So I’ve decided to quit smoking. I have a plan and a quit date. What I’ve done is this:
I kept track of all the smoking I did yesterday. I smoked liked a chimney so I could get my number high, which is cheating a bit I suppose. I smoked 15 cigarettes. Every three days I’m going to subtract one from that number so that today I can still have 15, and in two more days I can only have 14, three days after that, 13 and so on.
According to my plan, I will have my last smoke on February 14, hey Valentines Day I didn’t even plan that.
So anybody with me? If so, post your plan and update when you wish. Add any tips or struggles you are having and lend support to those who are.
I hope there are some replies because I know this is not going to be easy, but I am determined!
I can’t quit with you, as I recently quit, but I’d like to wish you all the luck in the world.
I also quit by choosing a quit date - my 35th birthday, and stuck to it. I didn’t really taper off, though. I just told myself for the millionth time that smoking is really disgusting and I didn’t need to do it anymore. Somehow, it’s worked like a charm this time. I’m smoke-free since October 18th last year, and am at the point that I rarely think about it anymore. You’re right - it’s not easy, but it does get easier every day, and you’ll be so proud of yourself! You can do it!!
I also recently quit smoking, on December 11th. It turns out that it wasn’t a significant date or anything, rather it was a week after I started taking Chantix. I was never more than a half-a-pack a day smoker (working at Waffle House didn’t help!) My brainless doctor told me it was bad for my stomach (duh, and every other organ I have!), and prescribed me Chantix, and it turned out my insurance covered it! 23 and some change for a copay.
But I’ll continue to not smoke with you, if you’d like!
On a side note, today is my one-year of vegetarianism anniversary.
Hey, I’m in the process of quitting right now! New year and all that… My plan, basically, is this: I smoked the last cig in my pack at 11:45 new year’s eve. I knew I had a few left in a pack in the car, so those became my emergency supply. I purposely didn’t empty any of my ashtrays, so I’d have a back-up, EMERGENCY emergency supply. When there’s nothing salvageable left, then it’s just too bad. I am NOT buying more cigarettes. I figured it’s better to “cheat” by having to hunt through nasty cigarette butts and managing a drag or two, then to have cravings get ahold of me and end up buying a whole pack. And by “better” I mean physically(waaay less nicotine) and emotionally(every time I start sifting through the cigarette butts I disgust myself).
I’m going to try again this year, too. I quit for three years, so it can be done. I started again, so I know that I can’t have “just one”. I’m also going to track and cut back drastically, then go on the patch. I tried to start yesterday in conjunction with a diet and exercise plan, and well, three big changes proved to be too much. Alas.
I want to quit smoking with you, though. It’s the one time quitters are winners.
I thought about diet and exercise as well, but then I realized that, realistically, there is no way I can do all those things at once. So for now I’m just sticking to the quitting smoking.
I’m also thinking of doing something special for myself when I’ve fully quit. Like get a small Kermit the Frog tattoo or get my belly button pierced or something. I may not do either of those, but quitting smoking is a big deal and I think I should do something to acknowledge that accomplishment.
Sooo, how’s it going? I have smoked zero cigarettes today or yesterday, and had just the teensiest puff the day before(really. wouldn’t even consider it a drag.)
I even managed, yesterday, to be outside with some smokers, and when one of them handed me a cigarette, I looked at it for a couple seconds and handed it back.
January 2nd marked my one year anniversary of being smoke-free. I tried literally everything to stop smoking before. Patches, gum, inhaler, cutting down, etc. and nothing worked except the time that I quit for good (so far, fingers crossed) was doing it cold turkey. I even tried your plan, and I don’t recommend it for the following reasons:
So you puffed away to bump your number up to 15. This means that you probably normally smoke 12, so not only are you doing nothing at all for nine days (15-12=3 times 3 days reduce by one) you are actually increasing your smoking initially while convincing yourself that you are cutting down.
Since you are spacing out your quitting over a month and a half, that is plenty of time to lose your initial zeal. Especially since in your weak moments, there will be a pack of smokes in the house to start puffing away on in excess of your allotment.
When you finally get down to a number that represents a significant step (say when you are supposed to have 6 smokes a day) you will smoke all six in the morning and force yourself to quit the rest of the day. Again, with the initial zeal gone, and the fact that you are still smoking, you will end up saying to hell with it.
