given up smoking
john74
Posts: 254
first day of no smoking, god its hell. has anyone any tips or advice , PLEEEAAAASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2010 Forme Reve
2010 Giant Talon 1
2010 Giant Talon 1
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Comments
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first few days hardest....
Trick your mind. Don't go past the shop you buy them at, don't drink with your smoking mates for a couple of weeks and try to avoid anything you linked to smoking. For me it was going to the pub, and playing my guitar. So I stopped both for a while & ate polos like they were going out of fashion.
You could try putting £5 a day in a jar and at the end of the month spending it on some toys for your bike!
good luck, It's worth it.
Jasit looks a bit steep to me.....0 -
http://www.silkquit.org/sqmmiv/meter.aspx
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, see the donation link? Dont bother (unless you want to of course!) click the free download below it.
Enter your details- gives you a counter for helping you give up. It helped me (been off 4 months now)
something else to consider, get a power ball or a stress ball- it gives your hands something to do when you get a bit fidgety.
Click my sig, and you can see what the counter looks like....0 -
Just keep with it - it's worth it in the end.
14 years here (so tbh I've forgotten how bad stopping can be). Biggest problem for me was socializing with smokers (pub after work, afternoon ciggie break etc) was difficult to get away from.
If I were stopping now, I'd be inclined to put away half of what I would have spent on cigs to save up for my dream bike...There is no secret ingredient...0 -
I give up tomorrow, gave up in 2003 for eighteen months and then started again and to this day I think WTF....
Jay0 -
Speak to your local GP about what help they can give, my local NHS would give 4 weeks worth of patches £60 pounds worth on 1 Prescription (£7) this help me quit nearly a year ago. I found it quite easy to quit by using a positive mental attitude and knowing if I gave up I could by a new car
"Don't ride faster than you guardian angel can fly"
MTB - Cube AMS CC (special edition)
Road - Surosa0 -
get on the patches (don't sleep while wearing them, weirdness) or what worked for me, gum. then you can go on with normal gum while still keeping the mental crutch. save the money you'd normally spend on the cigs and buy yourself a reward once a month.0
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I gave up around 4 years ago. I had patches for the first 2 or 3 days then forgot to put 1 on the next day and didn't realise until the end of the day so never used them again. I always had a pack of polos on hand for moments when i thought i could do with a smoke.
I also put the £5 a day i would spend on them in a pot and blew it on myself at the end of the month. Then after the first month i was pretty sure i was over them so i went out and traded my car in for a new one and spent what i would have spent on smokes on a new car instead.
Haven't looked back since and feel much better for it.
Bluenose0 -
I gave up cigs as a new years resolution on 31/12/1999 and I never thought I would manage this long considering I and been smoking since 1985.I will never touch another cigarette.0
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just a quick update. the first 3 days were hell but now its getting easier the only problem ive found is im eating more junk and have lost motivation for the bike. i think i will just have to say f**k it and go out on it tomorrow.2010 Forme Reve
2010 Giant Talon 10 -
i am looking forward to august 31st as that will be 2 years off the fags for me, and 18months off for my mum- who was encouraged to start smoking again by my itu nurse in 1978 when i was ill with meningitus!
Best thing I have done for a while (see other smoking topic)!0 -
As I said on the other post, try the Allan Carr books, they help you think about smoking in a different way.
It gives you the answers you want. Good stuff and keep it up.0 -
john74 wrote:just a quick update. the first 3 days were hell but now its getting easier the only problem ive found is im eating more junk and have lost motivation for the bike. i think i will just have to say f**k it and go out on it tomorrow.
Excellent!
Keep it up, the next few days are pretty critical, you think you're cracking-it and you drop your guard!
Don't get too hung-up on the junk food thing at the mo, think of it as a long-term deal, priority #1 is to QUIT CIGGIES FOREVER. Once achieved, then priority #2 is to get rid of any accumulated weight and get full fitness back. It's not easy, it took a minor heart-attack to get me to quit (aged 42).
2 years later I have that last bit of a belly left, which with a tad more effort will be gone, otherwise, all the other bits are pretty toned, biking better than ever, feeling good!0 -
Positive Mental Attitude - You are not giving up, you have stopped. You are a non-smoker. You don't smoke.
Don't buy any cigarettes or tobaco. Ban yourself from buying them. Only take enough money for the paper/whatever in to the shop. Even if you slip up and scrounge fags off mates, don't buy any to pay them back (then they'll stop giving you them).
