Welcome to the Group

Welcome! We would love get to know you, so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. Reason for joining this group:
2. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:

And now just go ahead and make that first post!

I quit smoking Nov 20, 2008. I am amazed sometimes that it's been that long. Some days it's easy and some days it is a struggle but I have made it. I took Chantix and it helped me so much. I was afraid of all the side effects but I let those who are closest to me know before I started Chantix to watch my behavior. I smoked for 38 years and had been a 'closet smoker' for 18 yrs. I didn't smoke at work, in my car, at work and rarely in public. I could only smoke outside on my porch in heat and the cold - those were my rules. It's been a challenge to establish new behaviors in managing those times I feel stressed. I do use Commit losenges sometimes and those help take the edge off wanting to smoke. I'm 57 years old. In January I joined a gym and am very much into cardio and strength training. I gained weight after I quit smoking but it wasn't because I was eating more. My metabolism changed/slowed down. I walked my first 5K marathon in March and my goal is to be able to run it next year. There is such a feeling of power to be in control over the smoking demon.

Wow!!! CC has everything.  I have been on cc since sometime in March and just found this group.  I think this is a great group....

I quit smoking March 18, 2008.  Since then I did gain 20 pounds I even had help with meds.  

As of the middle of Jan 09 I started working on losing the 20 lbs and getting back in shape.  I started at 180 lbs, I'm back down to 161, and am working on getting to 145.  I have put on muscle and have started running again.  I feel soooo much better and have wondered why I ever started smoking again.  

With the right mind set and the help of all my support groups I will never smoke again.  

I'm so glad I found this group.  I hope to learn new things with all of you.

Hi! I just found this site a few days ago. I haven't quit smoking yet because I heard you gain a bunch of weight when you first quit and I am getting married in less then 2 months and am already strugggling to lose weight. Plus, I figure it will be easier when I am done with school (also in 2 months) and am not around a bunch of fellow smokers.

I have been smoking for about 15 years and I realized recently that the cost of cigarettes has gone up almost 400% in the last 15 years. I can no longer justify the habit (I am a soon to be accountant).

Any suggestions on planning to quit (resources, products, ect.)?

Hobo2103,

Welcome to the group!  Personally I think you have it right.....Dealing with one major stressor at a time is the best way, that is if you get to choose.  

Get married, finish school, get a job if you don't already have one then go get some help like Chantrix.  

Putting together the lifestyle change of exercise and eating right will  help with the quitting.  Also, having great support around you will help.

I quit 1 year and 2 months ago and I would have never been so successful if I hadn't gotten help (chantrix) and had the support of everyone around me.   I even went through a very stressful time when We lost our son-in-law at the age of 25.  My daughter had to be taken care of and she smokes.  (bad example as a mother in her youth).  But I didn't drop the ball once......I have been smoke free!  If I can do it anyone can.  

I did gain some weight when I quit, but I wasn't exercising and eating right until Jan of this year.  My metabolism did slow down, but I think  if I had been working out and eating right I would have gained less.  

I am back down pre-quitting weight in only 4 months.  I am now working on losing 16 pounds of body fat and putting on muscle.  I know I will get there in time.  I have made a lifestyle change so I have the rest of my life to learn how to do it better.

Congrats on getting married and finishing school!!!!  All of that takes hard work and you are at the finish line.  Now you can create new goals and work towards them together with your partner!

You can quit!  just take i t one day and step at a time!

Hello all -- just attempting to quit all over again. I've quit before, but only for about 6 months at a time -- then I start in all over again. This time I don't want to do that again. I stopped smoking yesterday, and only cheated 1 time, but my fiance who is also attempting to quit was frustrated with my attitude (I was very cranky!), my 7 year old daughter and our brand new bouncy puppy and left me home alone in the chaos when I was already nearing breaking point (this after trying to push me to my limit cuz he thought it was funny & cute although I did not agree!). I think I deserved it! After all, I managed not to kill anyone!