Here is why I think my cold turkey worked for me. First, I had finally decided strongly that smoking wasn’t for me anymore and I was convinced of it.
Next, when I did it cold turkey, I knew that whatever pain I went through was the very last step. I didn’t need to worry about then quitting gum, then quitting the patch, etc. I knew that it would get better, and once it did, I was home free.
YMMV, but from my experience everyone I know who has truly quit did so cold turkey…
ETA: Oh, and no booze or coffee for a while. Those are killers…
jtgain, what you say, is exactly what I’m worried about. Of course it’s easy right now, I’ve not finished my quota once.
My thinking was that it would be easier to wean myself off the nicotine by cutting back gradually. If I fail, I’m going to feel like such a loser. I’ve told everybody that I’m quitting.
I seriously hope that I’ll prove you wrong, but, honestly, I’m not sure if I will.
Heh. I went with the diet/exercise first, after coming to the same conclusion: too many challenges at the same time are a recipe for failure. I will be trying in six months, though. Someone advised that exercising will give me incentive to quit, as I will be tired of being out of breath.
If you get one of those quit metre thingees for your computer, it will tell you how much money you’re not spending on cigarettes, so you know how much to spend on a nice reward for yourself after quitting.
Yes, indeed. This was motivation for me. I kept a jar in my house and I “bought” a pack of smokes every day by putting the money in the jar, and the wife agreed that the money was mine to do with as I wanted, totally off the family budget.
This was great in that I could physically see the results of not smoking, and enjoy a nice lunch or dinner every couple of weeks for “free”. Or I could buy a new CD for “free” etc.
Use that fear of failure as a motivation, and do it all at once! If you can keep your will up, you will be over the initial physical nicotine withdrawl symptoms in five days; then it is all in your head (which is still powerful). In five days there are fewer chances to give in that in a month and a half.
During those five days drink LOTS of water. It helps to flush the nicotine out of your system, and the more you drink, the quicker the symptoms go away.
Go to www.quitnet.com and set up an account (the free one; I’m not pimping for their “premier” service) and put in your quit date. It will track how long you’ve quit, the money you’ve saved, etc. You can also chat with people who are quitting with you. It helped me tremendously.
I wish you the best of luck, but I don’t feel that the cutting down method will work, but YKMV (kilometrage, being from Canada )
I know you’ve worked out a plan and everything, but you say you’ll smoke about 12 cigs today, and your max is 14… so why not make your new goal for tomorrow and the next 2 days 12, and then work down from there? You’ll get to skip 13 altogether!
My willpower is pretty good as a general rule(there are good sides to being stubborn and pigheaded, so there!), but I miss my cigarette breaks at work, especially this morning, when I had a customer being so rotten to me that she made me cry and I wanted nothing more than to [del]dismember her and post her head on a stick[/del] go smoke a cigarette and calm down, and I couldn’t do that, so I think I stayed upset and emotional far longer than I normally would have.
I decided on my way home from work on New Year’s day that I was not going to buy anymore cigarettes. I’ve been needing to quit for a long time, and right now I have the financial motivation to do it. This month I have zero leeway for anything extra. If I cut out the cigarettes I can have enough to have my roast beef sandwich at the 3 hockey games I have tickets for this month (plus maybe a little more left over.)
Since Tuesday, I’ve had a couple of moments that were tough, but I got through them. The remarkable thing is I’ve been LESS bitchy than normal.
I smoked roll-your-owns and bought a pack of nicotine free tobacco substitute. At the end of each day I topped up my tobacco pouch with the substitute. After a couple of weeks there was no tobacco left (I’d been treasure hunting through the pack for those golden threads.)
I tossed all the smoking paraphernalia and hid out at home until the crying jags stopped.
It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that hard either - it was just deciding *not *to have a smoke, every time.
Whatever works for you. I’d tried a shopping list of strategies before that one worked.
Coming up for five years now.
Friday is going to be my last day.
Well, Thursday night, as it will be my last. I tried three months ago, we bid on a house and lost out on it.
I lit up.
We’re getting ready to bid on another house.
And I’m trying to quit again.
I have a dozen reasons to quit. I’m going to need a lot of support I fear. I’m going right now to sign up on that site, and gearing up for lots of water intake. My mantra is going to be whatever it takes.
I didn’t even plan that.
)