More PMA.
Patches can be good and worked for me (on prescription too)
More PMA
Gave up 4 years ago and my lung function is still increasing year on year0 -
I reckon a strong willing to quit is the difference.
I've stopped for over 2 months now, and it's been easy after the first week or so.
What hardened my determination was seeing how much easier it was to ride without smoking. There's no way I'm ever going back.
Anyway, another thing I found that actually helped, is to not bother with the nicotine gum, or patches r anything like that. I was struggling for a while, getting quite angry and stuff.
I stopped any nicotine replacement stuff, and yeah, it got worse for a few days, but then it started to settle down - as if my body didn't need the nicotine anymore.
Once you don't want the nicotine anymore, the rest seems easy.0 -
Day 200 for me tomorrow , not that I am counting or anythinghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/xtcrider/sets/72057594126938720/
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike, I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like0 -
I stopped nearly 3 years ago after reading the Allen Carr book, I'd tried numerous times before to stop without any success. Read the book the day I stopped and never wanted another fag since. My one regret was waiting 17 years before reading the book and stopping.
I believe you need to be in the right frame of mind and really want to stop, you also need to find the way that works for you, as each person is different.
Good Luck and hang in there, six months down the line you wonder what all the fuss was about.0 -
I'm two months in and doing great. I read The Nicotine Trick by Neil Casey, and that was that.
I couldnt recommend it highly enough. Ignore nicotine replacement therapy, ignore the absolutely dishonest hype around the apparent 'agony' of giving up smoking and see it for what it is.
MTB'ing has helped me no end during this period. Wouldnt be able to do some of the sessions i'm doing now if i still smoked i'm sure of it.Do it.0 -
I have to agree with the hype about it being hard to give up. But they are companies trying to make a profit..... But I do think there should be some regulation on their advertising as well. I too packed in (23rd March, my b'day) and have not had one since.
I previously mentioned the counter as an incentive or help while giving up, well here are my stats as of now:
Not smoked for 5 months, 3 weeks, 1 day and 13hrs (49mins and 12 sec)
Amount saved £1070.76 :shock:
Ciggarettes not smoked 4389! :shock:
And apparently I've gained an extra 2 days of life as well!
Them money saved has gone towards a change of car, and I'm riding faster and for longer now my lungs are free of shite.0 -
Yes, I agree there should definately be regulations on their advertising. It seems they begrudgingly add the 'requires willpower' legend on television adverts etc.
I did DL the silkquit counter after seeing it on here! It is quite good.
My current situation is One month, three weeks, one day, 20 hours, 58 minutes and 29 seconds. 808 cigarettes not smoked, saving £193.94. Life saved: 2 days, 19 hours, 20 minutes.
Thought i was two months in already. As near as damnit.Do it.0 -
Sorry, a typo on mine- I've actually gained 2 weeks of extra living!
I just find it a nice little boost(the counter) when you feel a bit of an urge.
And when you get a bit later into it, its amazing how much you save. And the best bit is the fact I can ride longer harder and faster. Still not too fast see my posts in the "very overweight" thread! 0 -
Smoke free for over 3 years now and as said previously i can feel the benifits big time.0
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Ah, but Ratty, you would of course find it easy to smoke, if you're constantly wearing that gas/gimp-mask.
You just couldn't get the fags into your mouth!0 -
Dont quite. Just 'dont smoke'.
Believe me.0 -
well im only 16 and ive been smoking properly for about 2 years now,i have given up for the grand total of 7 times and the longest has been for 5 months but i have decided thty last pack on friday would be my last ones.!!! wish me luck,the bike certainly has been whats motivating me to stop.although at my tender age i am afraid that i will be having the odd few at partys etc but that cant be that bad....can it...?0
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ginger spazz wrote:well im only 16 and ive been smoking properly for about 2 years now,i have given up for the grand total of 7 times and the longest has been for 5 months but i have decided thty last pack on friday would be my last ones.!!! wish me luck,the bike certainly has been whats motivating me to stop.although at my tender age i am afraid that i will be having the odd few at partys etc but that cant be that bad....can it...?
Yes unfortunately it is, I have been through this as well "I'll only smoke when I have a drink", "II'll only smoke other peoples fags", in the end you will go back smoking. My major regret is that I didn't stop smoking till I was 35, if only I knew at 18 what I know now I would never have started. At 16 the thought of dieing from smoking will be far from your mind, but you are damaging your body. I worry that having smoked for so long I have already done the damage.
