I've quit smoking

[Stephenite]

Thanks all for the positive messages

As for Stavros, well there's always one isnt there

@Jimbhoy Looking back i see you posted on your 12th day! Good to see you've held out. Well done.


I realise that i'm not through the woods yet, and there are pitfalls to come, but i'm motivated.


@Dayvo I promise not to keep you out in -8 drinking beer til all hours again. But you're old enough and big enough to make your own mind up . By the way Oslo Sykkelfest in Sept. Promises to be a bit better than that last effort.

 

[MrRidley]

I forgot to mention, i tried those nicotine inhalators, didn't like them one bit, just reminded me of my need for the real thing, i just used the patches and cycled a lot, and also ate quite a bit to, but i find it's really down to you to do it, you know you can

 

[chigman]

Keep at it fella, no matter how tough it becomes, because take it from me you will benefit in the end. I quit two and a half years ago and smoked 60-70 a day at one point for thirty years. I did put on three stone but it's a small price to pay and you can loose the weight again (which I have done) through a good diet and plenty of exercise. The cravings do become less and less with time, and there will come a point where you had wished you done it years ago and wonder what all the fuss was about. Don't get me wrong, even now I still get the odd craving, I don't think that will ever leave me but, they pass in a matter of seconds. Good luck with because it ain't easy, you just gotta be strong.

steve

 

[mooseracer]

Well done on giving up! I did the same after 25years in January this year - went to a hypnotist after a few failed attempts with nicotine replacement of various types. All I can say is how stunned I was at the power of the mind - I walked out of the centre after my session, chucked fags and lighter in a bin on the way back to the car and haven't looked back. No withdrawal symptoms, no real cravings just the odd 'thought' each time I did something for the first time as a non-smoker.

I feel much better after 7+months so keep it up, well done

 

[ColinJ]

Well done on giving up! I did the same after 25years in January this year - went to a hypnotist after a few failed attempts with nicotine replacement of various types. All I can say is how stunned I was at the power of the mind - I walked out of the centre after my session, chucked fags and lighter in a bin on the way back to the car and haven't looked back. No withdrawal symptoms, no real cravings just the odd 'thought' each time I did something for the first time as a non-smoker.

That was like my experience, but I just sort of 'hypnotised' myself. I had a moment of clarity where I thought "What the hell am I doing to myself - that's it I've had enough!" and I just stopped. No cravings, no problems.

Anybody trying to give up - stick at it and good luck. Define yourself as a non-smoker rather than an ex-smoker, or worse, a would-be ex-smoker!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Well done OP..it's not easy at all but it's bloody worth every single craving once you've got it licked.

Been stopped 31 months from being on about 30/day or 40/day if I was going to the pub and now unless I think about it I kind of forget that I ever used to smoke.

Took me a bit to get my backside into gear and take advantage of the extra lung capacity but I've gone from having difficulty walking anything over a mile because of a severe leg pain which I researched and evidence pointed to deposits in the bloodstream, to cycling, running and finding big hills to spend whole days walking.

OK, the effects of smoking were worse for me as I was extremely sedentary but it's scary now to think how much money I spent to feel so bad!

 

[adam23]

well done for giving up stick with it, i gave up in jan this year and never looked back.
was playing basketball for years and a good level but smoked and it effected my running everything then gave up and
the difference was amazing after a few months off them and now the money i saved i bought my wilier bike so all good news lol.

 

[carpiste]

Just ended my 1st 24hrs without the evil weed. tbh it`s not been too bad with the assistance of a patch and nicorette inhalor. I actually planned to give up tomorrow when the new bike was supposed to be arriving,but it came early !
I`ve just got to keep going now and at 50, with one or two health issues(high colesterol/blood pressure/dodgy knees) I`m sure it`s my last real chance. No going back

 

[webape]

I'm nearly an amazing four months in and can't believe I haven't had a cigarette in 16 weeks. I've been a good 20 a day smoker for 22 years.

To be honest I'm not sure what finally made me quit and stick with it - I'd promised myself, I'd promised my son and failed which hurt badly and I'd promised various parents, friends etc. I'd try.
One day I just decided to give it another go and it seems to have stuck.
I didn't use patches, gum or anything else - I'd tried them all and nothing seemed to do it. What did help was talking about it - I tweeted and facebooked my progress every day at the beginning and looking forward to telling people I had made it through another day really spurred me on.
I took it one day (sometimes one minute) at a time and was seriously close on two occasions to having another cigarette.
I also put six quid into a piggy bank everyday without fail.

4 months later and I'm a regular mountain biker in the local woods, ride my road bike a couple of days a week and I'm getting up hills I once thought impossible with ease. I've bought a new mountain bike and nearly have enough for a new road bike, have lost three stone and am as fit as I have ever been.

Stick at it if your struggling, if I can do it anybody can.