It's probably been about 3 or 4 years since I tried to quit last, but for a change life's actually been pretty good so we decided time to quit - which will afford us the extra income to not only pay for our wedding next year, but buy the boat he's always wanted.

Hello everyone, I am 34 years old I was a smoker for 21 years and I have been smoke free for 59 days today.  I started taking Chantix, but then found after just 4 weeks of it, I really didnt want a cigarette at all and decided I didnt need to spend the money on the chantix either, and so far so good.  I feel great.  Except for the fact that I have gained 25 lbs since i quit, 25 lbs in 59 days, wow.  Anyway, that is why i am here at calorie count, trying to get rid of it. 

I am married with two teenage daughters.  I have a 7 year old Beagle and a 5 month old Lab.  They are so much fun, and they are going to be where my excercise comes into play, we are going to walk every evening.  ;)  I have worked for the same company for 9 years and I will be getting laid off at the end of june, but not really stressed about it because i can take the summer off with the kids and that is a treat. 

Hi!  My husband and I quit smoking on Valentine's Day.  We chewed the Nicotine gum - it worked, but I have gained about 15 lbs.!

I joined this group to help motivate me, lose the weight, and deal with the problems of not smoking!

I am glad I quit smoking, I don't miss the smell or the activity so much, but I need something to do sometimes!

I am a teacher and now it's summer!  I/We will have time to exercise and hopefully lose the few pounds we gained.

Kids are grown so we're empty-nested and have time to camp and work on the house this summer.

I've been a smoker since i was 12 yrs old. I am 30 now... It's been a struggle over the past few years..But, I have cut down to a pack a week, and have been there for 3 yrs. I guess you could say, I'm a binge smoker...

as soon as alcohol touches my lips, a ciggerette is close behind.

I have a busy social life, am an entertainer, and a lot of very active hobbies that have me in clubs and bars a lot, so I try to cut all of this out to no avail.

during the week is no problem, since i'm not confronted with it.

does anyone have any suggestions as to still maintain a busy social life and be around people that smoke and still maintain sanity and will power?

I'm so close. I just want to get rid of this last remnant of my old unhealthy lifestyle!

Cutiecalamity - I don't know if this will help you, but my husband and I still chew the nicotine gum when we're out at a bar.  In fact, when we're in any situation where we're drinking and hanging out with friends who smoke, we still have the gum handy to chew.  It takes the edge off and helps us.

Just a suggestion for what's it's worth!  Good Luck!

im on the morning of day 4. 

i hate this forum. probably because i quit, then start, quit then start. but im posting, because i am being an ex smoker today, and thats a good thing. even if i hate it, and i think there should be a forum for smokers who hate smoking or somthing, but today i dont belong in that forum, cuz im not smoking. 

i want to walk more, but i dont trust myself not to mug someone for seven bucks and go buy ciggerettes, so im staying home as im obviously deranged and dangerous. im ok in the mornings and during most of the day, but the evenings bring crazy cravings, crazy foggy brain, and excess calories in. 

i told myself i had five pounds to play with in this effort. i can lose five pounds. no big deal. thats alot easier than these friggen cancer sticks. but really, i need to start walking. that will help everything by millions. no doubt! 

last time i quit, a real quit, feb 08, did alright till joined cc jan 09, (blame it on cc!) (kidding) and, actually dropped about six pounds for the first few months, so i know weight gain is not a necessity, weight loss is totally doable. 

ok, there's my lament. for what its worth. probably not much, just a crazy junkie trying to keep one more day clean. 

Hey Thanks! I actually am trying those Commit things and they're helping. I'm taking a 2 week break from drinking to kick start it though. the gum grosses me out a bit, i have no idea why, but yeah! the Nicotine def. takes off the edge and stops me from scaling the walls. Ever notice on one minute you're focusing and as soon as you smell smoke that's the only thing you can think about? arg! but thanks so much for the suggestion. It def. helped! Cheers!

Hello everyone!

