I Changed My Mind And Need Your Help!

[blas]

I was getting gas this morning and told the lady (she's been there every week for the past few weeks so she's gotten to know me) that I didn't need cigarettes today, and she said "Are you sure? They're going up today or tomorrow. Marlbs and Camels will be over $5 a pack."

I came to a really awful conclusion. Pretty soon, I will no longer be able to afford to smoke. At least not a pack a day. Or maybe even less than that. Even though when gas was over $4 a gallon I was struggling with that, this will be worse. Over $5 for a pack of cigarettes will really break my budget.

I don't want to hear any preaching or patronizing about how I should be more concerned about my health than my money. I think people should be thankful that I have thought it over and changed my mind, and I AM going to try to quit smoking.

This is going to be very hard because I am petrified of gaining weight. I said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather be a thin smoker than an overweight non smoker. That's an awful way to think, but I do NOT want to gain weight.

I also can only do things in baby steps. The way I have been working on managing my stress at work and resisting the urge to kill some of my coworkers. I NEED to do things in baby steps. One step at a time, one day at a time.

What I need yalls help with is ideas to help me quit....ways that I can think of smoking as a bad thing. Ways I can think of it as wasting money, wasting time, wasting energy......I do have a VERY vivid imagination and I can easily imagine something someone proposes to me.

I have 2 full packs of cigarettes left, and what I have left over from work last night. I am going to start by (and it will really help that it's winter right now and it's over -20 outside and I have to go outside to smoke) limiting how many times I go outside to smoke. Every moment I am out in the cold, think of how cold it is. How I could be warm inside without the cigarette. Then I will slowly work my way up to not smoking at work. To start, I'll only have 1 on every break. Then see how it goes if I try not smoking at all at work.

Any ideas and any kinds of ways of thinking about it to help are very appreciated! Also, anyone who has quit smoking, if you know of any ways to prevent weight gain while quitting, please share!

[Greenday]

Good for you blas! I'm so proud of you. Whether it feels good or not, you are doing the right thing. Now you'll be warmer, you'll have a lil more cash in your pocket, and you'll be healthier.

I think you're doing a good job already by planning it out. Trying to wing it just gives you too much flexibility that can be bent too much. With a plan, you know what you have to do and you know when you aren't following it and can correct it.

Yay, blas!!! :cheers: :party:

[SteeleDragon78]

i know your pain, i used to dip a can and a half a day. it took me 4 months to quit, and it took everything in my power to do so. if you are going to be successful in this you will need several things.

1. replacement therepy. ie, patch, gum, lozenge, inhaler.
2. the desire to quit. this is key. i tried to quit several times and failed. i really wanted to quit this last time.
3. a support system. make sure your bf knows your quitting, your family, your clique at work. let them help you quit.

thats what helped me. i know it sounds corney, but it worked. best of luck with yours

[tacohuman]

if the money is a concern for you, you could try something to see just how much you are spending. for example, set aside a jar or box, or something like that, and whenever you have the desire to buy a pack, put the cash you would have spent into it. that way you still have it should an emergency arise, but the visual example of how much you are saving will have an impact. set yourself a goal (3 months, 6 months, etc.) and if you haven't fallen off the wagon in that time, use the money you've saved to treat yourself. a friend of mine did this, with a goal of one year. he did fall off the wagon a few times, so it was some actually over a year before he actually used the money, but by the time he did, he had enough to send himself and his partner on a vacation to greece.

[blas]

I rarely use cash, but I've already calculated what I spent on cigarettes a week, so I'll know how much I'm saving.

Let's just start with the $5 a pack theory. Five dollars a pack times seven packs a day, $35 a week. Then that's $70 in two weeks. Then $105 in three weeks....etc etc etc.

[Evil Queen]

Stay away from CS.com for an hour every time you light up.

[digilight]

You want motivation to quit...heres a couple of thoughts on it.

1. When you go out for a smoke don't wear a jacket. Yup its cold and you will be miserable out there, thats the point.

2. Imagine that the cigarette is a nasty homeless bums dick that you are sucking on. Bonus points if you can visualize the puss dripping off of it as well.

...there I think my work here is done. Now if you excuse me I think I will go and puke after thinking about homeless bum dick.

[blas]

Hey, you did that to yourself there, diglight...

I was just thinking of what my coworker Ben said to me.....that when he was trying to quit, he thought of the sheer habit of smoking as a very hazardous, dangerous, dirty job....like working in a coal mine. He said it really worked. I don't think that will work for me. I need some different ideas.....

