Good morning ladies -

So after talking about it & talking about it, I FINALLY built up the motivation to quit smoking yesterday. I just turned 28 and that means I've been smoking for TEN years [where does the time go], up to 1/2 pack a day. I hate it, the way it smells, the things it does to my body etc. etc. I had bronchitis two weeks ago and got a chest x-ray and the tech said he could tell I was a smoker - like my bridesmaid dress fiasco w/ my weight - that was the last straw for me.

However...this is NOT easy - it's only day two and all I want is something in my mouth - I bought a bunch of gum but it's starting to hurt my teeth -

Does anyone have any tips from when/if you've quit while also trying to lose weight?

I'd be SUPER greatful for any tips, suggestions, motivations etc.

THANK YOU!
LC



UPDATE: 4/16/12
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND I made it a week!!! I have been DYING to post this time!! One week strong NO smoking from 1/2 pack day habit!! Yes!!!!!

OMG, I feel so proud!! I was worried about the weekend and decided not to drink b/c I really didn't need any triggers so I went running Fri night - made it 3.5 miles which is .4 more than any run I was able to complete while I smoked and then I made it to kickboxing Sat and Sun - I feel like I can breathe again! To stay motivated, I signed up for this thing called runanuck in June - it's a 5k with a bunch of obstacles you have to complete in the mud so I'm really hoping that keeps me on track.

Eating hasn't been too bad - I was worried I'd be shoving everything in my mouth and that really isn't the case - I mostly just use gum/breath mints. I made this "healthy" cookie recipe [choc chips, corn flakes & coconut w/ light butter & sugar] so I've nibbled on a few of those but I'm not going to worry as long as I don't see some crazy spike in hunger/chocolate instead of smoking.

THANK YOU again for everyone's tips, I have tried each & every one of them~!

I know it's only a week but I know if I stay strong these weeks are going to turn into months...can't wait!

First of all, congrats on taking this huge step! As a former smoker I know how tough quitting can be. It's a rough battle but you can come out on top!!

Sugar-free popcicles are good for the "hand to mouth" habit that you get with smoking. Otherwise I just tried to keep my mind off it. Get absorbed in a book you love, play an engaging video game, solve a problem at work, meticulously clean your bathroom..... Anything that will keep you engaged in the present and you won't be thinking about going for a smoke. The first few days are the roughest physically - within a few days the nicotine addiction should be past and then you just battle the psychological/habitual addiction.

Good luck, it can be done, you can do it!

hi! i quit smoking in 1997 but you don't want to quit the way i did: i had the mother of all chest infections. i couldn't get air into my lungs, i certainly didn't want cigarette smoke in them and after 3 days of that, i figured i'd quit my three-pack-of-john-player-special a day habit.

the time before that, however, is probably more likely: i was 24 and had joined teh gym after dropping from 220 to 155 and finally looking pretty darned good in a spandex catsuit. i got out of the gym after my toughest cardio session yet and i remember i felt SO good - i was literally vibrant with good health! - and then ...


i lit a smoke and took a long drag.

it was like all the air had been let out of the balloon - pftftftfttftftftff,..... and i felt like crap again. i was so mad i threw the smoke on the ground and started walking home. cpl minutes later, i lit another one. it still tasted terrible - i threw it down. cpl minutes later, because i'm stupid that way, i lit another one; took a drag; and tried to wipe the taste off the roof of my mouth with my tongue - threw the smoke down.

they tasted WAY more awful than i remembered from the morning - i couldn't figure it out but this went on all the way home and when i stopped at the lights, i looked back and there was this trail of still-burning smokes all the way up the block and - i kid you not - an old homeless guy, filthy-dirty, busily picking them up, pinching off the ember, and sticking them in his pocket! i walked up to him and said "here, knock yourself out" and gave him the rest of the pack. after that, it was just a matter of keeping busy and keeping in mind how awful those smokes had made me feel after feeling so good coming out of the gym. it's important to keep that in mind - that smokes make you feel like dirt in the cat's litterbox.

that held for 10yrs until my dad was involved in a spectacular traffic accident on the way back from florida with my kids in the car - nobody told me anything. i found out when i got a phone call asking for authorization to perform emergency services if required and informing me there'd be a bill for air lift with lift support coming in the mail. i'm just lucky i started smoking cigarettes and not heroin!

The first couple days are the roughest. Get through them anyway you can. I stuffed a bit of cotton in the end of a straw and dragged on that to give me the breathing and activity of smoking, which helped soothe the need for at least the ritual of smoking. I also kept telling myself that I was now a nonsmoker, and reveled in the idea that after I stopped smoking I instantly became a nonsmoker. That mantra kept me going through the hard first few days because I didn't want to stop calling myself a nonsmoker. It just sounded so victorious. It's been 13 years since I quit, and other than getting a fleeting craving that passes within seconds a couple times a year, I never think about smoking anymore. It is liberating. The thing that did it for me was a dream where I was using a bottle brush to scrub out my lungs. I figured that was my inner self trying to send a message to my conscious self to quit. You can do it. You have the discipline to lose weight and pass up tempting foods when you need to; you are powerful enough to have control over cigarettes too. Good luck!

