Quitting Smoking

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pants567

pants567

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
161
So along with losing weight, I'm trying to quit smoking. I went to visit my parents in Michigan and was able to not smoke for an entire week, but when I came back home it got harder. My boyfriend smokes so it is really hard when he is around. I've been super cranky because of it and I feel bad because I know it is the lack of nicotine. Has anyone else had trouble with quitting smoking? Any tips that helped you? I'm down to one a day now that I'm back (except for the night I went to the bar and that was a 4 night). Has anyone had luck the gum or patches? I'd love to do this cold turkey but I want to know what the people have had the most success with in case I find it is too stressful to do cold turkey.
 
First good for you to make a change like that, and one a day is amazing you are almost there!! and its very hard if people around still smoke or even when you go out people smoke...
I have found tapering...and lowering the nicotine helps....
this would mean switching to a different brand with lower amounts if cold turkey is not working....

also those filters you add to the cigarette make you see the nasty tar visually...they are cheap 2-3 dollars a pack to add to the end of the cigarette...when I quit on and off I will not buy extra packs or even keep them within reach ...
 
Congrats on being almost there! The only 2 suggestions I can give since I quit is this:
1) Living with someone who smokes will make it harder 2 ways: you will be more tempted to pick them up again, and once you are completely over them, being around the smell will be really bad. Smokers really don't realize how much it dulls their sense of smell and just being around it could mess with allergies.
2) I have a bunch of friends who quit except for "socially," only smoking when they drink or at parties- and all of them have gone back to smoking full time.

I started dipping in 7th grade and smoking in high school. I managed to quit in college when I cut the cigarette money out of my budget. When I cut the funds for it out and stopped bumming, then I stopped pretty quickly.
 
I quit cold turkey on Memorial Day weekend 1985, after smoking since 1969. At the end, I was up to close to 2 packs a day.

Everyone has to find the method that works best for them. The most important/essential part of being successful is WANTING to quit for YOU, not because someone doesn't like that you smoke. If you are not ready/committed to quitting, you will never be successful.

You should choose a quit date and tell everyone in your life. You will need their support and you will also feel some accountability to succeed.

When I quit, The American Cancer Society's spokesman was Larry Hagman, of Dallas (big TV show back then). The slogan was "It's a snap to quit", and worked by negative reinforcement. You wore a good sized rubber band on your wrist, and every time you had the urge to smoke, you were supposed to pull back on that rubber band and let it slap against that tender inside part of your wrist!!! Oh, man, did it sting!!!

To this day, every time I talk about quitting, my hand automatically goes to my wrist, because I remember the pain of the negative reinforcement; it was extremely effective for me.

My wrist was a red mess, but it worked!!! I kept a calendar for an entire year and crossed off every day that I didn't smoke. I will say that I was successful and never looked back. Even when my mother died in 1987, I didn't start smoking then, and I always said that that was the worst thing that ever happened to me, and if I didn't start then, then I would NEVER start again.

The first weekend, I took lots of showers, went to places you can't smoke (movies) and hung out with my very athletic friends with whom I rode my bike. They were very supportive of me and I was very committed. Again, YOU have to WANT to quit.

I'm not going to lie, it was without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done. The main reason I know I will never smoke again is because I don't ever want to go through the process of quitting!!!

They say that the first 2 weeks are the worst, because it takes a while to get the nicotine out of your system. After that, it's really mind over matter, a habit that you need to break.

I chose to take the amount of money that I was spending on cigarettes each week and splurge on something that I wanted -- fresh flowers, a nice dinner out, you get the idea. Some people put the money in an account to save for a vacation or something else that they want. You choose your incentive!!!

I smoked a lot on my commute, so I started chewing sugarless bubble gum in the car to replace the smoking for my "habit" and stress release of the traffic. Nothing more fun than blowing bubbles and popping them!!! It is surprisingly rewarding!!!

I wish you the best of luck. I hope you will be successful, but it you don't make it the first time, just try again. Everyone has to do it their way.
 
I will definitely say that when I came back home I could smell the smoke all over my boyfriend. In the past couple days that I've been home he has actually been really helpful. I've never allowed smoking in the apartment (myself or anyone else), he started out asking me if I'd go outside with him while he smoked and I said no because it was too tempting to bum one and so he stopped asking. Now HE is even smoking less.

I think I'll try out the rubber band and sugar free gum because it sounds like things that would help me. I've noticed that my money lasts longer (which is awesome!) and I already notice that I don't run out of breath so easily which will make working out so much easier.

This is ALL for me so I think it will work this time. Thanks for the tips and the encouragement! I think that since I'm already down to one a day I will set my cut off date as Feb. 1. Now to kick this habits' butt! haha no pun intended.
 
Trying to lose weight and quit smoking at the same time is pretty much a losing battle - take it from an old hand. I've even had doctors tell me that. Pick one, do that first, then do the other. If you want to quit smoking, quit smoking first. Then when you have the weight gain (and you will), you can lose it after.

Smoking is an addiction. Depending on who you are, eating can also be an addiction. trying to dump two addictions at the same time is a great idea, but it's not realistic, especially since your boyfriend still smokes.

Tell your boyfriend to only smoke outside, and to appreciate the struggle you are going through to improve your health (which will in turn actually make your skin much prettier as well as give you more energy) and don't smoke when you're around. That will help tremendously.

Also, I have found that cold turkey is the only way to stop. I smoked for 20 years, was up to 2 packs a day and sometimes more, and quit 5 years ago when I needed my gallbladder removed. The worst time is the first 2 weeks and then after around the 2 month mark when all of a sudden you reach for a cigarette while driving or after eating.

Good for you for making these positive changes in your life. You'll be much healthier and live longer too. :)
 
I can't offer you any advise, only encouragement to keep trying. Best of Luck!
 
