So I've decided to quit smoking...

[one_voice]

I used to smoke about 2 packs a day. Now I'm now to a carton every 2 1/2-3 weeks. So I've cut down a lot.

I started walking on the treadmill again, but this summer has been a killer with the excessive heat, plus I hurt my knee so the treadmill has been on the back burner for a bit.

My plan is starting in Oct. (cooler weather/healed knee) I will do a minimal amount on the treadmill and some on a stationary bike (seems to be easier on the knees) and at the same time I'll quit smoking.

I figure, it'll keep any weight gain down to a minimum, and I can always hop on the bike when the cravings hit.

Also, it gives me a month to "get prepared" to quit. :-)

Any advice is welcomed.

I plan on going cold turkey. :scared:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good luck, my dear one_voice!

I don't have any advice, alas, since I never smoked. Some folks can do cold turkey, though.

One thing I CAN say: the tobacco companies don't care about you. They really don't care if you die using their products, and used properly, that's what will happen.

Hang in there! You will be taking a huge step towards much better health!

:hug:

[one_voice]

2. Thanks Ms. Peggy..

I quit for both my pregnancies, and went back after. I quit once for 4 months and went back...dumb, dumb, dumb. I'm going to do it again, only there will be no going back.

My mom quit 15 years ago using hypnotherapy, worked great for her. Don't know if it would work for me.

Cold turkey it is.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. It's good that you know you can.

You. Can. Do. It.

And stay off!

You will also save quite a lot of money...

Some people put the money they're not spending on cigarettes in a jar, and that helps their resolve. After some time, you can take out that money, and spend it on something you really wanted...

Extra incentive!

[WCIL]

4. My husband quit cold turkey

His office went smoke free, so that helped a lot. Toward the end of April he set a target date of June 1. Every night I had dinner ready when he got home, then he changed his clothes, ate and went out for a long long walk. He came home exhausted and fell into bed. It was hard work, but he is 7 years smoke-free now, and in much better shape. He had previously tried Welbutrin, patches, and a stop smoking clinic where you had to do things like put your face down and smoke out of an ashtray. Exercise and determination finally were the right combination for him.

When my dad quit, he switched "his" spot in the living room to help change the smoking environment. My mother in law switched from coffee to tea, because she always had a cigarette with her coffee.

[Tikki]

7. There are ideas here that are

so correct. First of all...there are many non-smokers who quit times before
it finally ended.

Story is that people who have quit before makes it easier to quit..finally. So your brain
already knows it can be done....now you just have to get to the forever.

I quit nearly seven years ago...cold turkey...and I followed as many tips as I could fit
into a day.

CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE as much as humanly possible.

Best to break a habit by starting a new one or two.
Move things around.
Wash and dry clean clothes and curtains, whatever has the smell in it. I even cleaned the walls.

Exercise and drink water.

I volunteered with a couple clubs and such where I knew smoking was not abundant or at all.

Please don't think that the fact you slowed down means you have done enough. Actually, and you already
know this...but, your slowing down is your brain telling you that it's time.
Non-smokers tell you about how much better is is and they ain't fooling..
Your quality of life as a non-smoker is going to be so grand...and early on enough
that you will get that instant gratification feeling.

Next, I would like to thank all the people who do not smoke for making it easy to be around them
when I stopped.


Tikki

[denverbill]

5. Like I told another lounger last week, the urge to smoke will go away whether you smoke or not.

But if you smoke, the urge will just keep coming back. If you don't smoke, the urge will eventually take longer and longer to recur, then will go away altogether.

You are doing it right by planning ahead. It's good to have a plan too for situations. Get rid of all your smoking paraphernalia and especially cigs. Have a plan to avoid going to places where you might be tempted to buy cigs.

And don't give up. At times you may think that the urge to smoke is never going to go away for good, but it will.

Good luck!

[cordelia]

6. Good luck to you.

March 26, 2001 and I went cold turkey.

The most important thing I did was to set a date. I had to have a couple of wisdom teeth pulled, and I set that as the date to quit once the appointment was made.

It was several months out, so that gave me time to focus and mentally prepare for the big day.

I guess the important part, for me, was to have a target. If you have an event scheduled, you might consider using that as a quit point.

When the day arrived, the teeth came out (just a local anesthetic, no trauma), and I slept a good part of the day.

The next couple of days were a little rough, but I got through it. You will, too.

One thing you might want to keep in the back of your mind is you may have "user dreams" after you have successfully quit. In these dreams you will be smoking, and it may bother you a bit the first time or two the dreams happen. Don't worry - I have heard it is fairly common. It's been nearly 10 years for me, and I still have them from time to time.

My 2 cents, and best wishes. You can do it.

[one_voice]

8. Thanks for all the advice...

and "tricks". I'm sure I'll be using a lot of them. I have a great support system at home, that helps too.

[mattvermont]

9. chantix

2 years for me, although it is not for everyone...good luck however you succeed.

[david13]

10. One of the best things in the world you can do for yourself. You

don't give up anything. You gain so very much.
Keep at it, and you will see.
dc

[OrwellwasRight]

11. One day at a time.

Anything you accomplish is huge. Seriously. Nicotine is about the most addictive substance known to man, so be proud of yourself for even trying.

I am currently trying to overcome an addiction to lack of exercise. I took my first pilates class (via DVD) this morning. Whew -- was that ever rough. I think I'll have to life some weights and do some sit-ups before I try that again . . .

[one_voice]

17. My daughter exercises regularly...

She runs, weights, etc. She gave pilates and yoga a try and said it was easier to do a full work out at a gym. She walked around sore for days . And she's in good shape. Kudos to for trying.

