Still winning

Yeah I learnt that too :( Still, lesson learnt and onwards and upwards!! Ok, so you have got the if I have 1 it's game over answer, you need that answer to move on in my humble opinion. Have you got the reason you smoke in the first place? Why did you smoke? Normal gum or nicotine gum? If normal you will need some fruit juice to sip the first 3 days to help your blood sugars regulate or you will feel tired. x

Hey I was thinking of you the other day, great to see you back. What have you learnt from the other quits? We all have in common more than one quit, but a learning from each one gives us the ability to understand and hold on this time. What steps have you put in place this time to help when you trigger? Is this plan better then last time. How are you quitting, cold turkey? The more you tell us, the more we can help and the more accountable you make yourself the better. With you and ready when you are.

You know what I'm just glad you held on. Aine is right, totally an addiction thing, some people do the easy thing, others do the "hang on by a thread thing"! I think you are doing so well though, truly I do. I also think you have learnt more then you realize, cause you held this quit. That you've called a whole lotta names, you held it anyway. But honestly, read some more. Help is best when it resonates deep inside of you and some of the stories and writing just will. And seriously, well done on the sos. I know you hate saying you need help or something is bad...bloody ace job!!

While I was out?!!! I bloody next to never go out, typical!! You nearly threw your quit away? For what Susana, really, what was so awful that killing your body, literally poisoning it seemed like a fantastic option?? Go back and read stories of women, younger and older then us who never thought it would be them! Go watch a smoker, see the "catch" as their throat tries to absorb poisons. Listen to the cough as the body and specifically lungs of the addict tries to dispel the toxins, but it can't, there's just too many!! My heart hurts for how hard it is, we all remember the battle. Youwon this one, although I'm a bit sketchy about your methods because I care for youbut we'll chat about that another time if you choose too. For now, please know day 3 nicotine free can suck balls, the way through it is to not smoke. We don't smoke anymore, we are non smokers and we are your cheerleaders saying, LOOK YOU ARE ALREADY DOING IT, just keep on, one foot in front of the other. How ya doing now?

Brilliant effort at finding a positive. And for not wanting to smoke. That's the way days are won and quit are taken :)

There is never a NEED to smoke, only an addiction to defend yourself against. Staying calmly aware of NOPE, Not One Puff Ever - Just for today

Oh Tiff, my heart sank and now like Tracey I'm smiling :) Sometimes you just have to prove it to yourself don't you, good job!

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Excited for you and mega excited for your babies!! 1 week of freedom but as important, 1 week where you set the example and raised the bar on how we parent. Feels pretty damn good I bet :) I just wrote on Vics, someone once said to me quitting is a journey not an event. It always stayed with me and Ioffer you that on this one week quit. A roller coaster it may be but if you keep doing what you'e already done, it gets pretty amazing!! Massive congrats on your 1 week milestone, huge accomplishment and the first of many congrats.

Absolutely fabulous!! So excited for your future now!! Congrats on this MASSIVE milestone!! Pleased today is a good day too, celebrate the great ones and remember them if it feels hard another day. I once read quitting is a journey, not an event and it stuck with me and probably now with you. So so pleased for you :) Good work :D

To give another perspective, I sleep less but wake more refreshed and have about triple the energy I had as a smoker generally. Unlike you I never knew smoking took this from me!! I'm not drinking green gloop though ;)

-6

No need to be nervous now. You have this as long as you don't put something in your mouth and set it on fire, it's simple :) I will be a closet cheerleader from England as well. xx

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-1

6 Days to go - hope you got your bathers ready for that lido deck Doreen :party: Party on!!

Not updated as not much to report to be honest. I'm almost 5 months, as it's the 2nd I know that's in 10 days, but mostly I don't really remember how long it's been since I quit. That feels massively ironic as at stages there I was counting in minutes, at a push days. Months seemed totally unrealistic and I smile to think back. It turns out 4 is my new magic number. Since the actual day I turned 4 months quit I have honestly felt great! That particular day was a dark one on the emotional front and through it all I never even considered smoking which I didn't even realize until the next day. I haven't since then either. I am fairly sure this steady movement forward (not that it always felt like that!) is in great part because of my interaction here. When I post that it will get better, I mean it does get better and I want you to hold on! As a fantastic by product though it reminds me of where I was and never will be again - thus my quit is also reinforced. I understand how people start to drop off the radar on the board at my stage of the quit. I have nothing very clever to say to people quitting nor do I have very much to post about. However, I also still have people around who are not quit from this board - but I absolutely know they will and I want to be here to see the great moments :) Hey perhaps I'm just nosy haha. My epic journey continues and less then 3 months until my Florida trip with my family which was a contributor to why I quit. Laughable now, I wish I had of understood and not hidden my head in the sand for so long before quitting. Still what's done is done and I only look forward now.

Hi Abby, I think if we don't understand it can be too daunting to quit. I, like many others, knew that times when we couldn't smoke were hard (train journey, plane, car etc). We were pretty desperate by the time we could smoke again. That's because after 20 minutes or so, the nicotine in a cig starts to come out of your blood stream - it creates a lack which grows and hey presto, you think about smoking and do so the next time you can. Hope this makes sense so far :) To not smoke is actually easier, really, I'm being straight with you. Yes initially, you get those cravings, but they are only thoughts and can only control us if we let them. After that you actually don't start to crave every 20 minutes or so, it just gets less and less. Hoping this still makes sense and trying to take you the science type route. Emotionally it's a journey. However there are literally millions of ex smokers, look at it logically, if it were that hard millions wouldn't be able todo it :) Allen Carr book called easy way to stop smoking works great for some folks. You can still smoke while you read it. Whyquit.com worked better for me as did reading all the info on this site that's pinned at the top of each forum. People say education is key and it's true. When we can start to change our mindset from we need to smoke to be ok it gets easier. And that's where the self education comes in, you basically read and get info that appeals to your personality but the end result is the same. We know smoking is bad for us, we choose to ignore it. Educating means we can stop ignoring it and realize some uncomfortable times and some fabulous times (honest there is both!!) mean nothing in the face of the freedom we all now feel. Better health, better finances but also self worth. Keep talking as something you say may trigger something in you that makes your mind start to work against the addiction and read up, it honestly does help. Worst case, it can't hurt to do some reading and some talking right. xx

20 mins pilates with weights

The only person who can influence you is you! So it is with smoking or not smoking, it's always a choice. I choose NOPE today!

-20 YAY Go chicks!

You are doing brilliantly. This is honestly the best thing we can do for our kids, to be their parent and set an example that won't damage our health! Agree to one day at a time, that's how time adds up, it starts in one place and making a stand. x

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30 mins arms, weights and then some toning work.