I Am Going to Quit Smoking and You Guys Are Going to Be My Support Group
May 18th, 2008 by Evil BeetI have to quit smoking. It’s seriously way past okay for me to be smoking. I started when I was sixteen, and I promised myself I would quit by 21. I was not going to smoke for more than five years. And now we’re going on year ten, and I wake up in the morning hacking my lungs out, and I get winded when I walk up a flight of stairs, and it’s really just unacceptable. Plus, the secondhand smoke is not good for Leo to be around. And I bet Greg Plitt wouldn’t date a girl who smokes. So I have to quit smoking.
I’ve tried everything, you guys. I’ve tried patches and gums and Chantix and meditation and prayer. I even once went to a Nicotine Anonymous meeting, but that was just a little too much for me. I was like, “Um, okay, the first step is to admit I’m powerless over nicotine and my life has become unmanageable. So, I get the powerless part, but I don’t really think it’s making my life unmanageable. I just want to quit.” And the other people in the group, who were old, tried to be very helpful. They were like “Don’t you hate it when you have to end a phone conversation quickly so you can get outside to have a cigarette?” And I was like, “Um, I haven’t talked on a phone with a cord since I was 8, and I smoke in my house.” And so they were like “Don’t you hate having to be late for meetings at work because you were taking a smoke break?” and I was like “Uh, I work from my living room. Where I smoke.” And then they were like “Well don’t you feel bad when your husband complains about your smoking?” And I was like “Uh …” Long story short: I left the meeting and lit up a cigarette.
So now I’m 24 hours into my not-smoking (although I’m using the patches), and I figure I’m just going to be accountable to you guys here. You’re going to be my support group. I’m going to be responsible for telling you at the end of each day that I didn’t have a cigarette that day, and you guys are going to be like “Congrats!” or “We don’t care!” or “MILEY CYRUS is hottttttt i want to put my penis in her boooooobs!!!1″ or whatever it is you guys say in the comments. But there are a lot of you, and I’m going to make myself accountable to you.
And if you feel like quitting smoking along with me, feel free to leave your own updates in the comments. Your ass can be accountable to me. :)
It’s been 24 hours so far. I haven’t had a cigarette today. Hopefully I can say the same thing tomorrow night!
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Be strong Beet.
You’ll Just have to find another way to look super cool..
Like drinking chemicals.
The cool kids do that!
i quit 3 months ago. i made a bet with some one and now i am motivated to not lose $500. haha… good luck though!!! i feel alot better now that i am smoke free!!
Ive quit many times and this time is the last. ive been cigarette free since decemeber. I think you have to realize that you are living a completely different lifestyle without cigarettes and you just have to accept it. You have to erase all of your habits from your mind of having a cigarette after you eat, or when youre drinking, or when youre bored. I strongly believe that once youve accepted this new lifestyle, it will become much easier. Plus cravings only last like 3-5 minutes, and once they pass, you can continue on your merry way of not smoking… then you get used to being a non smoker. Do it, you have to!
YAY Beet!!!! Just think of all the money you will be saving! Yay cute shoes!! :) Sooooo proud and good for you!!!
Hi, Beet –
1. You’ll quit when you are ready.
2. You’ll quit When you are so disgusted over your weakness over a habit as simple as putting poison in your mouth over and over, you’ll say “goddamit, I’m not a puny weak-minded dodo! That’s it!”
3. I quit 30 times, at least, before I quit. Now 12 years nicotine free. Interesting: I feel better physically than I ever have.
4. No more persistent coughing and blowing of nose. Kleenex stock dipped when I quit.
You go, grrrrl.
Yesterday, I decided again, that I would quit. But this time is different because I have been in college for ten years and finally passed a test that means I can become a member of the profession I have been pursuing for so long.
Anyway, I saw your post this morning and thought it was a sign that neither of us will smoke again. I believe in you and I believe in me. Ahhh, good times.
yay! you can so do this!
I quit on Jan.20 after 30 years of smoking.
3 things:
1-Cold turkey is the way to go.
2-Remind yourself that the satisfaction from smoking is nothing compared to the satisfaction of knowing you have the power to resist it
3-When you get those overpowering cravings (and of course you will) hold your breath as long as you can – this really helped me.
GOOD LUCK!
Have you ever lied to yourself? I mean been convinced that some fundamental fact about your existence was the absolute truth, when in fact, the exact opposite was true. Thought so…
Use that ability. Spend the next few days convincing the committe in your head that you’ve NEVER SMOKED and the heebee jeebees you’re feeling from nicotine withdrawal are kinda ‘ like orgasms and you can hardly wait for the next one.