[Evil Queen]

Does that pervert still live near you?

Imagine you're smoking naked and he's masturbating to you. On your porch. Grinning.

[blas]

Oh for Pete's Sake I hadn't even thought of that. Quit smoking and, well, at least until late spring/summer when the pool opens again and I want to tan outside and he's constantly roaming, the only time I'll ever slightly risk having to deal with Sheriff would be when I leave or come home. No more being peeped. Until spring or summer when I want to grill out or tan.

[Evil Queen]

How could you not think of him? He's in the Top 5 List of Annoyances.

[blas]

I was thinking of this quitting thing ever since I left the gas station but not once did I ever think of Sheriff. I thought of keeping warm, saving money, blah blah blah blah...never even thought of my personal space not being invaded! I'm just getting all these ideas and trying to put my plan into action. I am much more worried about work (which is either #1 or #2 annoyance...work and weather constantly fight over #1) and how I'll deal with cravings on top of the homicidal tendencies and urges I have.

[iradney]

Here's what you can do
For every pack you don't buy, put the 5 bucks in a jar or piggy bank or something similar. DO NOT TAKE THE MONEY OUT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE! After about 6 months of not smoking, you'll have enough cash to buy a sexy new outfit, get a mani or pedi, or just go out for dinner at a swanky restaurant.

As for the quitting - try switching to a lighter brand once you've cut down the number of ciggies. You might temporarliy increase the number you're smoking, but don't panic. Cut down as well, and switch to yet a lighter brand. Lather rinse repeat.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Start cutting carbs out of your diet before you stop smoking. Get used to being low-carb, then quit.

You won't gain weight. Do it properly and I can pretty much guarantee it. Probably help keep you from going too insane with munchies, too.

Lighting director where I used to work stopped everything at once, carbs, caffeine, and smokes. He melted like a candle, I couldn't believe how fast he lost weight. However, I don't know how he handled the system shock. Me, I probably couldn't have done that.

But anyways, adjust your diet and your metabolism with your eating habits, and you won't gain. You'll probably lose weight, even.

As for visualizing nasty anti-smoking imagery, I don't know really that I have anything new to bring to the table there. I can't tell you what you don't already know. I guess I can remind you that I am guessing you are a woman that likes to look nice, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. So I'll just say this: there's no reason you have to look like an old lady when you get older. But you will if you keep puffing, and prematurely so. Everyone I know that smokes is younger than me. And a great many of them look older than I do. It ruins your skin and ages you prematurely.

I'll also say that I know several people who died of lung cancer and/or emphesyma. Yes, it can happen to you. And yes, every single one of these people had the cavalier attitude that "you have to die sometime." And not a single one of them was ready to go when it came time to make good on that.

The stuff they were pumping out of my grandfathers' lungs looked like the slurry left in the bottom of a french coffee press. He was very young, too. Still extremely active when his lungs started to die inside him. He never met my husband or my child. He could have danced at my wedding, he was an amazing dancer.

So, needless to say, my entire family, including Pop, got pretty much fucked over by all this. I won't even describe what went on for over a month in the hospital and home as he was dying. All I can say is I hope to hell he enjoyed the fuck out his precious tobacco because I'd hate to think it wasn't worth it.

But you know all this. You just have to face it.

[Sliceanddice]

I rarely use cash, but I've already calculated what I spent on cigarettes a week, so I'll know how much I'm saving.

Let's just start with the $5 a pack theory. Five dollars a pack times seven packs a day, $35 a week. Then that's $70 in two weeks. Then $105 in three weeks....etc etc etc.

whell you could do the same thing witha savings account, when ever you want to buy/actually use a cigerette, transfer the money you would have spent into the account.

[Saydrah]

http://www.surreyhealth.nhs.uk/resourcelib/SkinEffectsOfSmoking.jpg

The one on the left doesn't smoke. The one on the right does: http://www.surreyhealth.nhs.uk/articles/smoking-did-you-know

After smoking for 10 years, there are irreversible changes to your skin.

http://www.skincare-news.com/articles.php?ArtID=159

So, if you need a mental image for visualization, I bet you've seen a woman like this:

Her skin is orange because she spends hours in a tanning bed to try to mask her premature wrinkles and age spots caused by the irreversible damage smoking did to her skin. A half-inch of blotchy foundation coats her face, again in a failed attempt to cover up the crow's feet and sagging cheeks smoking caused. Her hair is bleached, straw-like, and she wears huge sunglasses hiding as much of her face as possible.

