Wow, that was a lot better, followed Bonnies advice and read the quitsmokingonline site about cravings and realise mine are not full blown but more a niggly ' want badly'. I sort of acknowledged it was there but refused to give it importance, before it was 'Oh no, I'm having a withdrawal, not again'. Now it's 'Oh hello, one of those, ho hum, you'll pass and it does. I shall really practice this.

Weird thought, I keep thinking how I would do this differently if I did it again, I WILL NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN, sorry for shouting, Yippee

Not only does smoking literally stink but the cravings stink too. I havent had a cigarette since about 10 am and its 4 pm now. I am ready to go crazy. My quit date is a ways away but i really wanna try to cut down to 5 max per day. Since I had two this morning that leaves 3 for the rest of the day. I really really really want one right now but I know that if I can hold out at least until I get off work in another two hours then itll be easier. Somehow, being able to write about the craving seems to lessen it. Maybe thats something else I can do. Blog everytime I want to smoke. The biggest test for me will be my pool league. Stuck in a bar full of smokers, including an unsupportive older sister who claims to believe it when she sees it. I tried to get her to quit with me but she wont do it and tends to exacerbate my cravings by being that one jerk to blow smoke in my face. I would love to be able to avoid her but since she is the captain of my league team I would have to give up something I really love just to get away from her crazy butt. As sad as the thought makes me, perhaps I should give it up, at least until I have started to better control the cravings. Anyone have any ideas on what to do about that? Should I give up my pool league or just avoid it for a little bit until the cravings lessen?

Today I am 120 Days smoke free. 4 months.

I'm just finishing a bout of sinusitis. Now, when I was smoking a go round with the common cold would last a minimum of 20 days. This sinus infection (which I did not treat with antibiotics - just let it run its course) lasted only 10 days. It never knocked me down. At the worst of it I had to stop running for about 5 days.

This no smoking business kicks @$$   :)

My quit date was to be this Saturday, but I decided today that enough was enough and threw my half pack of cigs & lighter in a garbage can at a store. No going back for them, no hiding them, no more making it just plain uneasy. I can't believe that one, two or no more than 3 cigs a day could have such an impact on life. Especially after I quit a one to two PACK a day habit over 2.5 yrs ago.

Now the real fun begins.... I have decided to wash my jackets, etc. so that they smeill good.

I'm taking it one second at a time right now.

God Be With All Of YOU....

Well hasn't it been a long time?  lol  Sorry about that.  Here's an update.  I am still smoke free and loving it.  I didn't need any gums or pills like I thought I might, I bought candy and had the help of God and my family and all of you  and I made it.  I've been an EX since August 28th, 2009.  It's been about 6 months.    Thank you all again!  Take Care, Tina

So far so good,Today is a good day and I'm smoke free!!!!!!! Cigs have no powere over me!!!! I have to keep telling myself that! Using the patch and the commit to help break the routines. Getting car, break time, after eating, before bed. It is amazing how we let smoking run our lives. Everything revolved around smoking. My favorite part of the evening was putting my kiddo in the bath so I could excape outside to smoke in peace. Husband is ginving alot of support which is nice for a change. He has never been addicted to anything, so It is hard for him to understand the hold smoking had on me. Having a hard time getting to sleep at night. Feeling alot of anxiety. not sure why???? It feels like all this pent up nerves trying to get out. Toss and turn till about 1am last night. Know from previous attemps can not wear the patch at night. Way to vivid and weird dreams. Wake up and slap one on first thing in the morning. Like I said one day at a time, and so far so good!!!!!!

...having a really hard time, but still trying.  Major depression...probably Chantix.

JoaniBreathe

Tmr and Thur I will be having a test done that I cant eat or drink anything from midnight the night before until the test is done.  I go for the tests at 2p each day.  I am really afraid that I am going to just talk myself into smoking bc I cant eat or drink.  Drinking is really helping me with holding off my smoking to one every 1.5-2 hrs a day.  When I was told about the restrictions, the first thing that came to mind was.....well, since I cant do anything else, Im just not going to count those 2 days.  I know that isnt the way Im going to quit.  I know that I need to keep trying, but I need help.  Im really proud of my progress and dont want to back pedal.  Anyone with suggestions for me would be really truely appreciated.

