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Posts created by Litsa

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

10 days...

Hi everyone.

I stumbled across this web site whilst searching for an answer to my dilemma and am so glad I did! I stopped smoking 10 days ago with the help of Champix, but I still think about cigarettes all the time :-(
This is my 2nd attempt to stop smoking, the previous time I lasted nine months, so I am not confident that I will stay the course. I am the only one in my family who smokes and non-smokers do not understand what it is like to be a prisoner to this addiction. I am hoping that by joining, reading others' success stories and hopefully getting encouragement, I will make it this time!

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

10 days...

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement and the great welcome

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Recreate Me...

So, Heck Week is behind me and I am so happy that I have stayed strong and not smoked. I don't think I could have done it without the Champix - so thank you to the clever people out there who developed this drug!

I have been smoking around 20 cigarettes a day for 27 years. I have quit for two weeks, so I can safely say that I have not been a non-smoker long enough to believe that I have achieved this hallowed status - I am trying every day to get there. What I do realize though is that the past 27 years of smoking have defined me in a way that I now have to undo. I have to recreate ME as a non-smoker. The person I was must somehow be forgotten; I have to be someone else, someone who does not smoke. How do you do that?

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

What would you do?

I would have a glass of wine. Just because someone else is smoking, it doesn't mean I have to...

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Recreate Me...

Thank you so much, nonic, for your understanding and your truly, truly inspiring words. I was not being facetious when I initially posted my thoughts. I do believe in being honest though and not every day is one where I can punch the air in triumph because I have succeeded in the battle with my worst enemy – in my case, my mind.

Your post has started to make me think about the reasons that I started, and continued, smoking for so long, and you are right – one of the major reasons was fear. In realizing this, and putting a word or a feeling to this unease inside me, will make it easier to unravel the reasons for fearing. I do believe that this will be a time of introspection for me and I have a long path ahead, but am feeling more confident every day and your words have helped me tremendously.

Thank you

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Daily Stats Parade

40 days today, but am REALLY struggling

. I promise, though, that today I will not smoke

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Random reason Number _____:

Random reason #45 - I don't HAVE to get out of bed on a weekend so that I can go outside and smoke, I can snooze a bit

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Gaining Weight!

I know how you feel about the weight gain, Sly! For me, it is the worst consequence of stopping smoking. I have only quit for 48 days now, BUT I have quit before (2 years ago) – and that attempt lasted 10 months. Guess why I started smoking again? I put on 11 pounds! Where am I now? Back to the beginning! If I had stuck it out then, I would not have to go through this pain again.

I think it’s true that it is easier to stay slim when one smokes. After all, the adrenalin produced when smoking by our body as it tries as hard as it can to repair the damage that we are doing to it, does increase our metabolism. But at what cost?

There are people who lose weight and who are thin who don’t smoke. I think we should join that group of winners!

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Don't do this but it worked for me

It is probably not advisable posting this after Matt's comment - please forgive me, Matt , but... I seem to have stumbled on something that helps with managing the BIG, GAPING hole that resides in the centre of my being since I stopped smoking. In the spirit if being truthful about what is helping me quit I am posting this with a disclaimer, so here goes.

I am probably a shallow person as one of my major concerns with quitting smoking is putting on weight, but that’s the way it is, you can frown all you want. I am also not a very health-conscious person as in the past, when I wanted to loose weight, all I had to do was smoke, drink coffee and viola! the weight would just fall off.

I have put on 2kgs (you’ll have to convert to pounds) in 2 months. That is a kilo a month and if I carry on like this, I will wake up in a year and will realize that I have gained… well you can do the arithmetic. On someone who is 1.59m tall (again – you will have to do the conversion) this does not look good. This was depressing me to no end and before you shout out "Exercise!" - I cannot exercise at the moment due to medical reasons so that is not an option.

As providence would have it, I work with a health-freak cyclist who is currently on a diet called “The Fat Burning Soup Diet” so I decided to try it too. As you probably have already guessed, this diet contains a LOT of soup. I have now completed day 2 and am 1.1kgs lighter (and happier) but the BIGGEST benefit of all and the reason I am sharing this with you is… I have been SO hungry that my whole focus has shifted from thinking about smoking to thinking about eating! I have had my best 2 smoke-free days thus far.

Don’t know what I will do next week as this is a 7-day detox diet but I will pigeon-hole that concern for another day..

In the meantime, I hope we all have a wonderful, smoke-free day today

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

Rant

Hi Stubbygirth and welcome to the place where it is OK to rant and rave! Don't be discouraged yet. I am also only almost three month in my quit so I have a long way to go before being free and I am still battling with wanting to have a cigarette.

Nevertheless, there is a very, very subtle change in my thinking process. I want a cigarette but when I stop and think – really think – about the reason that I want one I can no longer find a valid one. It seems that at times these urges come as a reflex reaction, an emotional response and when I use logic to talk myself out of the crave, it seems to be working for me a little bit. The only think I am dreading is that these cravings will continue for longer than I can battle them with logic and that I will give in.

How sad it is that we were duped into starting this dreadful habit! My biggest regret in life is that I started smoking. Think about why you want that cigarette - what difference will it make in your life? And will it be a good difference or a bad one?

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