Today-- I quit smoking!

I know this is more for weight loss, but I'm gonna need all the support, encouragement and ideas I can get for what I'm going to do when the cravings strike if I'm going to be successful at quitting smoking.

I'm 35 and have been smoking since I was 13, and I'm doing it cold turkey.... yeek, help me!!  (especially since I LIKE to smoke!)

I can do this!

Good luck! My husband quit 9 months ago but he used the patch. You are a brave woman for doing it cold turkey! He did what you did, he got his weight under control first. 

Hang in there, chew gum. That's what got him through the first few months.  He tells me this time it is different because he has put it in his brain that he can not have "just 1" ever..that is making the difference. Every other try, he would get so far and tell himself he could just have 1.

Best of luck!

There are a couple threads on CC for quit smoking support - I beleive they are in the Lounge forum.  Also I highly recommend checking out
http://www.quitnet.com

The site is free also and has forums and chat rooms.  there is also a forum for weight related issues.  That site was tryly my lifeline for many months.

Good Luck to you

Good luck for u!! My dad quit smoking too, he did it rightaway few years ago. I think he did have trouble with foods at the beginning, but he managed it by eating healthier and jogs every morning :) He's been back in shapew and even better than when he was still smoking! If u're religious, he told me prayers help :)

Here is one thread you might want to check out
http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/1326 5.html

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/7344 .html

congratulations, raehn.  You will feel so much better once you get through the first weeks.  I've never smoked, but I have friends who have and tried to quit.  It's hard, but can be done!

I'm proud of you!

You can do this!!!  Surround yourself by people that support you!

Congrats!!!  I'm a 2 year non-smoker after smoking for 28, the rewards are terrific!! You can do it!!  If you struggle try the patch, gum and keep something in your 'smoking' hand to keep it occupied!   Good Luck!!!

I'm so glad you decided to quit!  You can do it!  I started when I was sixteen and quit cold turkey - it'll be two years since my last cigarette in February. 

raehn Good luck with quitting smoking. I quit 3 years ago and like you I loved to smoke. Quitting smoking was the hardest thing I ever did in my life and even after 3 years sometimes I still get the urge to smoke but the good news it is only last about 10 seconds. I have decided I prefer to be a non-smoker. I think the reason why I succeeded the last time I quit is because I kept telling myself it is a decison I have made and I would not give in to the urges.

Quitting for me was very hard but I just stuck with it and so can you! I did not quit cold turkey but used the patch and that really helped for the me. But everyone is different and I know lots of people that quit cold turkey and succeeded. Mostly it is about deciding for yourself you will not ever smoke again.  Realizing and accepting that I was in control made the difference for me.

I am cheering you on and know you will be successful!

so, how's it going?

CONGRATS!! You will be so glad you did.  I quit c7 months ago and am just now getting back to normal... I say normal, but I've never been an adult non-smoker until now.  I started when I was 16 and am now 27.  I'm not going to lie, it is really tough.  Physically and mentally.  Just tell yourself you don't have any other option than to quit. 

My mom gave me a little card about quitting with a website on it and some information about quitting.  At the time, I hadn't even thought of quitting and I just tossed it in my purse.  Being a good mom, she was ALWAYS trying to get me to quit.  One day I was cleaning out my purse and found the card and looked the website up (www.smokefree.gov).  I could not believe what I was reading.  How bad it really is for you...  I mean, I knew, but I guess it didn't hit me until I read that stuff.  And I couldn't let myself smoke after I read that.  I just couldn't do that to my body.  So I cut back to maybe a few puffs every 4 hours, then even less, and after about a week, I didn't want one at all.

I made many many more trips to that website the following few months for support.  Sometimes you will feel like you don't even know who you are, and for me the anxiety was the worst.  I exercised to try to feel better and ended up doing too much and getting a stress fracture in my leg.  And you eat because you have cigarette cravings and you mistake them for hunger.  It's crazy.  Just pay attention to what your body is telling you and try to take it one day at a time.  Don't even give yourself the option of turning back.  IT WILL GET BETTER!!

As far as things that helped, I carried sugar free hard candy and gum in my purse in the pocket where I used to keep my cigs and popped one when I had a craving.  I still chew alot of sugarless gum and it satisfies that "oral fixation" for me.  I also threw out all my junk food and filled my house with fruits, veggies, and high fiber cereal.  I pay alot more attention to what I injest now.  If I'm going to do harm to my body, I'll be darned if it's with a Double Cheeseburger.  If I'm going to do that, I might as well smoke. 