I am 3days without a cigarette and have not yet caved to wanting sugar and a smoke! I hadnt really thought about how long i had been smoking until i started to read some of your posts. I think i was about 14, maybe 15 when i started with friends, picked it up and put it down at will until i was a mother of 2 and a college student, somewhere in my mid-20s i stopped being able to put it down without freaking out. Recently i was smoking anywhere from 3/4 of a pack to a pack and a half a day. I recently added up how much money  my partner and i are spending on cigarettes monthly and what i have given up to be able to continue to spend that. Done, no more cigarettes.

I have the patch but i cant sleep with it and when i do the dreams are just to over whelming. so i used it part of yesterday but took it off in the afternoon. Today i am attempting to go without it in its entirety.

I dont know if my weight and smoking were related but i do know that losing weight now that i no longer smoke will be hard. Thank goodness for frozen berries.

I started smoking after high school, I think my freshman or sophomore year in college.  I don't remember when I started trying to quit, but I quit a lot of times.  The last time I quit I had been smoking for 10 or 12 years by then.  I absolutely knew I had to quit, because I was having more and more trouble with my respiratory system.  Every time I would get the cold or flu I would have to spend one or two nights sleeping upright because of how much nastiness would fill my lungs.  I had bronchitis or sinusitis at least once every year.  I did quit though and managed to stay quit for about 10 years.

Now I've picked up the habit again!  For the past couple of years, every so often, my partner (another "ex-smoker") and I will pick up a pack and smoke some or all of it.  It started out just every once in a while, but now it's almost every weekend with sometimes in the evening during the week. 

I know my addiction is completely psychological and not physical, since I can make it through the workday without having one.  The only thing I can think is that inside somewhere I'm thinking that it's not really hurting me yet, since I don't have any of the old symptoms.  I know that's completely not true, but something is making it really hard this time to call it quits.

My partner and I smoked a pack each this weekend, and we're both complaining.  We're telling each other that this is it.  We're quitting (again)...  I hope.

Hi, I'm Blubird58.

I smoked for 34 years.  I have tried everything out there to stop.

I finally quit January 22, 2009, 5 months ago, cold turkey.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about smoking.

I can do this I can do anything.

Today is day #9 of being nicotine free.    I grew up in a smokers household and I smoked myself for over 15 years.     I work in one of the most stressful places (emergency services) you can work and I quit while my boss was gone leaving me to "play" the boss.  CRAZY I KNOW!  My husband had chantix just laying around.... and I decided to see just how crazy it would make me.... I heard horror stories about crazy dreams.....  I had zero crazy dreams!

After a week of taking it I figured I'd try to quit.  I thought I'd make it a couple days maybe ... well on Monday (day 3) I forgot to bring a pill to work.  So I challenged myself.  And I survived.  I have not taken a pill in 6 days now and I'm still smoke free.   OH YES I'M THINKING ABOUT IT.    I think it's the fact that I'm starting to feel better and I don't want to un-do the healing I've done so far.

I sleep a lot.  Sleep is a way to get me through the evening cravings.... but I'm doing it.   No nicotine replacements.....  jolly ranchers and gum.   Lot's of water and diet pop (which I gave up ages ago).  

And yes... I want one right now.... but I'm not going to do it.  I promised myself years back that I'd quit before I turned 30.   I'm 29.5 now and I have kept that promise so far!!!     

Don't let your mind get the best of you.  You control you ... no matter what!!!! 
Good luck to us all!!!

Oh where to begin? Married 23 years have 4 daughters 22,18,16,and 7. One granddaughter 2 and a grandson due to be born any day.

Well I am not sure when I had my first cigarette but I am thinking I was 7 or 8 yrs old. Sneak smoking on and off from then till I was 16 and my parents let me smoke in front of them been steady 1 pack to 2 packs a day depending on the day. I just turned 46 last week, on Monday.

