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NOPE!

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NOPE!!

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NOPE!! sir ee

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

NOPE!

I know I’ve been really bad about checking in here. I’m a couple months past my 4 year anniversary and felt compelled to touch base and if I can help anyone struggling, to do so. If you told me 14 years ago, when I first quit, or any of the 10 years between then and when I actually did quit that I’d be here right now, I wouldn’t believe you. My journey started on the old message board, the one that shall not be named, and I recall reading SO much information. Posts, celebrations, failures, advice, tricks, tips. I remember getting compassion and tough love with every relapse. Every relapse that I would eventually tuck my tail between my legs and come back looking for some commiseration and a new plan of attack. There were also long bouts of staying away, while I was smoking, of course. It’s the normal cycle of a relapse. After enough times, you sort of even stop feeling sorry for yourself. At least I did. At this point though, I feel that I’ve gone from “I used to smoke” to “No, I don’t smoke.” Like, it was a part of my life for about 15 years but where I am now people are surprised to hear that I used to smoke, they would never guess if I hadn’t told them. And for me, that’s a good feeling. The battle with nicotine was mine, and mine alone, but as far as anyone else is concerned, it makes me so happy that I have severed that connection with the cigarette. I don’t have any tips, tricks, or other advice that made this quit stick when the many, many others did not. I just knew, my body knew, my mind knew…I was done. It was like I had never smoked before at all. No withdrawal, no cravings, no triggers…I was free. And that’s where I am today. I am as free as I will allow myself to be, which is honestly why I DO make an effort to come back. To celebrate and to remind myself that I got lucky. To remind myself that before this quit, I struggled countless times. And to remind myself that I can NEVER go back, no matter what. Because it’s easy to go back to it. And it’s easy to stay quit for good…as long as you NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF! If you’re struggling, on the brink of relapse, don’t give up. Speak up, reach out, don’t give in, don’t give up. This to shall pass. Stay the course, shipmates.

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A few months before my lung collapsed last year, I started exercising. Naturally, I've been hesitant to exert myself ever since my hospital stay. However, since it's been over a year since I quit smoking, I'm going to ease back into exercise in 2025. To that end, tomorrow I'll be working out with my dumbbells at their lowest weight. Due to my disability, I can't always stand or sit "the way you're supposed to," so I've got to work out what is safe and effective for me. In January, I'll start exercising with actual weight. Here, I'll keep track of my health. Just as keeping track of the data helped encourage me in my quit, I hope it will encourage me to stick with my exercise and nutrition.

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Posts on the Main Board in the past have been Smoke related Lungs from You Tube If it helps just one person to Quit , and you want to post that’s ok ..

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Hopefully when you start seeing real results it will be different for you.

Those are the basics Penguin. Very important to engage those core muscles. Helps with stability also and it’ll actually start helping those abs tighten up too. I have always enjoyed staying toned and have worked with free weights a lot. I can hardly wait to start seeing updates on your results!

Given my ADHD, it's difficult for me to remember to exercise. All of the habits I've formed are all heavily steeped in dopamine. While exercise does feel good, it doesn't trigger the same happy buttons as, say, video games, for me. From what I've been reading I should probably start with one or two days a week, combined with my usual activity. I like going for walks to get a coffee in the evenings, so that gives me about a mile a day to begin with. I'm going to have to put up reminders around my apartment to take time to practice good form and posture this December.

Today I did some reading on how to exercise safely with dumbbells. The main takeaways I got were: * Remember to breathe. A lot of us tend to hold our breath when we exert ourselves, and that can lead to hernias and other issues. * Engage your core muscles. Bring your belly button toward your spine and use proper posture in order to prevent injuries. * Lift and lower slowly, with controlled motion. Many of us tend to think of an exercise movement as the lifting part, not both lifting and lowering. We also may have a tendency to drive the motion quickly so as to "get one more rep" or what have you, but that can lead to injuries.

Great post @SecondChanceSailor, and congratulations on 4 years quit!

Thank you. I may find some pertinent occasion to share my X-rays from my lung collapse. I've been thinking lately about the costs associated with smoking.

Congratulations on 7 years free @notsmokinjo, I hope you stick around for a while because we miss you when you're gone! Have a great day my friend

Gday Im 6 and never owned a human that smoked

Happy 7th @notsmokinjo!!!

I don’t smoke anymore!!! It is one of the best things I can say. The only thing I can compare the feeling to that I get when I say it is when I used to sing My Country ‘Tis Of Thee in grade school. HaHa An amazing post by the way and I’m sure that it will help someone along the way. Congratulations on your fourth year of being a quitter! I’ll be four years in March! I hope to see you around more.

I remember you @SecondChanceSailor Congratulations on your 4 years smoke free The first time I actually said to someone I dont smoke anymore , gave me a huge sense of pride … I never thought I would say those words , Well done !!!

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Congrats @notsmokinjo

jillar Quit Date: May 29, 2016 Posted January 18, 2021 Imagine if we were characters in a video game and cigarettes are our opponents. The object of the game is to be the sole survivor, the winner of the grand prize- A LIFE TIME FREE FROM DAMAGE! Like a lot of video games you get three lives, in our game they're called relapses. Each relapse causes your character to become weaker and weaker from the effects of smoking and your opponent seems to be winning. So you fight a little harder but still not hard enough and you use another of your relapses. Now you're down to your last life, you've used all your relapses and should you fail this time its game over. That's how all of us should think about smoking. None of us know who among us will get a smoking related illness and some of us already have one or more. And some of us paid the ultimate price with our lives.... Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/15037-game-over/

Congratulations on your successful quit! I think you touched on a couple things that are really important. One, there's a shift in one's thinking when they reach a successful quit, from "I quit smoking" to "I don't smoke." For many of us, we need that shift in our mindset. When we no longer identify as a smoker, it doesn't erase our past, but it does set us up for success for the future. The second thing is, quitting doesn't have to be hard. Oftentimes it is, but if you can quit without cravings or irritability or fear, that's great. Some people can do that. For my part, I spent a long time being afraid of quitting, but when I finally did quit, all that fear and hesitation was gone. I think the bottom line is this: don't let the fear of what could be keep you from trying for success.

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Nope! I was in Amhurst last Monday for a few hours. No snow there then thank goodness!

Nope... A foot of snow on the ground and more coming... Go Bills

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@jillar When I moved into my apartment, I was a smoker, and smoking was allowed in the building. Now that smoking is prohibited and I've quit smoking, I smell just how much that stench has soaked into the walls, even when I'm walking through the public hallways. They're going to renovate my apartment once I move out, and I've been telling the maintenance staff for years, "I was a smoker and this place will need to be stripped down to the concrete." Hopefully I'll be able to move out to a cleaner place within the next few years.

@Penguin, it is! When I bought my home years ago I decided no smoking inside and boy am I glad I did. My garage though was covered in nicotine residue. Yuck! My parents house in Florida was horrible. They both smoked in the enclosed air conditioned house and the nicotine was everywhere. Even through the ducts! We actually had to throw most of their stuff away because no one at the estate sale wanted nicotine soaked stuff and there was just too much for us to try to clean before the sale. Even the house saold for a reduced price because of it..............

@Penguin, there's no rule against it and if they're smoking related you can post right on the main board. All others should be posted either in Social or Off the Record.

I have often worried about thirdhand smoke, though I didn't realize that's what it was called. I used to hotbox my apartment, and while my family says they can't smell cigarettes on me anymore and I'm grateful, I know all that tar and garbage is just slathered over everything.

Darling Dutch Woman, You veer from the path, you might stumble but you pick yourself up, dust yourself off. I've seen you! and I believe in your resolve. Today. Now. Your footsteps follow your footsteps and another minute, another hour, another day of conquering addiction brings power.