I agree with Tunes, I think you are asking way to much of yourself to try loosing weight and quit smoking at the same time. You are setting yourself up for failure (which you are not since you are wanting this)

For myself I quit smoking first and then the weight.

What worked for me when I quit was not quitting. What I mean by that is, I would make sure I had my cigarettes around, would always say, ¨I will have one later. That did pretty good for me. I found that when I would say ¨I quit¨ it scared the crap out of me thinking that it was forever and didn't believe I could make it. Forever is scary when you are addicted.
So by saying I will have one later and did, it did not feel like a failure and kept me going saying I will have one later. That worked for me.

Therefore ¨I quit = forever¨ which are words that are too drepressing and scary for addictions. Forever is way to long when in truth it should be taken only one minute at a time.
 
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It is now 10 years that I am having one later. Thru all this, my other half smoked and my house mate smokes. So not quitting and having one later worked for me.

Too loose the weight, what worked for me was eating anything I like, but made sure I would eat every two hours and not over do it.

example at work:
breakfast - oatmeal, toast, coffee
10am - cookies, milk
noon - regular lunch but 1/2 my usual portion
2pm - small bag of chips with pop
4pm - fruit, bit of cheese
6pm - 1/2 portion asta with bread glass of wine
8 pm - glass of milk
before bed - 1 peanut butter toast/jam

When one goes on a diet we usually deprive and somewhat starve ourselves. Which we should not do because that sends the message to our body saying ¨stock up everything you can because we do not know when we will have food again¨. So the body organizes itself to survive when lacking nutrients. So by giving it something to eat every two hours, it will not be deprived and will not stock up. Therefore slowly loosing the weight because it will let go of what it does not need. Loosing the weight slowly is the way to go to keep it off, and not depriving it of foods I like and not overdoing it, made it happen.
This way your body will not stock from deprivation anymore and will loose the slow
 
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Saphire- I'll have one later, that's pretty much what I'm doing right now and it is going pretty well.

Tunes- My boyfriend has been really good about not smoking around me since I told him I was trying to quit and that it made it hard on me when he smoked. No one is allowed to smoke inside the apartment cause of FenFen.

With the losing weight and quitting at the same time, I really shouldn't do both at the same time for reasons already listed. For now, I'm starting weight watchers so I can still eat whatever I want, just in moderation. That way I don't feel like I'm cutting everything out of my life at once, but just learning to eat in a more healthy way instead. =)
 
Congratulations on trying to quit! Trust me, it is worth it. I started smoking in middle school (eek) and quit about 5 years ago. I tried the patch and the gum to no avail but the thing that really helped me quit probably won't help you in your goal though. I have asthma and spent a few days in the hospital after my last big attack so it was more of a urgent health thing for me--I would literally not be able to breathe if I continued smoking.

But what I can say is crossing off days helped immensely. I didn't make it to a year like Lynn, but close. I was in the 300's when I finally figured I could stop counting. It was very satisfying to see all those days and months crossed off in succession. Most of my friends still smoke, so that was an obstacle for me as well. I kind of just had to be firm with myself and I did get grouchy at them for smoking, but in the end it wasn't a deal breaker.

I noticed I had a lot more energy after I quit and I don't remember gaining weight, or any large amount at least but I wasn't weighing myself and was focused on quitting. I actually don't mind the smell of smoke, sometimes it brings back memories and is kind of comforting. When I go over friend's houses who smoke inside, it doesn't bother me anymore. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to smoke a cigarette again, but I know I'm not going to try--I don't have a real desire to.
 
When I kept trying cold turkey and kept makng excuses as to why I needed to (stress, my cranky mood, etc) I went to my doctor and got on chantix.. After a week ciggs tasted horrendous a darter a month I didn't even have to keep a security pack on me.. I agree w tunes on expecting to loose weight and quit smoking at the same time.. At first you're going to fill that time you used to smoke with food.. It just happens.. All you can do is make sure you have a ton of low fat snacks around and tell yourself the munching is only tmporRy till you figure out a new life routine.. Good luck!!!
 
Well, the losing weight is going well, quitting is going ok. I lost five pounds in a week, well a little less than a week but that's because I did a complete overhaul to what I was eating and my activity level. I'm up to 2 a day from one because college started back up. I used to smoke a cigarette between every class so it is harder than just being home. Now I smoke on my way to campus and before bed which I feel is still pretty good. Of course not as good as quitting, but as everyone has said, can't do it all at once! But now when I'm feeling antsy at home, I work out instead of having a cigarette! Just have to make sure I don't develop an exercise addiction.... but I SERIOUSLY doubt that'll happen...
 
If you're going to try to do two major things at once, your best bet is to incorporate the two, like you've been doing. Using exercise as a tool to help you quit smoking is brilliant! Two a day is a big improvement. Don't get discouraged by the fact that you haven't quit entirely, but don't let yourself slide backwards either. Keep moving forward and be proud of yourself!
 
Congratulations on your achievement so far!!!

Peggy (Tunes) is right about trying to diet. My doctor even told me that she would rather I gain 20 pounds but be able to quit, since smoking was far more detrimental.

Actually, gaining weight is almost guaranteed, since you will find that after about 2-3 weeks food tastes INCREDIBLE!!! You didn't know what you were missing!!!

Just keep trying with the smaller portions and more frequent little bites throughout the day. That also helps what I referred to as "the hand to mouth" syndrome that needed to be replaced; you know putting the cigarette to your mouth to take a puff -- you have to replace that with something, it might as well be carrot or celery sticks. And of course, when you are chewing that sugarless bubble gum, it's not very easy to eat!!!

Keep up the good work!!!
 
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