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Share your quitting journey

cutting back

aprilk
Member
0 11 20

hello everyone my name is april and i am new here my quit date is octover 29th but i have been able to cut back on my cigarettes everyday like saturday i had 15 cigarettes sunday i had 12 cigarettes so today my goal is to only have 9 then tuesday 6 and wed 3 so that way when midnight of the 29th comes i will no longer be a smoker i am proud of myself. 

11 Comments
JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Welcome April. Glad you have made the decision to commit to quitting.  At EX our resolve is to never smoke again.  NOPE “Not one puff ever.”  I suggest that you follow the steps on the web page along with reading, writing, studying, researching and blogging if you like.   This is all about you and what you are willing to do to be a nonsmoker.  Here is a link to Allen Carr’s book , Easy Way to Quit Smoking.  It is a very easy read which. It is quite helpful and suggested by the elders (those with 1+ yrs quit. .If you take the time to do the work you will have success. 

 http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

Also check out www.whyquit.com. There is a lot of beneficial information.  Look for Freedom From Nicotine My Journey Home and Nicotine Addiction 101.  Stay close to the site and learn, ask questions. Read the blogs enjoy your commitment to quit smoking. If you should need something to do here is  a link that will help https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...


Puff-TM-Draggin

Welcome aboard, April.

I'm un-anxiously counting down the days with  you.  Glad you blogged.  I believe the support and time spent reading and writing on this site were instrumental in the success of my quit.  Helped me stay busy and staying busy is one key to staying smoke-free in the first few weeks.

Back the water truck up to the house, keep a pack of straws handy or bag of balloons to blow up when your lungs start whining, steel your resolve and let's do this.

Terri103
Member

Welcome April!!   Glad you are here.  This is a great place to be!  You Should be proud of yourself, working on this so hard and committing to be a quitter.  Once you put out that last cigarette, you will be on Team Non-Smoker!!  It's a great team.  You will get all kinds of advice and links to reading.  Do the reading, it really does help when you are going thru the first days of the quit.  It is SO worth it to be a quitter!!!  

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

You may not be a smoker by the 29th, but you will still be a recovering addict.  Please do the suggested readings and tracking/separation exercises in the next couple of days and do the planning, too!

 

The most important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I also highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read.

 

As well, read the sections on this site, and read the blogs, responses and pages of folks you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com and quitsmokingonline.com for the good information contained there. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested on this site

 

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.

 

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different.

 

You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.  Don't let that smoking thought rattle around your head alone.  Get busy

 

The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

 

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!

 

Nancy

kristen-9-7-15

Hi April!  Welcome!

TerrieQuit
Member

Hi, April! All very good advice above! Please do the reading and preparing, it Makes all the difference! The Allen Carr book really changed the way I thought about smoking and my quit! Welcome! and stay close to this site! Blog HELP if you feell like smoking, we will support and encourage you so you can stay quit! You will reap many benefits from quitting! I am glad you are here!

Terrie  112  DOF

rlb42
Member

Hi April! I am also reducing. I have always notice I say always because I have quit several times. Sometimes years at a time and always failed. Thought maybe if I reduced slowly it may help. Glad to see you here. It is a great place and I have missed it. Good luck on your quit!

joedice711
Member

you can do it april..the people here are a big big help ..15 days ,,,,love saying that.

jimmypage
Member

Welcome April and congratulations on making the decision to quit and following through with a plan! You can do this, and we will be with you every step of the way 😃

froguelady
Member

Welcome to EX site April. You have been given all the advice you need to prepare for a quit. Please do the reading as the more you know about the addiction the easier the quit.

Junior7
Member

Welcome!