Posted on 01/09/2006 5:26:22 AM PST by wolfcreek
After nearly 30 years of cigerette addiction, it's time to quit. Please, provide useful tips and testimonials. PS: Wife is a part-time smoker also!
I hate to be a wet blanket, but there is no way on God's earth you will be able to quit if she continues to smoke, and BTW, what the heck is a "part-time" smoker?..Either you smoke, or you don't..OTOH..if you BOTH quit.you have a built in mutual support system..
Thank you. I've never felt healthier. Just a few months ago, I huffed and puffed when I went up a flight of stairs. The first couple of weeks on the treadmill was torture. But now, my speed is up and I've got the incline jacked up to 6% and I feel great. I haven't been sick but one day in four months while I used to get sick all the time before that. My acid reflux has almost completely disappeared - I used to eat Tums like candy. My digestive problems have almost completely disappeared and I don't have to hit the Pepto or Gas-X like I used to before I started my new healthy diet and exercise regiment. I have a lot more energy.
It is truly amazing what eating right and getting just a little bit of exercise can do. Plus, the daily weigh-in that I do is rewarding as I usually see a loss of 1/2 to a whole pound. It is also rewarding to lose 4 inches off of my waist in that short of a time. The only minor weight gain I've had the entire time I've been dieting was momentary weight gain attributed to eating out with my wife on our Anniversary, Thanksgiving, a Christmas Party, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. I've weighed every day and those are the only days that I've actually gained even a smidge. Despite the tiny weight gain on Christmas and New Years, in the end I actually lost a total of 2 lbs over the holidays.
I can say the same about smoking. I used to get various cold-like illnesses, had sinus problems, and was always coming down with bronchitis. I didn't feel healthy and didn't feel good about myself. When I quit smoking I stopped getting all of that and stopped missing so much work. My productivity improved because I wasn't spending all my time outside, behind the building, smoking with all the other smokers. It is amazing what a time-stealer the whole smoking thing is. Not to mention how much it costs.
I can say the same thing about kicking caffeine entirely. Before I kicked caffeine I thought that I may have mild depression. My doctor thought so too given the symptoms. He prescribed an anti-depressant. That stuff was HORRIBLE. It took me years to recover from the effects of that garbage that is soooo overprescribed nowadays. I just tried to learn to live with the depression. I was amazed, when I kicked the caffeine entirely, that the symptoms of depression basically disappeared. I was not clinically depressed, I was instead feeling the effects of my caffeine addiction. I had felt that I couldn't possibly get through a day without caffeine and had to start every day off with a Mountain Dew or a Coke. Then I had to keep ingesting caffeine throughout the day just to "keep going" - or at least that's what I thought. In truth, I can get through the day without it and kicking it I have more energy ALL the time instead of just some of the time right after I've ingested the caffeine.
In all of these cases, the only way I was able to quit or to change my behavior, was just to DO IT. Cold turkey works best. Any other method shows a lack of commitment and control over one's own body and mind.
I don't want to sound like a health nut. I'm just relating the success I've had and what I found was the best way to accomplish it. Thanks for your supportive comments.
I agree with ken5050. If you don't BOTH commit to quit, then you won't be able to quit individually. If your wife wants you to quit smoking, then she must quit too. Otherwise, you will fail and she will bug you about it forever.
Knowledge is power and the best place to get that knowledge is www.whyquit.com World class smoking cessation expert's writings published there together with a message board. Helped me immensely almost 6 years ago. Good Luck
Smoked for 11 years, and quit cold turkey over a year and a half ago.
No tricks, no gimmicks, no gum, no patches - just prayer.
If your wife is a part-time smoker, she'll need to quit too. It only makes it more difficult if you're trying to quit and she's still smoking.
My mother in law just quit, after they removed one of her lungs.
but I don't recomend that method - I am a cold turkey sort - go for a boat trip to a desert isle with no smokes - take your gym shoes and every time you want to smoke go for a walk or a jog.
Really after a week it's pretty much over but never really over.
You're lucky. Mine wants me to quit breathing.
I don't smoke but have a wicked diet coke habit.
and smoking helps that??? Go hold the head of a dying friend and see what you think.
But you are right after all there are things much worse - such as living your life by the Law of Logical Argument: "Anything is possible if you don't know what
you are talking about".
cool - my post was not directed at you sorry -
I love diet coke - I left one on my boat and it was stored for about six months in the fridge unplugged - Opened it after the fridged kicked on and cooled when next using the boat - hard to discibe how bad it was - toxic is the best discription - last diet coke I tasted - I still love the stuff however.
I used to smoke 20 years ago - loved it - quit - still love to smoke just don't anymore (The truth be known there are times when second hand smoke is like a gift from heaven) I know it's sick - but honest.
eat a 1/2 cup of grapes or baby carrots to eat 1st thing
every morning.
keep a baggy of them with you at all times. eat when you have a craving. repeat as necessary.
if your wife really wants you to quit smoking, tell her to quit lighting you on fire.
Well I hope you don't have to go through it - they say that if you stop your lungs recover - I think that is true for the most part but smoking is playing with a loaded gun and nobody ever thinks it will go off, even though it goes off everyday.
Like you I smoked for a lot of years - I loved it - in fact I still love it - at times I want to follow people who are smoking (second had stuff) but I did quit, it was hard, but many have done it - I wish you the best of luck with it.
I agree with that we second handers have rights as well - that's funny - thanks
I have been a heavy, 2 1/2 packer for 35 years and smoked for 40. This last attempt was probably the 10th try, and so far the most successful one.
I have tried all the gums, patches and the like. This time I used the Commit lozenge, both the 4 mg and the 2 mg to take some of the edge off, but you must get off these crutches as fast as you can!
Do not use them for the recommended time, (usually 8 weeks or more), if you are a heavy smoker. What happens is that you become addicted to the smoking aids, and when you stop using them some eight weeks later, your momentum and mindset to quit are weaker and you go back to smoking as a result of the addiction to the patch, or gum, or whatever...
I weaned myself off the smoking aid in two weeks,keeping my momentum going. I used the 4 mg mint for the first week and 2 mg for the second, while cutting back on the frequency of use during the entire time. I literally counted the hours. It was nearly cold turkey.
If you can, do it cold turkey. It is the best way, but if you need help, use it for as short a time span as possible.
I also saw this post, which is probably the most accurate on this thread.
After 2 times trying to quit, I finally quit 8 years ago. This worked best for me:
1. cold turkey - "tapering off" doesn't work
2. never, ever allow yourself "just one", no matter the circumstances
3. be especially careful of being tempted in settings where people commonly smoke: bars, concerts, etc.
You have to give it up completely. This desire has to trump your desire to smoke.
For the sake of your marriage, do this because YOU want to, don't resent her when you're ampin' for a cigarette or you'll say things you'll regret!
Since he quit he has had half a lung removed. However, I am just as worried now about the damage all the consumption of sugar is doing to him. He is on the border line of diabetes. Just don't substitute food and candy for the cigarettes. They are just as dangerous in my opinion.
Less filling!
Your wife is trying to tell you that she loves you.
Please listen to her.
Keep us posted on your progress.
I quit 20 years ago after smoking for 15. There were no patches or drugs in those days. I picked a date about 6 months down the road and decided that would be the date. Everytime I lit up I thought about that date, which psyched me up. Quitting smoking is about not picking up another cigarette no matter how badly you want it.
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