Diagnosed with mild emphysema I don't know a yr or so ago. been trying to quit ever sense.  I tried Patch, worked till I stopped using them, tried the gum, Yuck Yuck Yuck burned my throat and gave me sore gum's, Took chantix which worked great but I would forget to take them, or they made me sick when I did, tried taking with food but still didn't help. Besides no insurance costs 160 a month, cheaper to smoke, (Yeah I know I got to). Don't people realize that I know I have to quite I love how non-smokers think it is so easy.

Okay so Tuesday the 23, My husband and I went to get hypnotized, UGGGGGHHHH. Well what happened was nothing I got rid of all the ash trays cleaned my whole house walls rugs floors bedding ect. I had 6 cigarettes the next day. Then on thursday my husband asked "who where you thinking about when they talked about the hospital bed?".  I said "Me, My dad (died of emphysema August 15,2001), Jimmy (died emphysema April 3, 2009)." Then I said "We where there when they died and if I die like they did I feel bad for you and the girls having to watch me suffer like that, And If I don't Quit That's how I am going to die." "And your going to have to watch me die like that".  He made the usual comment that he was going first and I said okay what ever.

Well we haven't bought a pack since. All day Sat No cigarette I bought 35.00 worth of candy from Wal-mart.  on Sunday I had one cigarette, and today I had one. I know I shouldn't of even have one But I am going so crazy, I feel so alone. I love how judgmental non smokers are or even ones who have quite and say, Well I did it cold turkey. I tell them well your a better person than I am cause I just can't do it.

 I keep telling myself that I am a non-smoker, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. One more hour and then you can have one when that hours up I say okay you made it this hour that was not that bad try one more hour and so on until I really can't take it then I just take one or two puffs off it and put it out saving the rest for later.

I don't know if I will quit or not but one a day is defiantly great for me. I am taking one day at a time and trying my best.

The Candy helping with cravings, but in 4 days I gained 10 pounds, I don't want to get fat neither.

Believe me I know how hard it is.  Try not to have that one cigarette or even take that one drag.  It's the same as a recovering alcholoic.  You cannot just have that ONE.  It's been 3 months now for me, and not one day goes by that I don't think about it.  But, it has gotten easier.

You can do it.

Hi everyone.

I've been a quitter for 3-1/2 months now after smoking for 31 years and am very proud of myself.  I used the prescription Chantix and tootsie pops. Every time I felt the urge to smoke, I popped a tootsie pop in my mouth.  by the time I got to the tootsie roll, I had forgotten that urge. People laughed at me, but I didn't care. It did what it had to do.

Recently, I went to visit family and friends for vacation. Most of them smoke. I worried the whole drive there wondering if I would feel the urge to smoke if I'm around others who do.  Guess what? I didn't feel the urge, even when some people blew directly in my face (had a coughing fit).

Since quitting, my sense of smell is amazing. My teeth are whiter and I feel a whole lot better about myself.

I learned that it could happen.  Good luck to you all.

Hello!

I smoked from 1955 to 2002 with a year of not smoking twice during those 47 years along with several attempts to quit and was going through 3 packs a day when I did quit.

I had been through sinus surgery in 2001 which should have been and incentive to quit but I continued and continually battled sinus infections. I finally decided that I was going to quit and that it was mind over matter.  For the first 6 mo to year, I chewed Nicorette gum, which tore up my stomach worse than nicotine but it did stave off taking a cigarette.

I had 2 packs of cigs in 2003 at different times and decided I could be an occasional smoker but never wanted another cig after that.  Can't say  that I will never smoke again but I'm not smoking now and have no desire to.

Good luck to everyone.

"All things be ready if the mind be so"-- Shakespeare

Hi, my name is Victoria and I quit smoking 5 months ago. I smoked for over 10 years and never even imagianed I could successfully quit. After a few failed attempts with patches and gum I figured best to just get it over with and go cold turkey. I haven't had a smoke since. I don't really crave smoking anymore and i love being a non smoker but I could do without the nearly 20lbs I've put on! At the end of February I weighed 140lbs and now I weigh 156. :(