We Quit Cigarettes

[geno 9129]

. UPDATED...Today is day 22! March 10th.
I can do it.



Me:


I decided last month that I was going to try to do something I've never done before, quit smoking.

I knew I couldn't do it on my own so I got some medicine called Chantix. I tried Chantix about 10 years ago but I did not take it for the correct amount of time...I quit smoking but started back up after 3 months. I also do not remember it being this hard to quit back then.

I've been so worried about the side effects (I had one bad side effects last time) that I was not thinking about how hard today was going to be.

I have been on the medicine for a week with no bothersome side effects...that I was a nervous wreck about.



I have not smoked today and I really don't want to but geez I want to.

 

[CSAchook]

I have a dog to walk now. He's still really little to put in any real miles with, though. I can put him in the stroller with my toddlers maybe?

But really. The snacking has been 90% curbed... I was prone to snacking before I stopped smoking too, honestly. I cut out the beer calories, but then started having an extra cup of coffee in mornings. Starvation efforts not working. Walks and yoga not cutting it. Pretty disgusted with myself.

 

[ShannonR]

You're doing great, Shannon. You've been under a lot of stress, too. That can increase food cravings along with losing the appetite suppressant effect of smoking. Anything that you don't absolutely need to do right now, you should consider putting off for another time. Your health and your little ones' health is that important.

Keep foods like carrots and celery and other ready-to-eat raw veggies in the fridge. Do not keep high calorie/low nutrient foods around at all. Junk food is also addicting. If you're willing, get the My Fitness Pal app and log everything you eat. Otherwise you really have NO idea. Walk or bicycle whenever it's remotely possible, rather than driving. Or park half a mile away and walk the rest of the way.

You can do this. It's not easy, but you CAN do it. We're all pulling for you.

I do keep some snacks around, toddlers don't tend to be too fond of raw veggies. But I do really well about not eating their snacks! I can eat a lot cheaper than snack foods. I have a small veggie garden, but the kale bolted and lettuce isnt far behind. Lots of peas and chives and spinach still.
I LOVE puttering around in the garden. Itching to get some summer type crops in but it is still pretty early for that. Maybe start some seeds in a window sill?

School has been highly stressful this semester. Not wanting to whine like a little bitch but trying to juggle kids and school and making ends meet is taking its toll. I realized this months ago, the stress levels are enormous lately.

 

[webbysmeme]

@webbysmeme what are your top 10 (ish) favorite movies?

Warning: I live under a rock and might not have seen any of them

1. Pretty Woman, 2. Erin Brockovich, 3. Top Gun, 4. Sling Blade, 5. How the West was Won, 6. Rooster Cogburn, 7. Rich Man Poor Man, 8. Roots, 9. Born on the 4th of July, 10. Lonesome Dove

 

[webbysmeme]

@webbysmeme what are your top 10 (ish) favorite movies?

Warning: I live under a rock and might not have seen any of them

1. Pretty Woman, 2. Erin Brockovich, 3. Top Gun, 4. Sling Blade, 5. How the West was Won, 6. Rooster Cogburn, 7. Rich Man Poor Man, 8. Roots, 9. Born on the 4th of July, 10. Lonesome Dove

 

[geno 9129]

I quit three years ago ,when I decided to quit I did ,I threw all ash trays away cleaned all my cars windows and detailed them,its called mind over matter,i did chew lots of gum ,then in july 2018 was rushed to the hospital in Spokane Washington called sacred hearts,i couldn't breath my wind pipe had ablockage from my vocal cords ,I had to have two operation ,now I can't talk ,and there is ahole in my throat./all due to smoking for over 60 years,but thankGOD im cancer free ,and I also quit drinking all on my own so you can to ,if I had to live them 60 years over ,I would nevers started smokin so GOD BLESS YOU KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK QUIT SMOKING GENO

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

I do keep some snacks around, toddlers don't tend to be too fond of raw veggies. But I do really well about not eating their snacks! I can eat a lot cheaper than snack foods. I have a small veggie garden, but the kale bolted and lettuce isnt far behind. Lots of peas and chives and spinach still.
I LOVE puttering around in the garden. Itching to get some summer type crops in but it is still pretty early for that. Maybe start some seeds in a window sill?