Her long, red fake nails hold a cigarette to her lips at all times. Even now that she can't walk across the mall without coughing up dingy phlegm, she can't stop chain-smoking. She desperately wants to look beautiful again, like she did when she was young and decided not to quit because she didn't want to gain weight, so she's wearing a miniskirt that hangs off her bony hips and exposes her creased, pockmarked thighs. Her tube top only serves to emphasize her sagging breasts. Her exposed, droopy cleavage reveals a tattoo that once was a rose, but now looks more like the sinking Titanic.

As she walks towards you, you can't help but notice her teeth are so stained that they've gone from yellow to gray. That awful, ugly mouth opens, and she croaks in a voice like the rusty door of a prison cell, "I'm you in 40 years, Blas.... I fell off the wagon and started smoking again."

Then you wake from your nightmare and realize it was all a dream. You're warm and safe in your bed, and you changed into your pajamas as soon as you got home yesterday, because you knew you wouldn't be going back out in the cold to smoke, and you can lounge around in those safe comfy jammies until it's time to work, because you won't be exposing yourself to the leering Sheriff by going outside to smoke. You feel so much better already-- sure, the first couple weeks of quitting were rough, but now you have more energy, you always know that you smell great, and your teeth are whiter already. You've gained a couple pounds, but the increased energy means you're working out more and you feel stronger and happier.

As you cook yourself a small, healthy breakfast, you're proud of your willpower, both to quit smoking and to eat healthfully while doing so. The orange, wrinkled, prematurely aged future self will never come to pass, because you have made a firm commitment to your health, and you're never going to waver! But every time you do consider falling off the wagon, that haunting image of her hobbling towards you with her breasts like two raw eggs on a nail will jump to your mind, and you'll know that you will never, ever no matter what start smoking again, lest you end up like that!

Is that enough visualization for you?

[Amethyst Hunter]

:hug: Blas

I am so very happy for you, and I wish you lots of luck in ditching the stink sticks! :) I'm sure it's got to be a very hard habit to break, and there will be times when you probably fall off the wagon, but that's normal, and you CAN quit for good eventually. To paraphrase our new Prez, "Hell yes you can!" ;)

I second the suggestions others have made, and here's a little help for the visualization:

You're already saving years and sparing the wear and tear on your bod/face by not having kids**. Dumping smoking means you will be TWICE as Hawt-Looking, and everybody will see it and be in awe of you for it. :D And that's a natural high that's absolutely priceless.

:highfive: Good luck!






** = Not intended to offend those of you who are parents; people do age differently and I've seen quite a few parents who still look damn good at whatever age they're at.

[Emrld]

Blas I offer you support.
As for visual - well seeing as I couldn't get enough air into my body to sit up to be able to light a smoke . . .my body took care of my desire.
Every time I think of picking it up again . . .I have a caughing fit that causes a 2 day headache . . .

On suggestion that has helped several people I know is red hots. It only takes one at a time to create that hot cinnimon flavor in your mouth. That sensation / flavor and smoking don't go together. They are tiny and it doesn't take a lot of then in a day - so not a high calorie risk.

Keep straws handy and use them, they can help with the hand mouth sensation.

[McGoddess09]

Good luck,Blas. I've lived with smokers and know how hard it is to quit. Just don't turn to the chewing tobacco. No offense to anyone who does/did it, but I find it to be really disgusting.

Keep us updated,darling.

[Jester]

My father (a lifelong smoker) had this great phrase:

"Kissing a smoker is like licking a dirty ashrtray."

Now, visualize that.

Yeah, I thought so.

On suggestion that has helped several people I know is red hots. It only takes one at a time to create that hot cinnimon flavor in your mouth. That sensation / flavor and smoking don't go together.

Amusingly, the one girl I dated that was addicted to red hots (as in she had BOXES of them in her place that she would go through) also smoked like a chimney. Just saying.

[blas]

No worries about starting chewing snuff, I think that's absolutely disgusting and would never pick that up.