Good luck with the new exercise routine.

[Jade Fox]

12. cold turkey not so good.....

You'll hit a nasty wall of cravings after a couple of weeks when you run out of the nicotine stored in your body.

My HMO recommended cutting back slowly while downsizing your brand (less tar and nicotine) slowing as well, until you're smoking just a small amount of those cigs that are like smoking air. Then set a date to go cold turkey.

Worked pretty well for me.

[rurallib]

13. Best of luck, one_voice - think of the money

My trick was to take deep breaths when I had a craving. Worked very well.

Save the money you would have spent and buy something nice.

[kwassa]

14. Quitting is easy, I've done it hundreds of times.

and I will tell you what worked for me, which is a waste of my time because no one is really believing or interested in this method.

but seriously, like the post above, after trying cold turkey and failing, over and over ....

I did the cutback method. Quitting wasn't the role, reducing the amount of cigarettes I smoked was.

I decided to see how few I could smoke and not go crazy. I went from about 50 cigarettes a day to 8.

I had to think about each one and really want it. I had to only smoke and do nothing else. I also figured out each day the number of cigarettes that I would have smoked that I successfully did not. This was very positive reinforcement to my program.

I gradually cut back to one ....

and after a couple of months I decided to stop altogether. I gave myself permission to smoke if I really wanted to smoke. I kept a full pack of Marlboros in a kitchen drawer for a couple of years to fulfill that want.

but two weeks after I quit, I forgot that I ever smoked. I HAD NO CRAVINGS. That is what gradually quitting did for me.

Oh, I quit in 1984, haven't touched a cig since, after 14 years of 2.5 packs a day of Marlboros.

[DainBramaged]

15. August 29th was my fifth year anniversary of quitting

and I started reducing my smoking gradually just like you did and one morning when I woke up, I said, no more.


Good luck. It is worth it.

:toast:

[TK421]

16. Take it slow...don't try to do it cold turkey, like I did

others have had luck with that method...I just got the shakes, my body felt weird ( very hard to explain how my body felt, but I suppose that is withdrawal ). I have found that after my daily morning coffee I need a smoke afterwords, so I stopped the morning coffee altogether..it helps some, believe it or not.

Try cutting out things that you associate with smoking as much as you can ( nobody is asking you to give up the after-sex smoke ). Best of luck to you!

[one_voice]

18. Ok, so after reading..

more of the comments, I'm going to use the month of Sept. to cut back some more. I'm at about 5 a day now (give or take depends on the day). My goal will be to be down to 2 by the second week of Oct. and off completely by the end.

I'll use water, exercise, and deep breathing to help with the cravings.

I don't smoke in the house so I don't need to change where I sit, or wash the curtains or anything like that. There aren't rooms that I'm used to smoking in, except for the garage on rainy/snowy or really cold days.

Good. Sounds like I've got a plan to start with.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, and how you quit. It's going to be a big help.

:grouphug:

[Generic Brad]

19. Drink a lot of water

And if you experience a setback, don't be hard on yourself. Just recommit to giving it another try. Quitting is a process.

[applegrove]

20. 1. I started smoking only at the kitchen table in the months before I quit. That way

I didn't have real cravings when I was, say, in front of the computer. Good to do that I think.

2. I tried champix/chantix. It really helped.

3. When I craved I went for a walk and sometimes bought a popsicle.

4. Once my quit was well underway and I had a big crave I bought herbal cigarettes and smoked them. I bought may 10 packs and smoked them. I never had a real cigarette. Now, two years later, whenever I think of smoking I feel that disgusting herbal cigarette raunchy taste and I don't want a smoke.

5. Join the quitnet.com They have lots of advice as well as people there you can talk to if you are in the middle of a crave. Remember most craves are just a few minutes long so if you log and and post HELP!, read the responses then thank everyone... your craves gone and your fingers have been kept busy typing

6. Good luck. I'm still battling the weight issue but my quit is really strong and I'm almost sure I'll never go back. Maybe one day I'll save enough money to buy a treadmill.

[one_voice]

22. Thanks applegrove...

you should check yard sales for a treadmill. I've had two treadmills over the last 15 years, both were second hand. The first one I bought at a yard sale for cheap. The second/current one, was being thrown out. The only thing wrong was it needed a new cord, and it's pretty new. I had an electrician friend take care of the cord problem and it works great.

Herbal cigs. sound pretty gross.

[applegrove]

24. Oh herbal smokes are awful. But it was so worth it. I can't get that awful taste outta my head

when I think about smoking. I think the Champix/Chantix separated the act of smoking with the pleasure centre of my brain and the new connection made was the horrid taste of herbal mokes.

Best of luck. It really does feel great to be quit once you get through the first tough weeks. Smoking was such a drag on my sense of self.

[MrMickeysMom]

21. Congratulations.... here's advice from an RT

I'll bet you do well, and all things take time. Here's some respiratory therapy advice:

1) Quitting "cold turkey" is statistically not much different than spending lots of money on gum, patches and Chantix (which has some wicked dream state side effects)

2) Modify your behavior to include "some" form of exercise (non weigh bearing could mean doing weights or core stabilization exercises on one of those large colorful balls. It will help you gain strength on the way to doing the weight bearing exercises. You won't have as much injuries. If you don't know what core stabilization exercises are, go here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/core-strength/SM00047

3) Know you have support here!

[one_voice]

23. My lungs (and me) thank you...

thanks for the link. I've book marked it so I can go back to it if needed.

[joeybee12]

25. Good for you!

Cold turkey is very hard, but sometimes that's the best for some people...I do think that you've got the right idea to set a date in the future to build up to quit for...preparing yourself mentally is important!

:toast: