just a constant reminder that the craving would pass. Any time it'd come up, I'd remind myself that I want to be a non-smoker, that the craving will pass, a little Buddah breathing, then an affirmation that I'm honoring my body and my health.

I also used some freeware time trackers so I could count the seconds that I'd been quit as motivation.

AND.... (I think this is what made the difference for me this time)... GO RUN UPHILL! nothing like a mile uphill to remind you why you're quitting.

Best of luck!

12/30/2011: 20/day => 06/09/2012: 26.2m
BE A QUITTER!!!

Sox90716

I smokes a pack a day for 20 years. I finally quit on 123109 at 1030 PM. I sat down and chain smoked until I was ready to throw up. I quit cold turkey and I was a *kitten* to live with for about a week. You can do it! Good luck!!!

DangerJim71

One other thing I did was to set up a bank account and every week that I don't smoke I put the $50 in the account that I would have wasted on an early death. In two years before my son starts high school we will be going on an extravagant fishing trip to Canada with all the money I saved.

amivox

I quit by just quitting. A woman at my job died when she was just 42 because she got pneumonia and since she was a chronic smoker, she wasn't able to recover from it. It scared the hell out of me and really influenced my decision to quit. My grandpa died of lung cancer, and my dad and aunt both have emphysema. With all that in my head, I was able to quit by just stopping cold turkey.