[XCashier]

This is going to be very hard because I am petrified of gaining weight. I said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather be a thin smoker than an overweight non smoker. That's an awful way to think, but I do NOT want to gain weight.
http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/weightgain/a/weightgainquit.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/quit-smoking/AN01437
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/w8quit-smoke/

Here are a few pages with some answers to your concerns and tips to help you avoid weight gain. I wish you the very best of luck with winning your freedom from smoking! :)

[blas]

It's going to be hard to stay away from the bars, even though I don't drink as much as I used to, I don't think I can quit going out just to avoid the urge to smoke. Although my city is the only one so far in northwest Wisconsin that has a smoking ban, so as long as I stay in my own city (which isn't hard to do, I hate townie bars and the little bars in podunk towns). Plus, it gets so hot in the bar, it's such a chore to keep fetching my jacket to go outside to smoke...if there's no smoke in the bar, it's a lot easier.

The hardest thing is going to be at work. I really hope my coworkers will support me and not antagonize me.

I guess I was really ignorant earlier about the weight gain. I had to look back a year ago and remind myself that last year I smoked more than I do now, and just being a smoker did not stop me from gaining nearly 20 pounds last year when I was under all that pressure and stress at work with the trainees and my shift leads and my boss. And this time around, I am no longer dating an anti-social guy, I get out and do more nowadays.....I don't just sleep all the time and eat and sleep then eat and sleep.....even though it's winter and more often than not, the weather ruins my plans.......I just have to keep reminding myself that smoking alone doesn't prevent weight gain. There are overweight smokers out there, so it's not a security blanket and should not be used as one. And one more time, remind myself that even though I smoked very heavily a year ago, I still gained a lot of weight. Nowadays I am under a lot less stress and am more active and whenever the weather is nice and I get a chance, I am out and about...even if I'm not wired and running around, I'm standing or walking around and socializing and not sleeping ALL the time or only ordering food in and napping.

And now I have all the exercise equipment here at my apartment, not at my parents' house. All I'd really have to do is just do a little more than I already do. I exercise 6 days a week, anywhere between 30-60 minutes.

[Buglady]

Try doing something that occupies your hands and your mind so that you won't be tempted to smoke or to snack as a smoking substitute. I have several friends who swear that knitting was the key for them to quit. (They made socks - challenging, but also small, portable projects that give you a real sesne of accomplishment).

[Evil Queen]

One of the many times Dad tried to quit, he sucked peppermints.

[Sliceanddice]

my great grandfather was always described to me as a nice wonderful man, who despite hes error early in life always treaten his grandchildren with love and repsect.
He was abusive to his children appartently.
He was a chain smoking indian cowboy who lived a long hard life, and tried to quit every way imagenable before he died in 1983.
I dont hate smokers but i do feel sad for them, living with an addiction,
So i hope you succed

[blas]

I only had 1 cigarette on each break last night. Normally I have 2 on my shorter breaks, and 3 on my lunch. Sure I wanted more, but I tried to control it.

Baby steps, baby steps.

But it's not going to be completely easy. Work is very stressfull sometimes.....well, the people I work with make me homicidal at times......I get so frustrated......I really hope I can do this....keep cutting down to nothing...

[Evil Queen]

Have you tried telling yourself "Once they're gone, they're gone."? Every time you take a puff?

[Greenday]

That's a pretty good system of cutting down. Slow and steady wins the race. Well, maybe not slow, but definitely a good steady pace of cutting yourself off.

[1756GR2]

When I was ready to quit many years back (I was not a light smoker) I kept an unopened pack with me for a long time, "just in case". Knowing it was there in case I did break helped in some strange way, and knowing that it would take a conscious action to open it and start again was a deterrent. I guess it was the telling myself, "I _choose_ not to open that pack" that worked for me, instead of "oh god I don't have any cigarettes!" Never did open it.

I can see, though, that that wouldn't work for everyone. Just relating my personal experience. Maybe it will work for someone else.

[GingerBiscuit]

The reason people gain weight when smoking is not because it supresses appetite or increases metabolism- in fact it does the opposite, because of the damage it's doing- but because, out of desperation to distract themselves/ have soemthing to do with their hands/mouth, smokers often start to overeat. This will balance itself out, but in the meantime, every time you get the urge to eat ask yourself these few things.
- Am I really hungry
- Do I actually want to eat this

usually in a few minutes the craving will fade, if it doesn't, find something to distract you. Play a computer game, read, chew some gum, anything.

Hey, with the money you save, you can maybe buy a DS, cart it around with you... something to do with your hands...? :) From what you say, you'll be saving about $140 a month, so it would only take you a few months.
Or save the money at the end of every week into a seperate account, use it to treat yourself.

[draftermatt]

- Am I really hungry
- Do I actually want to eat this

I've found that also works well for people who tend to overeat (me).