Worked for me; a serious smoker for 25 years, who gave it up 12 or thirteen years ago ( I don’t know exactly how long because I didn’t count days, AS I HAD NEVER SMOKED).
I gave cigarettes up cold turkey on December 28th, 2007. It is now going on 5 months and I have only had 1 cigarette since then, and that was due to my boyfriend and I breaking up. I had smoked since 1997. I was a casual smoker at first, then it gradually became more of a social thing. I wasn’t a 1 or two pack a day smoker until about a year and a half ago. I knew I had to quit, so lucky for me I got a terrible flu at the end of December which almost led to my early death, and I am not joking. I was so sick that even the thought of a cigarette made me want to die. After I got better, I really wanted to smoke, but I thought if I could go two weeks, I could go three, four, forever. Trust me, it has been hard, especially going through a rough, rough patch in my personal life, but I have found that after 5 months (almost) that I really don’t like smoking at all. When I bummed a smoke off of my friend the other day, I thought that it would be the end of my “quit smoking ” campaign, but after two or three drags I threw it out and found that I got no pleasure out of it any longer. Economically it has been great, because now that gas is so high, I found that when I bought cigarettes and filled up my Jeep I was basically broke, now I can fill my Jeep and I have money to do other things. I have gained some weight, but not like I thought that I would, and I think the weight was more due to a bad relationship than it was giving up cigarettes. If you keep yourself busy and tell yourself that every day is a mile stone it gets easier. I think the important thing to do when you quit is to allow yourself to stumble along the way. If you have a day where you smoke or a few, you have to tell yourself that it’s o.k to weaken, and approach the next day as another day to quit. Quitting cold turkey is harder than gradually tappering off. For me it is the only way to stop, but you have to find a way that works for you.
You really should wait until winter to quit like me .. I spent too many nights outside of bars freezing my ass off for a cig I am not going to give all that up now that its warm and i can fully enjoy the cigarette…
good for you!!! be sure to set goal and reward yourself!!
oh Beet how i love ya! try to clean the area that you used to smoke in. hell, even a coat of fresh paint might help to change your feeling in that room! chantix works really good too!
Good for you. I am smoking a cig now and hating every bit of it. I have quit 3-4 times in the last 12 years. I always went cold turkey. IT is a good way to go, but to each his own. Again congrats, and I hope to be joining you very soon.
Good for you. Your cats, dog and neighbours will appreciate it.
I quit ten years ago. It was at the point that I realized I had been smoking for ten years and was sick of the smell of my hair and on my hands. I hadn’t planned on quitting but I’ll tell you why I did and Beet, I don’t think you’ve experienced this yet but you will and you’ll appreciate it.
I hadn’t planned on quitting but one night, I went out with some friends who weren’t smokers. This was back when you could still smoke inside bars and restaurants. Since I was with non-smokers, I think I only had one or two cigarettes. Now normally when I drink (as does everyone else), you smoke at least a pack of cigarettes. But again, that night, I had two. The next morning, when I usually felt like death, I felt fantastic. It’s the cigarettes that make you so hung over the next day, they are the cause of that horrific throbbing in your right temple.
So I thought, wow, I feel good. Let’s see how far I can go. My thing was, I didn’t tell anyone, not even my husband. I rarely smoked at home so it wasn’t very noticeable to him. Everyone is right who said this before me, change your routine. For me, at work, I stopped taking breaks. I didn’t see the point and a break meant “smoke two cigarettes quickly.” Also, I didn’t go out for about a month or two. Again, that’s when you could still smoke in bars and it was too hard. Alcohol and cigarettes go hand in hand.
Because I hadn’t told anyone, I felt that made it easier. I’ve noticed that most people that announce they are quitting rarely succeed. I had no one to answer to so I did it more for me.
My husband quit after his mother died of lung cancer. He did the Zyban thing. I don’t see the point of it but my husband likes to have a tangible solution for everything. The fucker also lost weight since he decided to start exercising as well. Then he started smoking again after two years. Since cancer runs in his family, I told him I’d leave him if he didn’t quit.
I’ve smoked a few times since, only once sober (I was Maid of Honour to the bride bitch from hell) but everytime I’ve smoked when I’ve drank, I’ve woken up feeling like death so if anything, do it for the lack of hangover.
Good luck!!!!
Way to go Beet! I hope you crack it.
I’ve never smoked, so I have no suggestions on methods. But perhaps you could bear in mind that to nonsmokers, smokers stink. Sorry… but it’s true. I’ve been put off hot guys because they smoke. Stale tobacco whiff is a turn-off. Won’t it be nice to smell fresh?
