On day 4 of no nicotine--no patches---no nico gum----


Its nice to not have my lungs burning after 10 minutes of hard riding.

- keep it up... i'm on day 562, and my coffee intake is down to two cups per day...

:-)

Thanks for reminding me -- today is three months for me!

I feel great, my breath is better, I am faster, I look/feel/am healthier, I dont stink like a nasty smoker etc.

You can do it too.

good luck.
i'm just waiting until i'm ready to quit. and i'm getting closer and closer every morning i wake up.

congrats gbd, the worst is over with.

keep it up skank, its ****ing hard but its worth it.

right on, good luck.

I'm a little over 3 months now.

3 years plus for me...

it was only after about 2 solid years quitting that i TRULY saw the light.

till then i still had friends who smoked and i got jealous everytime we were drinking and they could light up. now, the ***** smells terrible and no matter how drunk or high i am i have ZERO desire to smoke a ciggie... and i used to be a hardcore addict.

so quit! it's good for you and if you tough it out long enough, no matter how hooked you were, it will seem stupid and smell horrible.

you too BAB, its good to see you guys hung in there.

October 21st, 2000 was my last cigarette. I remember the date b/c it was the night of my bachelor party. Much like max-a-mill, it took me some time to see the light and truly be content with not being a smoker. I can't remember when the smoking ban went into affect in NYC, but it helped a lot too.

stick with it guys...it pays off in the end.

1 year and counting!
i quit cause i love my bike and wanted to ride it harder, faster, and longer.
it's worked and i love it.
keep it up!

This thread got me through the tough parts.

Its worth it... I'm smoke free for about 3 years. Now I actually can't stand the smell of cigarettes/smoke. Honestly didn't notice a health difference because I played soccer & smoked back then, but the money, good lawd the money! I don't see how you NYCers afford to smoke, hell even the bums around here quit asking for nickels & dimes and straight up ask for $5 & $10.

I pick it back up during finals every semester. I am trying my hardest to temper myself for the fall. My running/ biking obviously suffers immensely due to indulgence.

used to buy it by the pouch and roll me ownsies.

Good luck. It will be three years in October for me. I still think about smoking sometimes, but I feel and ride so much better since I gave it up.

Put $5 a day (or two days depending on how much you smoke) in a jar. You will be amazed how soon you can afford a nice new set of wheels.

Here is the funny thing--all the other times i quit because my girlfried or parents or co-workers kept nagging me. Thursday and firday i went on a huge bender and smoked like 3 packs between the 2 days (i normally am a half pack a day). On sat i woke up and man oh man did my lungs hurt---i felt like i was going to die. I mean they really hurt bad. Plus, i was so hungover, i just laid on the couch all day. On sunday i felt better and it was really nice so i went out early in the afternoon for a ride and my lungs didnt hurt as bad as they usually do (thanks to not smoking on sat). I went for another ride sunday night. Monday after work i went out for 2 hours and noticed a major improvement---no burning in lungs---legs held out up the big hills. I can slowly notice my smell coming back.

YEsterday i threw out my zippos and all my lighters and matches and "emergency smokes" i stashed around the apartment from the last time i quit.

I don't know why, but something on saturday just kicked me in the head and I thought how i have been smoking for almost half of my life, how i don't/can't play my clarinet anymore or swim ..... and I really want to do this this time.

As i write, I am having a major craving. But something this time is different. I know I am not going to bum one off of someone at work. I know i wont buy that pack tonight.

Its just ironic that smoking like a chimey last week led me to decide to quit this week.

Word. I'm on two months without smoking and it feels great. I stopped when after a trip to PDX, I came back with a cough that wouldn't leave, and I never catch a cough. I kept smoking and the cough wouldn't leave, for a minute I thought I had TB, so I stopped on my birthday (I figured 15-26 was long enough) and sure enough the cough disappeared and I have felt better then ever. Keep it up!

The hardest part isn't quiting. The hard part is not starting again. It's easy to quit for a couple months, despite the pain of withdrawal. It's much harder not to want a cigarette after a big meal, or at a party where everyone is smoking, or even just standing around outside waiting for someone. Chewing gum during those moments can really help.

Oh, and if you have one cigarette that is no excuse to give up and go back.

And a big AMEN to that! I used that as my excuse the first few times I quit. Treat it as a minor setback and not a reason to go back.

the worst part is the tought that keeps popping up---you can have just one--- or you can limit yourself to drinking. Despite all the negative health effects, i can't seem to keep my mind around the thought that i will never ever be able to enjoy another cigarette.------yes, the cravings are very bad right now

You can do it! If you smoke, the turr'rists win, SB!

you don't want that **** on your concience, no sir..

My dad quit smoking before I was a gleam in his eye. He's 65 now and just finished up at Master's track nationals in Colorado Springs. I doubt that he would even have considered hard track riding at 65, at altitude, if he were a smoker.

My best friend used to smoke a pack of reds everyday from the time he was 15 to 24. Last year he kicked my ass several times during his first ever cross/bike racing season.

Keep up the good work. There are good health benefits ahead of you.

After 9-10 years of smoking, I'm at 6 months smoke-free on Friday.
The thing you have to wrap your head around is the thought of NEVER doing it again. If you still harbor the thought that someday, you *might* get to have one again, it will wreck the whole thing. It's like coming to terms with the death of a loved one, or something.
One thing that worked for me is telling myself to man up and not wuss out and give in to the temptation, really psyching myself up about it. Nothing personal against smokers, of course, but if you keep telling yourself you're better than that habit, you'll start to believe it.

I just started again!!! Yay for meee!