Let's be brutally honest here. You could say the same for what comes out of your body after getting food poisoning or even having a good Mexican meal. You could be the healthiest, most in shape man in the world and I wouldn't be able to stand looking at anything other than your fully clothed body.

How this for motivation? (hope you get to see it before the mods delete it, I post this because it is for a good cause, I know it is not a pretty sight...)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1315209658.jpg

Smoker
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1315209677.jpg

non-smoker
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1315209715.jpg


Quit smoking, one of the best decisions I ever made. (Easily in my top five of best decisions)
Every time I see someone lighting one up, I genuinely feel a bit sorry.

Don't know why you are trying to counter an argument like this.
I'm not sure even if you get what Dewolf is trying to say here.
His argument goes way beyond just the color of the fluids.
Dying of cancer after a life of smoking is a pretty gruesome way to die.
(Dying from too much Mexican food probably is also...)

I hope you are friggin joking....I transported my father to hospital after he started a coughing fit and was gasping for breath. I saw the fear in his eyes. He was coughing up dark green and black stringy sh$t. They put him in a coma the same day and ventilated him. Two hours later two drains were inserted into the lungs. One for each. The bottle was full of black and dark green slime. Three days later I was asked to turn off his ventilator. To even compare this to having diarrhea is absurd.

Just writing this brings back horrible memories. Fred, just stop. You will die a horrible and frightening death.

Drink lot's of Orange Juice, it breaks down nicotine, trust me.

And go to whyquit.org , read up

Read the trainwrecks

Learn about the mechanics
like how Nicotine controls your bloodsugar levels and without folks tend to binge eat.
It takes 20 minute for your bloodsugar to go up after eating,
if you are aware of that, eat something then wait rather then keep eating till you hit the sweet spot.

This is what keeps you from gaining weight when you quit (this and exercise)

Anyway, whyquit.org is very good.
Keep going at it.

Exercise if you get craves or real bad grumpyness.. work it off on a bike or sommin.

do NOT use nicotine replacements , they will only make it more difficult.
Cold Turkey and you will be off the ciggies for good.

Am at 1.3 years now.. never again.

You don't just stop something, you make a lifestyle change

- smoking
+ health
+ better diet
+ more exercise
ultimately that means + happy

^ Well said. I hope more folks that have quit chime in with their success tips!

You can do it Fred!! I quit cold turkey in 91', (4th attempt). Smoked two packs of Newports a day. Oh and this is an incentive... correct me if I'm wrong docs but I think the lungs are self-healing. They will eventually clean themselves up, to an extent. I ran a half marathon 10 years after quitting.

GO FRED!!!!!!!

After 72 hrs the nicotine has left your system, then the desire is all in your mind. It's easy to say yes and get in the truck and drive to the store (I did that a few times myself) but when you get there you just have to say NO to getting out and buying them. It gets easier every day. Seven months now for me. I went the Champix route (Dr's recomendation) and I was encouraged by Crusty Chiefs sucess with it. Drink lots of water. Every time you want one have a glass of water. Hyper hydrate.

Get some kind of quit counter, it's corny, but it has milestones in it, things to look forward to achieving..

when you hit a mile stone, reward yourself
Buy a 1:18 Porsche model
Or some scale airplane models.

Little things you wouldn't normally buy because maybe they are for kids, or maybe you have other things that you need more.

but now, you can use the ciggie cash for those kinds of things... reallocate it.

Stijn - Free and Healing for One Year, Three Months, Twenty Seven Days and 8 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 40 Days and 8 Hours, by avoiding the use of 11616 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $2,451.78.

I talked to a friend this weekend that has quit about a year ago. He said the one thing that was hardest for him was he was convinced his car would not start without a light cigarette in his hand.

One other important bit of advice: You must, for the time being, refuse to see friends who smoke. This is the single biggest risk to starting up again. It's not easy—but just make excuses.

I smoked 1 pack a day for 21 years. I finally got sick and tired of the hacking, brown flem and light wallet. I quit September 20th 2003 and haven't looked back. Have not had one cigarette since.