Tarn is right. You’ve opened the dating pool. And after awhile, when you start considering yourself an ex-smoker, when you see people on the street smoke, you find it unattractive.
Oh, and it ages your skin. So quit for the skin preservation and the hangoverlessness. And what do cigarettes cost in your area? Because here (Ontario), I think they cost about $11 a pack. That’s a lot of $$$$.
Beet!!! You gotta quit that nasty shit!!! Think of all the money you will save! Think of Leo’s lil pink lungs!!
Good job and congratulations. I also decided to quit today which is a pretty big coincidence. I wish you the best of luck, Beet! :D
it takes a lot of willpower to do it and i hope that you have it! good job so far! if you start feeling like you need to pick up a cig keep your hands busy with something else. distract yourself however you can.
at first the urge will be very strong and you’ll think that you won’t be able to hold out but as time passes it will fade. if you can do it for a day, why not 2? if you can hold out for a week, you can do 2 as well :) keep patting yourself on the shoulder for doing good. avoid places where smoking is allowed, if those exist :). drink lots of water to flush that nicotine out and take leo for extra walks. :)
you can DOOOOO it!
U CAN DO IT BEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can stop smoking. I know you can.
http://www.smartfixx.com/index.php/faqs
I quit smoking over a year and a half ago. I started when I was 16 too and smoked until I was 30. I tried quitting a bunch of times with lots of different methods and the one thing that worked for me was getting the laser treatment. It doesn’t hurt and it’s only $200. Since then, I have not had the urge to smoke…even drunk. Even when my old idiot ex left my drunken ass at a club one night presumably to go off with a woman even older than me and so ugly she could make monsters run back under the bed. In all seriousness though, look into it. It was the sanest quit ever for me and I have not looked back since. Good luck to you!
yay! katie and I are running 4 miles tomorrow at 7:30. see ya there. ;-)
beet – i smoked a pack a day for over 10 years and never was able to quit. then one day i was spending time with my 5 year old niece and she was doing impressions of everyone she knew. her impression of me consisted of waving her her hand around, and puffing on an invisible cigarette. i felt horrible, like the fact that i smoked was the most memorable thing about me. i was traumatized, and decided i would stop then and there. i threw ou the cigs, bought a bag of starburst (my faves) and never picked up one of those nasty things again. that was almost 7 years ago. sometimes the impetus to quit comes from weird places, i guess. if i can do it, you can do it. get some starburst and good luck!
GOOD FOR YOU! And, just think…you’ll now only have to think of your lady parts and armpits being smelly because the rest of you won’t smell like the inside of a skanky bar. AND you probably won’t get those dreaded “smokers’ wrinkles” around your mouth or–BONUS–LUNG CANCER. And trust me, as one who has seen both her grandmother and her mother die from this horrible disease, YOU DO NOT WANT TO TEMPT FATE in this way.
GOOD LUCK!
Another bonus about quitting. You know when you smoke way way way too much during an evening of heavy drinking and how you wake up the next day feeling like total shit and then you get in the shower and that first few seconds is disgusting because it’s like it’s releasing the smell of cigarettes in your hair like an atom bomb? That will never happen again.
congrats! its only 24 hours but keep it up, youll feel alot better about yourself, and just think of all the cute puppies suffering from second hand smoke if you get the urge to reach for a death/cancer/ugly stick
Wonderful! I quit smoking for the 40th time (3) months ago. Not easy to do but so worth it. Blow pops and gum where my friend. Much luck and good vibes to you!
Hi Beet,
Start meditating. By meditating you can let go of unwanted thoughts – i.e. I MUST SMOKE NOW. Start today, find a quiet place to sit and close your eyes, let all your thoughts go, and let each thought that arises go, have a timer that counts down from 1 Minute, or 2 Minutes (you won’t be able to do this any longer at the beginning). Work your way up to 20 Minutes over the course of a couple of weeks. Then you will be able to let the ‘wanting to smoke’ thoughts go any time they arise during your day. I had severe panic attacks, I beat them this way.
Best of luck to you.
I would definately date you, but only if you don’t stink like an ashtray :)
Good luck Beet! You can do it!
I did it 3 years ago, and if this sweetens the pot, my skin looks amazing now.
Here’s a few tips that worked for me:
No substitutes; it’s better in the long run to go cold turkey.
Take all the money that you would have spent on cigarettes, and put it in a jar. Save it for 3 or 4 months, and then treat yourself to something really nice. It’s like a reward for you hard work. Plus, it helps to have something to look forward to when you become tempted to smoke again.
Also, try to distance yourself from places you can easily smoke. Take your computer to a non-smoking cafe or restaurant and work there for a few hours. It helps to break the habit of smoking whenever you feel like it.