School has been highly stressful this semester. Not wanting to whine like a little bitch but trying to juggle kids and school and making ends meet is taking its toll. I realized this months ago, the stress levels are enormous lately.

It's okay; it sounds like you lead a very busy, stressful life, and I'd say that you're entitled to some whining. Just hang in there and do your best -- you can come here anytime to talk about things and offload some of that stress.
I'll be keeping you in my prayers (you never left them, actually), and I hope that you'll be able to rest and recuperate soon.
Also, seriously, don't try starving yourself -- just little changes will help. A smaller plate at dinner, maybe; stuff like that. I'd just focus on quitting and your schoolwork and family right now, though.
On another note, I'd pick that lettuce right now and toss it in the fridge. I think that lettuce also tastes best when it's little, so maybe pick it before it's large enough to bolt? You could also grow some indoors on the windowsill....
Anyway, hang in there, and congratulations on finishing your midterms!

 

[webbysmeme]

Sorry, didn't mean to take so long to reply, webbysmeme! My bad -- I tend to write long posts and can take a while trying to find the right thing to say.
We're good.

Thank you! Much relief! You are a sweetheart. I will not take advantage of you being our ... Sponge?

 

[CindyinSD]

I have a dog to walk now. He's still really little to put in any real miles with, though. I can put him in the stroller with my toddlers maybe?

But really. The snacking has been 90% curbed... I was prone to snacking before I stopped smoking too, honestly. I cut out the beer calories, but then started having an extra cup of coffee in mornings. Starvation efforts not working. Walks and yoga not cutting it. Pretty disgusted with myself.

Don't try to starve yourself, and DON'T condemn yourself. You're dealing with two powerful addictions at once... carbs (it's almost always carbs) and nicotine--and just plain old force of habit (comforting oneself by consuming food and smoke orally) It's really hard. Depending on your height and body type and activity level, you probably need around 1200 -1600 calories a day. If you keep to those parameters, you'll maintain your weight. More and you gain; less and you lose. But it's not quite that simple.

If you eat carbs you will crave carbs. There is an addictive process at work here--not as powerful or long-term as nicotine, etc., but tough to deal with all the same. Carbs drive up your blood sugar and that spikes your insulin levels because a high blood glucose is toxic to neural tissues. Your body is desperate to get that sugar down and insulin is the tool of choice. This causes an over-steering situation in which most of the sugar in your blood is stored, leaving you with insufficient blood glucose levels. The quickest (though also worst) way to fix this is to eat simple (sweet) or complex (starchy) carbs... and the cycle starts over. Sugar (and starch) act as a drug. You do become addicted to them.

It's fairly weak as far as addictions go--a week or two at the most will break the physical part, but the psychological addiction is powerful. over-doing carbs can be as or more destructive than nicotine. You can't quit food as you quit cigarettes, so you have to manage it carefully. Generally speaking, if it comes with a nutrition label, you're probably better off neither buying nor eating it.

It's a lot to deal with, but I'm sure every smoker will encounter increased cravings as the body returns to a healthier state and appetite reawakens. You can do this. You really can. Push through--you will make it.

 

[webbysmeme]

I quit three years ago ,when I decided to quit I did ,I threw all ash trays away cleaned all my cars windows and detailed them,its called mind over matter,i did chew lots of gum ,then in july 2018 was rushed to the hospital in Spokane Washington called sacred hearts,i couldn't breath my wind pipe had ablockage from my vocal cords ,I had to have two operation ,now I can't talk ,and there is ahole in my throat./all due to smoking for over 60 years,but thankGOD im cancer free ,and I also quit drinking all on my own so you can to ,if I had to live them 60 years over ,I would nevers started smokin so GOD BLESS YOU KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK QUIT SMOKING GENO

Thanks Geno! Welcome to our thread! ....I'm sorry for all that you have been through. I bet you could be a real HERO here. Just telling these young folks that have their whole life ahead of them what could happen if they don't stop.