I've finally done it...

g'em

... I had my last cigarette this morning.

As hugely embarassing as it is, me, a regular poster on the fitness forum, Mod of a Nutrition forum ffs and a competitive athlete, I'm admitting to being a smoker. Sorry, ex-smoker

There was never any logical, rational reason for me to smoke, it was damaging my health, inhibiting my training, making me stink, blunting my taste buds... and yet I still did it. For 13 years no less. Ugh.

Maybe I made excuses that smoking was my one 'weakness' or my vice, but that's still a pretty pathetic excuse and there's been plenty of occasions that I've felt more than a little hypocritical giving advice about fitness when I was a slave to nicotine myself. So criticise me if you need to, I could understand. But I'm making a mahooosive effort now, and darn it (with the help of the Allen Carr book - only a couple of chapters left!!) I will succeed at this.

Um... I will, won't I!??!

Terry

Ahh, don't worry about the hypocricy.
I've a 40 a day habit and have been smoking for 20 years.

I'm quitting tomorrow though. My lungs are about to give up on me.

Best of luck in your quest.

sideshowdave

course you will, finish the book, then dont light another cigarette and you will be an ex smoker, after nearly three weeks of no smoking i am begining to see this. once i dont light another one up i will stay an ex smoker.. althought i have had very strong temptations to give in but i havent.

Archeron

Get random people to try that Jedi mind trick and see what happens. They just wave their hand at you and say "you do not want to smoke". I'm sure eventually you'll find someone who can do it!

Best of luck anyways.

spurious

Well done.
You might find this useful.
Quit Time meter
I stopped on 8th December 1999 from 50-60 a day - cold turkey. Best thing I ever did.
7y 9m 3w 1d 12:45 smoke-free
142,686 cigs not smoked
€71,343.00 saved
1y 4m 1w 2d 10:30 life saved

g'em

Thanks guys, I'm hesistant to say it, but I've found today pretty easy going. The only trigger points have been when the ad breaks come on while I'm watching tv - there's a knee jerk reaction to run out the back garden and have a quick smoke!

Thanks for the quit meter spurious, a counter to tell me how much I'm saving will be a great incentive right now!!!

purple'n'gold

g'em wrote:

... I had my last cigarette this morning.

As hugely embarassing as it is, me, a regular poster on the fitness forum, Mod of a Nutrition forum ffs and a competitive athlete, I'm admitting to being a smoker. Sorry, ex-smoker

There was never any logical, rational reason for me to smoke, it was damaging my health, inhibiting my training, making me stink, blunting my taste buds... and yet I still did it. For 13 years no less. Ugh.

Maybe I made excuses that smoking was my one 'weakness' or my vice, but that's still a pretty pathetic excuse and there's been plenty of occasions that I've felt more than a little hypocritical giving advice about fitness when I was a slave to nicotine myself. So criticise me if you need to, I could understand. But I'm making a mahooosive effort now, and darn it (with the help of the Allen Carr book - only a couple of chapters left!!) I will succeed at this.

Um... I will, won't I!??!

Best of luck to you and yes you will stay off them (if you really want to)
But remember always, there is no such thing as just one cigarette. You have to make up you mind that you will never put one in your mouth again. I’m 3 years off them now.

leninbenjamin

good work g'em.

I've been off them two days now. had my last cigarette at midnight on Friday/Saturday. Set the time during the week and psyched myself up to it. Had a mini ceremony where i dumped the rest of my tobacco, filters and papers in the bin (i smoked rollies). I'd tried it before (lasted a week) and really do find it a bit easier this time, which i'm putting down the mental preparation i did. i have a craving right now, but at the same time i only want one, i don't have to have one if you know what i mean... still find it somewhat difficult to come to terms with the notion of not having another cigarette again (as an example of this when i wrote this post initially, in brackets i had i smoke rollies not i smoked) but i just put it out of my mind somehow... make myself a nice cup of coffee or tea and find something to do or read, like on boards or summat.

ali.c

congrats hun!!

Edit: How did you get on ocer the last two days Terry, kicking them as of tommorrow myself (though i have said that before)

Terry

Umm...
I just put one out.

S.I.R

im off them like 4 weeks now... lets just pray it lasts...

Odysseus

Congrats g'em. As a long distance runner as well as a psychotherapist specialising in addiction treatment I know the paradox you speak of. However, it greats to hear you done it, I,m just waiting for the Dublin Marathon to be over and I plan to stop then. Best of luck with it.

JohnnyStones

Terry wrote:

Ahh, don't worry about the hypocricy.
I've a 40 a day habit and have been smoking for 20 years.

I'm quitting tomorrow though. My lungs are about to give up on me.

Best of luck in your quest.

"I'm quitting tomorrow though" thats a classic smokers line, i've been saying that for years:D

but this monday i'm gonna give it a serious go!!
totaly sick of them:mad:

macfran

It is very easy to give them up, I have done it hundreds of times.

Seriously. I too eventually managed to stay off them and if I could do it so can you.

g'em

Odysseus wrote:

Congrats g'em. As a long distance runner as well as a psychotherapist specialising in addiction treatment I know the paradox you speak of. However, it greats to hear you done it, I,m just waiting for the Dublin Marathon to be over and I plan to stop then. Best of luck with it.

Thanks Odysseus. I think it was the hypocrisy of it all that finally got to me?!?! It's a ridiculously inane argument to try and have with a non-smoker ("But you're so into fitness... why would you smoke?!!?") and I got tired of having no reasonable excuses. Best of luck with the marathon, and even bigger best of luck giving up the fags

Off them a week now and feeling great, even went out last night with two smoking friends, sat in a beer garden all night with them puffing away and didn't have a single one. Kept repeating to myself: there's no such thing as just one cigarette, this cigarette would cost me €40,000!!!

Bless Allen Carr

Marksie

Good for you g'em.

I was on and off them and my excuse was pressure at work.

I got the gum but it wasn't helping as it was too easy to juts "forget" about it.

Got the patches two days ago and as they are 24 hour jobbies, i keep reminding myself that you can't smoke and wear a patch.

So far so good.

Fredrick

g'em wrote:

Bless Allen Carr

Read the book twice before i finally stopped after 17 years, 20 a day for the last few of them. Off them 2 and a half months now and feel so much better in every way!! Yep, Allen Carr your my hero man RIP

PS Best of luck G'em!!

bikergal

Well done to all giving up! I smoked for years and managed to almost give them up though sport and basically knackering myself out so that the last thing I wanted was a ciggie... I still sneak the occasional one with a bevvie.. some day I will kick that habit too..

AngryHippie

Off them 1 full week now, but i've been dodgin my habits instead of dealing with them, except for work. I've started drinkin red tea (rooibosa) whenever they get inside my head and its been working so far, I gave myself 5 lives, put them in a box in my bedroom, its stayed shut, the 5 are still alive, on New years, I'm gonna burn them and move on for good as a non smoker, until then I'm just off them. Who'd have thought a Stomach Ulcer would make me healthier !

Loopy

Well done, i have been off them 7 weeks and feel fantastic.

Find myself ogling people dragging on a fag and have been getting some weird looks but apart from that each day that goes by I am more and more proud of myself.