Good luck! Stay strong.
You go, Beet! I understand that laying off the ciggies is hard and that you need all the peptalks and props you can get.
I quit about a year ago. I took my last smoke on a monday morning, then proceeded to maiming anything that came in my way (small furry animals, loving parents, concerned friends) for about a week.
Depending on how annoyingly stoic you are, it’s fucking tough. Once your body gets over the physical nicotine dependency (in about three days) it’s just your mind playing tricks on you trying to convince you that “I will just have a smoke while partying, no biggie”. Don’t let it get the upper hand! Bitch, moan, scream, claw, hiss — you’ll probably be a total [beeeep] for a few weeks but you’ll need to get your aggressions out. And we, your humble readers, will stand by you through the shitstorm.
Much love! /Camilla from Sweden
Yay beet!
Go Beet! Quitting after eight years smoking was incredibly hard, but I prepared months in advance by weening myself. Even when the day came that I knew was my last cigarette I still struggled with the cravings and mood swings for weeks. That was three years ago and I only crave them when I am really stressed or drinking. I have broken down and smoked while drinking but have never started again. Good luck. You can do it.
My husband quit after losing his mother and father within a few months of each other due to lung cancer. (My question – why did he start if they both had lunch cancer?). He tried the lozenges and decided cold turkey was better than having to ever have those things again. We went with a reward system, at the end of every week he would get something nice, but not supergreat for the first week, building up to the end of 4 weeks he got a GPS thingy he really wanted. The only thing he did different was he went to a accupuncture/massage place where they had some detox thing. You put your feet in the water, and the process is supposed to help detoxify your body and help with the quitting process. Days 3-7 were very hard for me – he was very crabby, I just tried to stay out of his way. So find something to keep you busy the rest of the week!
Look at all the support you have Beet! We’re all behind you on this one!!
Every time you want a cig, update the blog and we’ll rally round and give you the strength to fight the temptation! :p
Congrats.
Let me tell you: The first day is the worst.
The 2º day is a little less hard.
If you make it a month, you made it through the worst part.
After the 1st month is sooo much easier.
You can totally do it!
I recommend to search for a friend to call when you get temptation.
And keep it up, Evil!
You can do itt!!!!
Weird. We oth decided to quit on the same day!
I am wearing a patch right now. So far so good. I have tried quitting before, but found I lapsed when i drank. Stay away from booze, even beer. it will trigger your desire for a cig.
We will be accountable to each other, and be smoke free. You have my support. =)
Also, think about Leo. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I have an adorable pomeranian, who I lock in the bathroom when I smoke so he dosen’t get out and get second hand smoke disease. How much quality time am I missing out on because I want tobacco????
No more. By the end of summer, you and I will be smoke free!
Normally I would post something like “Evil Beet is hottttttt i want to put my penis in her boooooobs!” but chicks that smoke are so disgusting.
Perhaps once you have quit for a while Beet I may say something rude and crude about your boobies. Until then your boobs remain unstuffed. Sorry, but it is the way it has to be.
Did ya make it butt free today?
Hope so, smoking is gross.
Congratulation on quitting the nasty butts!! My quit date is this Saturday, the 24th. I plan to use the lozenges because some of my friends were successful with them. I know that you will be strong enough to get through this. Keep it up :)
I quit because I had to – had an operation and the fusion won’t take with nicotine in your system. No time, so I went to a Hypnotherapist, best $90 bucks I ever spent. Lost ten pounds and I never smoked again. Actually I was programmed to believe it was poison so I don’t even go near anyone smoking. I don’t feel a twinge about and haven’t for over 2 years. Good for you. You can do it. Oh, you gain weight because food tastes so damn good again. hipinism is your friend.
Read the Alan Carr book. The big one.
Good luck Beet! I’m quitting smoking too, so it’ll be great to do it with you! Although if my fiance doesn’t shut up now this plan is gonna fail…
Good for you! I’m still smoking cigarettes & more…but YAY for Beet!!!! If you can do it, I can do it-I’ll check back to see the progress! :)
AND-90 some comments so far?! WOW-we sure do ♥ you, Beet!
goo Beet, were all counting on you and you can do it !
good luck and if everytime you have a craving for a cigarette, pop in a peice of gum or some candy it really helps..and you forget about the cig and just enjoy the candy or gum
good luck!!
Way to go! I quit 7 years ago cold turkey. I was just tired of it, so it made giving it up easier. The 1st two weeks were rough, but once you get through all of that it is a breeze. Good luck and looking forward to your progress reports!
Good on you Beet! I know you can do it, right behind you hun!