isn't it funny how your brain keeps telling you how it wants to kill you? and even funnier how it responds when you remind it what it's actually doing?

I really have nothing new to add. But i do wish all the quitters good luck. I smoked for 10 years till november 2003 and been clean since and there's no end in sight. It's all about that "click" that someone mentioned earlier in the thread. When you're really ready, nothing will stop you. It's more than your health at stake, it's your pride. I didn't want to say "i quit" and ever be seen going back on that statement.

skimming thru this thread...I'm glad I never started smoking cigarettes


gluck to the quitters

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Two days before Christmas of 2004, I was visiting my pregnant daughter and my wife said as we got out the car, "Be really careful with your smoking, I makes the kid feel really sick, especially while she's pregnant." My reposnse - "I just won't smoke at all then for this weekend." I didn't, and haven't since. This off-the-cuff decision was made after 42 years of greater than a pack-a-day smoking.

The whole experience has been pretty much positive. The feelings, endurance, smells, etc, all of which have already been mentioned certainly applied. I suppose the biggest negative was the $70 worth of cigarettes I had to throw away because I didn't actually plan my last smoke. There was also a bit of weight gain as my metabolism slowed and snacking picked up but that was after a 65 lb weight loss and thus was no big deal. In the northern hemisphere Christmas is during th winter, so I was not riding regularly either.

I don't have any advice for those who still wish to quit or those having trouble staying off the habit. I simply stopped. I can't say I'm 100% certain that I will forever be a former smoker. I'm fairly sure. I have no cravings. I don't note a desire to be a smoker again. I'm pleased to have the money available for cycling and other forms of entertainment.

I do offer encouragement to those who'd appreciate it. I don't do sermons. Nor do I aggitate for compulsory changes to your behavior.

It's funny how everyone says "oh, how much money you'll save," but I easily blow through at least that much money on bike stuff instead now.

Good Job!! Yes, it is hard but we did it, didn't we? I was 45 when I quit after 30 years of at least two packs a day. The patches really helped me and the first week or so was rough. It gradually tapered off to the point that now I only get a "flashback" for a butt about once a year now. But it is very short lived and I just blow it off. When I smoked, I was actually coughing and hacking more than I was talking. The more I talked the worse the hacking got. My voice sounds nothing like it did when I was smoking, all raspy and stuff. Boy, I am just so glad I quit. When I met my wife two years ago she smoked and I asked her if she would quit for me. She did and THAT was the best gift she ever gave me.

which is a much better deal, unless you're burning the bike stuff and inhaling the smoke into your lungs.

Best of luck. I quit 2 years ago, and it is very hard but very much worth it. I still crave the damn things (tobacco is my favorite vegetable), but you learn to manage.

Your brain plays crazy tricks on you when you quit. I would find myself thinking, "You are doing so well not smoking, you deserve a cigarette as a reward". Somehow it made perfect sense. The other thing that is hard is realizing how much the length of time it takes to smoke a cigarette has become one of the stock timing devices in your life. I felt way out of synch when I quit. Maybe that doesn't make much sense.

Keep it up. You will feel better and you will ride longer. Whenever you want a smoke bad, get on your bike and ride to exhaustion. Exercise does help.

I'm struggling with quittingsmoking as well. I also go to some of those 12 step meetings for other addictions so I've been trying to incorporate those ideas with my smoking. I do have a desire to quit smoking, but sometimes it's really hard, ya know? I will not give up though.
Thanks for all the other posts guys, really inspiring.

way to go andrew
keep busy - stay active - it gets better so don't give up!

i did 12 step for booze and drugs but it was a bit different with smoking, you see, nicotine didn't **** my life up the way that the other **** did, but after staying sober for a while i made the decision to throw the smokes away and just never looked back.

hit me up anytime - i'd be glad to help

so i'm totally not quitting yet. ****!

like i said earlier in the thread, i have to be more stable. which is only going to come with time, because my life is a ****stack right now

forgive me everyone for my ****ty second hand smoke

it don't work until you're ready. don't sweat it.

It gets easier each day you don't have a cig. It takes time and motivation, tons of motivation............

i work in tech support at a hospital (setting up televideo and AV and netmeetings and whatnot and i just got readthe riot act by a nurse manager. i'm like the most easy going, chill, agreeable dude in colorado, and i very very rarely have episodes liek this,. just standing here and listen to someone tell me how to do my job.

i want a cig so bad right now.

firts time since i quit.

i'm not gonna cave, cuz i know better, but that stressed out, frustrated nicfit is totally itching me. i just keep telling myself i get to go home in about an hour and its 80 degrees and sunny and i have 20 miles of rocky mountain sunset to ride thru.

man ... fort collins are is beautiful. I spent a two summers hiking out in estes and the surrounding areas and it was amazing.

almost two days. it is much harder to not drink than it is to not smoke, because I'm with old friends in Philly, and the only thing to do is drink. what do you all think? should I forget the 'no drinking for three months' resolution?

It's too soon. Don't drink. Think about your system of rewards and use your will power. Are you going to let drinking and smoking triggers crush your will? Don't be weak. Step it up, dude.

Edit: Don't listen to me. EnLaCalle is right.

Oh and thanks visitor. I went to Whole Foods and found the tea tree sticks. The cashier gave a funny look for buying 11 dollars worth of toothpicks and nothing else.

go ahead and drink, drinking's not what makes you smoke. it will lower your willpower NOT to smoke. so be aware of that and try to take it easy. don't take on too much at once.

Don't drink. The alcohol in your stomach will make your lungs jealous.

MY GOD.

First, visitor. Sorry I missed you in the park. I did 3 hard laps in Central Park tonight, my first real riding since I quit. Really, it was amazing. I felt like I was 14 again.

I see the light and after one week...no ****ing looking back.

i pretty much stopped drinking when i quit smoking 2 months ago.

i got pretty sauced the other night, and i was so impressed with myself for not having a smoke despite "beer and a cigarette" being one of my biggest triggers.

as far as never finding the "right time" to quit, it's okay to wait, but just realize that you're being weak and you're under the influence of one of the most addictive drugs out there. a person very close to me said cigarettes were harder to quit than heroin. now, twenty years after she first quit smoking, she's on them again. what a letdown. at least it's not heroin.

it's so disappointing and gross when you realize just how controlled you are by an addiction. until you get over this, you can't possibly be free. good luck to every one of you, and i'm feeling your pain. seriously. even writing about it makes me want one.

oh, tips and tricks: i'm not sure if i should endorse this, but i started smoking weed when i quit cigarettes. it helps a lot, as far as the physical sensation of inhaling smoke and the calming effects.
the strangest side-effects of the doje include a new appreciation for heavy metal and more focus on developing as a doodler.

my girlfriend used wellbutrin to quit cigarettes, and she's having a fine time staying quit. i quit cold turkey, and it's been hard, but i feel tougher for it. it's like riding uphill on your bike next to a dude with gears on his all-carbon roadbike. it helps, yes, but you don't need all that *****.