Watch out for the cravings for sweets.  Those were terrible.  Keep lots of fruits, cool whip free, and sugar free/ fat free pudding on hand.  That did the trick for me.  I put my energy into concocting low calorie, low fat, and low sugar "treats" for myself and it kept my mind off the smoking.  Searching for healthy recipes is how I found this site and I love it.

Just know that you CAN do it.  Nobody and nothing has control over you but you.  Good luck!!

You can do it rae. I did it by using an over-the-counter nicotine patch. You night give them a try if the withdrawal gets to be too much.

Good for you!

One of my gal pals recently stopped smoking and she gave me some wisdom that I'll share here. (I relate it to my weight loss with regularity.)

First - she never says, "I quit smoking," but instead says, "I don't smoke." The reason is subliminal: "quit" is a word with negative connotations and she wants this to be a positive move. By saying, "I don't smoke," it becomes a fait accompli, which is better for her mind.

Second - she didn't cut back on cigarettes as a means to quit. Through research she discovered that for a serious smoker, one cigarette can actually be just as damaging as a dozen. For serious smokers, cigarettes actually trigger unusual hormone production. The only way for your body to stop producing hormones in unusual quantities, you need to quit completely. (Occasional smokers don't have this issue because their bodies aren't addicted.)

Third - she didn't become an "ex-smoker" when she quit. She made the decision that by emphasizing the word "smoker" she was giving power to the idea of being a smoker. (I apply this to my eating habits - I'm not an ex-high fat eater; I eat healthy.)

Maybe some of these will apply to you... maybe none... but I thought I'd share them because my friend has been a pack-a-day since she was 14. THAT inspires the heck out of me... and makes it really hard for me to come up with reasons to not get my weight under control.

I just posted a reply in the Stop Smoking Forum that is just right for you.  Run right out and look at the book, "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking", by Allen Carr.  I have smoked about 20-30 years of my adult life.  I had stopped once for about 7 years and then stupidly started again about 4 years ago.  I recently told my wife (also a former smoker) that I had had enough and was going to quit.  We discussed many options, patch, cold turkey, and some kind of shot that is now supposed to be available, etc.  Someone had told her about their success with this book so she bought a copy for me.  Needless to say I was very doubtful.  I can only say that it worked.  I can't begin to describe the book or how it works to help you quit, you have to see it for yourself.  I threw them away May 19, 2006 and have been smoke free since.  Haven't had just one or wanted one.  Every time I though about it some really meaningful passage from the book would come to mind and the urge would pass.  At the time I quit I was out of town and living in an apartment for 12 weeks.  I think this is the primary reason I gained a few pounds and not that I ate more to compensate.  The guidelines from the book do not recommend any substitutes or new habits.  You just decide to quit, make up your mind to quit and then quit.  I don't know how much the book is ( probably around $20) but it is very definetly worth it.  The author was a 4 pack a day smoker when he quit.  It has been published for many years and in many languages and is still successful.  The book and the thought process just works.  Can't say it any fancier than that, IT WORKS.

Hey!  Congratulations on making the decision to quit smoking.  My boyfriend quit about 14 months ago.  I know it was hard for him at first, and he slipped a couple of times, but he did it cold turkey too. 

I know all of the people on this site will be happy to help keep you motivated not to smoke.  You're making a great decision for yourself. Best of luck!

I just quit as well. I am on day 9. You can do it and you are not alone on this forum. I know united was a big inspiration to me. By the way, congrats on your year anniversary!

Congratulations!!! You CAN do it!

So far I've failed miserably.  Tuesday, I made the excuse that since I was being gassed (CS+OC) it wasn't a good day to quit, so I aimed for Wednesday instead.... but then I wasn't out of smokes yet, so I had to smoke them.  Tomorrow will be go day, me thinks!!  I am gonna do this though!

Hi raehn, I hope today was the day!  come back and let us know, re read the thread and if you didn't do it today, hopefully this will give you the inspiration and determination to do it! Good luck!

Everyone understands how tough it is to get to the point that you are ready to quit. I hope this is it for you :)
Linda