It was tough for a while and even now when I am around smokers sometimes, I look and think "that smokes looks great" but I will never smoke again. I am stronger than my addiction and it will never rule my world again.

Take it one craving at a time. When you get the urge just say, nope, not gonna do it this time. Next thing you know you'll be free of the habit and won't really think about it at all.

this and alcohol

On the contrary, I would try to hang around people who smoke. You need to get used to it. It's not that hard to quit smoking when you're far removed from cigarettes and it would take a lot of effort to get one. If I wanted one now, I'd have to suit up in my riding gear (993 is down now) and ride to gas station in the 100 deg. heat. You know you will be around them again. And being around smoke and ashtrays could be an extra reminder of how bad it smells.

When my boss (a smoker) flies out here to go on meetings with me, I sort of like the second hand smoke, but then I really hate the way he smells afterwards and it makes me uneasy to walk into client meetings with him smelling like an ashtray. But I've never been tempted to bum a smoke off of him, especially while we're working.

Sorry Rick, that's just no good , every whif of passive smoke will trigger your addiction.

Considering that Nicotine is one of the hardest addictions to shake, why would anybody do that to himself , it's just masochisme.. Same as using nicotine replacemens, it jus stretches the quit, increasing the risk of failing.


There is no reason why anybody who is serious about quitting, should not avoid being around smoke during those early days , weeks , even months.

Would you encourage a smackhead who's in his initial withdrawel , to go visit his smack friends?
Would you recommend an alcoholic to sit in bars when he's going through detox?

Gonna say it nicely, that's just silly.

I agree 100%. This is a life and death issue. Not a fashion issue. You have to get that monkey off your back first.

I'm only saying it because it has worked for me. The most dangerous time after quitting is when you think you have the habit kicked, so it will be ok to have just one once in a while. I've quit for years at a time and had no problem at all until months or years later, when I was sure a drag here or there wouldn't do any harm. And since Fred will most certainly be around smoking for the rest of his life, he might as well get used to it while it's still difficult. It's a good exercise.

I was in Germany exactly a year ago for the first time since quitting and it was a real challenge. I work from home and am just about never around smoking anymore. So it's no challenge at all because I'm too lazy (or not jonesing enough) to bother doing what it takes to get cigarettes and then the urge passes. In Germany I was around smoking all the time and they don't even allow it indoors there anymore. Now I'm going to China again in two mos. and every single man there smokes, you can smoke in hotel elevators and they have ashtrays at bank teller windows. That's gonna be tough. I'm gonna smell like an ashtray whether I smoke or not. And the smell will be in my luggage as soon as I get back to my house too.

Hey, why stop at 12 hours, go for 12 months.

I still don't understand why anyone would take up smoking nowadays anyway?

I have smoked for 20 years. I am proud to say that I am on day #8, and still going strong. Neighbors were smoking yesterday, while we were working on the rental house, and it actually smelled foul to me. Getting easier, everyday, but I still have my moments where I could kill for one , just one......

Good for you Fred! I was hoping you'd post good news like this. Keep it going It's a foul,disgusting habit and I don't think you're a foul and disgusting kinda guy

You hav passed the worst now

http://www.whyquit.com/whyquit/z_CraveGrafBW.gif

Things will only get better, just keep in mind that when a crave pops up, time warps.
It seems to last longer then it actually does.

Also, be aware of things when it goes to easy. I mean, Don't get complacent.
When i did my first quit (2006), at day 19, completely out of the blue this massive crave came up.
Wasn't prepared for it. And i caved.
Drove to the Fuel tation 2 miles from my appartment, bought a pack.
Started smoking on the drive back..

By the time i arrived at the appartment, i was more drunk then a boozer who just downd a pint of Whiskey.. Almost fell over while walking up the stairs.

Got inside, and there was the guilt. I then smoked 4 smokes back to back till i nearly puked and managed to stay off the ciggies for 9 months.


Relapsed on a ski trip, drinking, smoked 1 or 2 with a "it's just a couple" mentality... But ended up relapsing completely. till last year, quit again, not one , not ever again.

But let's not get ahead of things.. You'de doing great, You have passed the worst.
Try and focus on replacing the bad things with good.
Exercise to deal with the mood swings... a sports high is great to kill the cravings.