But you also need to understand why you smoke and what the cigerette does, and how. I truely believe that I never enjoyed smoking, peer pressure made me start, and after that I was hooked on Nicotene, but I never enjoyed smoking. Once I understood that, and that stopping was about breaking the nicotene additcion, it was easy to stop, and I have never craved, or wanted another cigerette since.
I did not resist smoking until that majical day when I wouldn't want one again, I just didn't want one, because I understood what smoking did to my body, and why I believed I needed them, and believe me I was hooked. Once I understood this, I just didn't want one anymore, and I owe that to Allen Carr.
Benefits....well I went from high blood pressure and out of breath, to "the resting heart rate and blood pressure of a proffessional athlete" according to two seperate paramedics. Obviously this is also due to a lot of training, but I would never have been able to do it smoking.
You can do it, just understand fags are simply nicotene injections with some real nasty chemicals added in, you don't need them and in truth don't enjoy them, you just think you do. You trained your body to accept them (they made you feel sick and dizzy when you first smoked), and just as easy your body will come to not want of need the nicottene. Don't use patches or gum, nicottene is the quickest drug to become addicted to, but has the least cold turkey effect, and within a couple of days your body will not crave it anymore.0 -
The only other thing I would add is never stop trying to quit. (Don't quit at quitting?) I've only met one person that claims to have successfully quit on the first go, and I don't believe her.
I'm completely smoke free for the past two years or so, but I can't tell you how many times I tried to quit before that. I tried everything; patches, gum, hypno, acup******e, you name it. In the end it simply came down to me truly deciding to quit, no rationalisations for a cheeky one at the pub, after a good meal with friends, or after engaging in my favourite horizontal activity
Now, I'm trying to get my fitness back and I curse every drag I took as a wheeze up hills in the granny gear :oops:
I would think that if you go into it with the attitude that
you really haven't decided to quit, and you'll find yourself a full-time smoker pretty quickly without really realising it. Don't let that stop you from trying though. Every time you try to stop, even if only for a day, you are doing your body a favour.having the odd few at partys etc but that cant be that bad...0 -
I'm one of the many who've tried and tried and keep going back :evil:
Last attempt was on Jan 1st this year,and I went 4 months without a problem,and then I went fishing for a few days with a mate..
I hadn't had a bike for 2 years at the time and was gradually losing fitness and filling my body with shyte. Then,when i finally managed to get a new steed in June,I came to realise the true folly of smoking and what I'd done to myself.
I need to quit,and want to,but at the moment it's the typical smokers excuse that's holding me back.. "I'll just get Christmas out of the way"
All my friends are smokers,and the pressure is immense - and there's no way I'm not seeing them over christmas.
I have Alan Carrs 'The only way to stop smoking permanently' and Gillian Rileys 'how to stop smoking and stay stopped for good' sat right here in front of me,so I'm going to have to knuckle down and read them and see if they do any good.
What I would say to anyone young (I'm now 29 and have smoked for 15 years) is ditch the fags!
They're not cool,they're not hard,and they mess you up badly in a very short space of time!
You might not feel the effects now,but I guarantee you will when you hit my age,and you'll look older,and there's any number of smoking related ailments to suffer from.
A good friend of mine is 25 and has been ordered by his doctor to quit because his blood pressure is through the roof and he's in serious danger - at 25! Thanks to the fags.
Personally,I'm too scared to see a doctor because I dread what they'll say about me
I was a real racing snake on the bike a few years back,but now I'm more like sad sack from the raggy Dolls...bloody fags are evil :evil:
Apologies for my seemingly random wittering,just finished a 12 hour night shift and could sleep for a week =========================================
Dot 4 in the eye hurts. Trust me0 -
I need to quit,and want to,but at the moment it's the typical smokers excuse that's holding me back.. "I'll just get Christmas out of the way" Laughing Laughing
All my friends are smokers,and the pressure is immense - and there's no way I'm not seeing them over christmas.
I'd try to quit now. Even if you 'slip' over the holidays, it will still be easier to make another attempt. I found the key to quitting is to take it in small chunks of time. Quit for 5 minutes. then 10... then an hour, a day, a week, and so on. Don't worry about the holidays until they are here.
Smoking friends can be a major problem, my inability to cope with that pressure as contributed to many a relapse on my part. (In the past. No problem at all anymore )
Good luck, and keep at it.0