Quit buying cigarettes and if you have any in the house or in your purse throw them out. That is what I did, but then i bummed cigarettes from co workers until they started making comments about it, finally I quit, one day at a time, i didn't think of it as forever but just one day. One day became two , etc. You can do it !

I've never been a smoker, so I have no advice on quitting, but I want to support you in your efforts - it's a great step for your health to quit! -

I can, however, tell you that my best friend SWEARS by Chantix. However, I understand it's pretty expensive.

At any rate - GOOD LUCK! - YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

I have friends who have had success using the electric cigarettes. It gives you that hand to mouth action without it being food or an actual cigarette.

good for you!! i have never smoked, i absolutely hate it.

did you know that if someone is smoking in the car in front of me and they have their hand out the window, that it can come through the vents in my car and i can smell it strongly? i actually speed up and get in front so i don't have to smell it.

when my co-workers come back from their smoke breaks the smell permeates them, even if they wash their hands.

it's vile..good luck on your quitting!

Im on my 4th day since quitting and because im off work im bored.Having major debates with myself over whether or not to go and buy a pack and maybe quit when I dont have so much free time.

don't! there's probably never going to be a "good time" to quit. stay strong.

I bought a quit-smoking hypnosis app for my iPhone and listened to it every night for a week after I quit. Every other night for a week or two after. I believe it REALLY helped. I have a night out this week with some people I used to smoke with. I'm going to listen to it again for before I go out.

It only supplements, but it must have really got into my head because it created a feeling of revulsion when I think about smoking again that I never had before.

You can do this! I too, am a former smoker and my husband quit smoking when he had a heart attack last year. I used Wellbutrin and he went cold turkey and the first few weeks were pretty rough going cold turkey but he did it and I am so proud of him. My last memory of smoking is gagging as I took my last drag - it was so gross.

I know this is a physical addiction, but try thinking about this: Think about all the money you spent on the smokes over the years so some fat cat tobacco executive could pull up to go to work in his high rise office in a limo and leaves to spend weekends in a fabulous country home with his beautiful wife and oh so popular kids, all because of you buying his cigs to make it all happen. Use that money for things you need and want. Every time I get a craving (been six years, I do still crave them sometimes) I think about that.

about the physical addiction part? that's the easy bit - physical side effects only last about 3 days, assuming you're not taking stuff like wellbutrin or chantix, which can actually extend the withdrawal period.

the worst part is the psychological addiction and just the habit.

celery sticks - chop up a crapload of celery sticks and smoke 'em if you got 'em.


my aunt in finland and her husband are *heavy* smokers (and paying the ultimate price for it now, or at least she is) - every time they bought a pack of smokes, they put the same amount in savings. every year, they went on a 2mo vacation in the bahamas.

i think that's kind of scary and not a little sad.

First of all, congratulations! You can do this! It's hard at first but rest assured it does get easier. You've got to figure out what works for you. If it's gum and celery then work with that. For me it was the act of inhaling. If I'd known about gardendiva's trick with the straw I'd have been all over that. As it is I just put myself in situations with different air quality and would inhale deeply. I probably looked all kinds of silly but you do what you've got to do.

Remember that the wanting and craving aren't signals that your brain is sending you voluntarily. That's the addiction. It wants to convince you that you want it. You don't! Not really.

I managed to do it without gaining anything. I stalled for a bit and then lost at a much slower rate that first month. The only advice I can give on that end is to be extra vigilant about what you're putting in your mouth. You've got to be even more strict with yourself than usual because appetite does increase (at least mine did), but it's for just a short period of time and you'll get through it.

Congrats!
I quit using Champix (Chantix) and didn't find it extend my withdrawal period. In fact, for me, I felt significantly less withdrawal symptoms than when I quit cold turkey (lasted 10 months) several years ago. Back then, I experienced all the typical symptoms - was cranky as heck, wanted to eat everything in sight, etc. Champix was amazing for me. I still had withdrawal symptoms of course, but nothing like I experienced in the past. I've now been smoke free for over 2.5 years now, after smoking a pack a day for 13 years.
Anyway, Champix isn't for everyone - I'm just saying it was wonderful for me. I don't know if I could have quit successfully without it. That's just me though. I'm not trying to push it on anyone!
Just remind yourself that if you cave and smoke, you'll likely not enjoy the cigarette anyway, and then you'll have to re-do these two days again.
It gets easier, I promise!! Don't give up. Your body and your wallet will be grateful.