Congrats, Fred! Glad to hear you're making progress. We're pulling for you!

great job Fred! I quit cold turkey on March 1, 2005. the worst times were the jonesing for a smoke. one time I was waiting for some one and checking my watch because they were getting late. had a strong jones for a smoke and then noticed it went away. took 8 minutes... about as long as it takes to smoke one. you can make it! you'll feel better for it and soon you will see and smell how nasty smokers actually are.

Fred,
How are you doing??

Never smoked, but good for you and everyone else that has quit smoking.

Keep it up!

Been there. Keep going. One day at a time.
Remember that there is power in absolutes. Zero cigarettes each day is a million times more encouraging than "only had one..."

Just saw this thread.

Keep up the momentum, Fred.

My wife and I quit about 9 years ago when we decided it was time to add kids to our family.

I can honestly say that I have not hadany tobacco since the day I put them down. Strangely enough, I have had no cravings either.

Nowadays, I can't stand to be around anyone that smokes.

And the price of a pack?!!!!

I couldn't afford to smoke now anyway. :eek:

Fred,

You are inspiring me to get off the darn things!!! KEEP IT UP MAN! I am totally into the thought of it and now just need to follow your lead. You come to hate the damn things! I am there but just need to push over the top to start the process.

Dan B

Hey Fred,

Keep up the good work! You can do it and you'll love yourself for it!

I quit 8 years ago with 2 accupuncture sessions.

ND

I quit on December 6, 1982, well before Chanitx and other drug-based anti-smokig aids. There was nicotine gum but it didn't work - at least not for me.

I'd tried to quit many before that but that time it stuck BECAUSE I MADE THE CHOICE THAT I WANTED TO QUIT - forever. Three things got me through it:

1. Knowing that the urge to have a cigarette WOULD go away - whether I had one or not.
2. Knowing that having 'just one' WILL hurt and that I couldn't do that.
3. Knowing that my desire to quit was stronger than my desire to cheat on myself.

I also put a very large rubber band around my wrist and every time I really wanted to light up I stretched it out and let it fly. Yes, it stung - and it was supposed to. The sting would help me focus on something other than smoking.

GO FOR IT DANIMAL! It is silly hard the first day, but you start feeling better the next day, although the cravings are still rough today , 10 days later. I have probably eaten 4000 life savers over the last two weeks, but is better than cigs.
You guys here in the ot helped me more than you will know. There were a few times, I almost caved, but I did not want to report back to you guys that I am a spineless pussy with no will power.
I do feel a whole lot better, and I am more productive as well. I was a two pack a day smoker, so I just got back 40 smoke breaks a day worth of my time.
I have quit many times before, and I think I know where I tripped up before. I don't drink or party anymore, and that was always my downfall in the past.
Than you pelicans, I am SMOKE FREE!!.

excellent Fred! get a bicycle now!
work on your lung capacity, take some nice easy rides and get the healing process jump started
the sooner you start having fresh lungs the sooner you will have no cravings

I am on vacation all next week, swimming, surfing, fishing, etc... But when I get back, I am jumping back on my mountain bike. I miss the hell out of riding.

You're doing very well! Have a great vacation and keep moving forward, I'm proud of you.

congrats..
now throw the $$ in a can..
seriously..
figure at least 12 bucks a day...
you will be amazed what you burned up..
besides your health..

Rika

alright!!! well done

use US!! dont let US down..!! (if this helps) hahah.

so how soon did food start tasting better? all my friends that quit comment on food flavors and how they taste heightened.

Be carefull with that, if you just work and never take breaks, you'll end up overworked and stressed. That's no good either.And probably just as risky in terms of nicotine relapse....

Do make sure to take the occasional time for yourself, even at work.
Take a walk around the building, if there's a company gym, go do some exercises.
Take more time to talk to people

Your ability to focus may change with time, so take time to adapt to a new way of thinking and concentrating..

Be creative.. Don't simply convert the smoke time into work time.

Here's some encouragement:
Keep it up!!!

keep it up !
YOU are in control. When you feel like you want one, say to yourself...NO NOT TODAY.