I'm trying to do little things every once in a while to remind me to stay strong.  I left myself a note in my car, I planted a tree in my yard...today I thought I'd write about the things I've done to help me quit, who knows, maybe I will help someone else!

As I have stated before, the hardest part of quitting for me was making the decision to do it and following through.  There were many things that I did to prepare for quitting and things I am doing now to continue my success. 

One of the things I learned in previous quit attempts:  a trip to the store could ruin me.  I would always break down and buy a pack.  Sure I would reason that I was only going to smoke one, but we all know how that goes, right?  So, one of my rules for quitting was avoid the store for the first week and as much as possible after (as needed).

I made up a schedule to walk me through the first 72 hours.  I wrote down, hour by hour, how my day would go and what I would do from the time I woke up until bed time.  I also made a list of projects that I could work on.  Some project are small and can be done in small intervals, others are larger, more time consuming projects.  These include things like, clean/scrub the fridge, wash the car, clean out the garage, build a cat condo, till and prep for a spring garden....you get the idea.  Some of the things I could work on in small 10 or 15 minute incriments while my weekends would be kept  full with larger projects.  I also bought a puzzle thinking that would be something to fill the blank minutes in my day, but I have not opened it.  My 2 year old son is doing a fine job of keeping me busy with play-doh, coloring and pretending to be a marching band!

Walk everday, no matter the weather.  My dog really needs the exercise and so do I and it helps.  I am a huge dog person and have a passion for studying dog behavior and training.  I have been wanting to get a cat but in my knowledge of dogs I knew that I needed to give my dog more exercise and training, so as an early reward and a motivator I adopted a cat from the shelter.  I began training my dog and we started walking at least twice per day before my quit date.  I know it may sound crazy, but adding the cat has helped me with quitting.  We named him Sube (sue-bay = spanish for "to climb") and he reminds me every morning that I am a non-smoker and I need to walk the dog, lol! 

I bought lots of fruit and healthy(ish) munchy food on my last grocery run before I quit.  I ate all of the fruit in the first week (I should have bought more!).  This helped to keep my blood sugar up and helped with the crarvings.  I kept a cup of chopped fruit on hand at all times and during the day at the times that I would normally smoke I munched on the fruit instead.  I also did some relaxation and breathing exercises at those times, even when I didn't have a real craving.  Because I couldn't smoke at work and didn't smoke in my home smoking a cigarette became an escape for me.  I could take a break at work and go smoke or if my son was particularly whiney I could step outside for a minute.  I have replaced those habits with the relaxation and breathing.  I think being proactive with these exercises and not waiting for a craving made the cravings less powerful.

I decided that a rule would be no weighing myself!  Weight gain is always a concern when trying to quit.  I decided that I needed to make quitting my FIRST concern and worry myself with the other stuff later.  I know I'm trying to be healthy and I'm getting more exercise.  If I gain a little weight along the way I'd rather not know it until I've been off cigarettes for at least one month.  I am doing what I need to do to win this battle with this demon and right now I am allocating all my will power to that.  When I am stronger and need less will for this I can concern myself with my weight.

So I guess that about covers it.  To date I have walked at least twice everyday, excluding last night, but it was very rainy.  I have an umbrella and I have promised my dog that I will buy her a rain coat today.  She doesn't mind the rain and would be happy to walk in it, but I mind a smelly wet dog on my rugs :)  I have increased the amount of time I am walking, we started at 10 minutes, now we are up to 20 minutes per walk and we've thrown in a few minutes of running here and there.  That's 40 minutes of walking per day, so it has to be doing me some good right?

So now back to work, thanks for reading and stay strong!

Hey guys! I haven't been online in a few days because I have been sick and while I was sick I made a decision to not wear a patch or use any other NRT. I figured if I was miserable from being sick, I might as well be without the nicotine! So I now feel like a true exsmoker because I have gotten rid of the habit and the nicotine out of my body. Don't get me wrong, I am so so thankful that I had that for the first month! I needed it! But I was tired of buying the patches and lozenges and worrying about having them with me at all times.Blah blah blah! Anyway I am happy to be on day 37/4! I am proud of us, in all of our different stages of the quit! It's so great to have the support and friendship that we have through this site! Have a great smoke free day! IT'S SPRING AT LAST!!!!! Annie