Still winning

Food! I just had a 5 hour recovery lol, omg I can eat so much now, greedy piggy lol.

I made my children wait everywhere, I once tooka 5 month old baby outside (wrapped up) on a layover in chicago with snow so I could have a cig between flights :( Shops, theme parks, games at home - they waited a lot and I am very ashamed. Good job for you at seeing how it really is and poor kids, lets hope their mama wakes up really soon. x

I'm genuinely intrigued, hopefully I can explain why. I feel like the point of this part of my quit is for things to make sense. So here goes my attempt to explain and ask - did this happen to you too?! I have had many opportunities to "re-invent myself", "start again" you know and I have tried to embrace each one. I took nearly kicking the bucket in my first child birth to introduce more spirituality to my life, previously I had run scared of a part of myself. I also then changed career from office based to running my own pub and wow, what an amazing experience :) I took cancer and saw my marriage had fallen apart, as had my business...had the treatment and an operation and walked away from the lot with my head held high. Moved to a new area and completely started again. One of my mantras is "once more into the flames", I never runaway from anything, I deal and move forward. So you see, I am no stranger to a fresh start...which was my long winded point there lol. So I quit for fear, couple of days of bad breathing and associations with a history of dying relatives meant I could no longer deny the links to smoking. I hunted for a quit group I hadn't joined up to in one of my many attempts (wow) and found some guys that saved my life, quite literally. I had already done the pre requisite amount of thinking/failing that seems common to many (NOT ALL) quits. All of this is lovely. I held my quit via the "snotfest", "white knuckle option" rather than the preferred "easy way", man I could have used some easy way, meh! THE POINT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE LESS TIME, cause wow, muchus waffle - I actually feel I could do anything now!! Does everyone whose quit feel like "if I can stop smoking, I can do anything"?? Have you actually done things you wouldn't previously?? Or is it just an "in your brain" thing. I'm over thinking I know but interested and I'm trudging in no mans land here so thoughts/answers are helpful to keep me marching :)

How are you doing Gabby? xx

nope.

Washing being up to date. Weeding the garden. Weight. Not smoking. making sure everyone around me has what they need. I could go on, oopsy, lol. Issues I think ;)

big up chick!! Great news you have 4 months. You have been fabulously motivational and real to read. Massive congrats for your 4 months. xx

brilliant news rez, massive congrats.

nope for me.

Try and remember the lozenge is only nicotine. It will be out your system in 72 hours and it's a climb to freedom, no need for panic. Try and get some fruit juice and sip it periodically, the nicotine leaving your system can cause some blood sugar lows (which people take as a crave) and fruit juice combats that feeling. Stay close to the board and maybe make a post on the quit smoking section Gabby, let people support you. What you are doing is an amazing gift to yourself and is more then worth some mental discomfort. You are literally saving your life and your finances too based on NZ policies on smoking! Try looking at the whyquit.com stories if you're feeling weak. Learning why we are getting rid of it meant I was able to mentally rebuff the urge to cave and smoke...only thing that works for a lot of people is the education side. Kinda gives you the mental ability to fight back. xx

congrats on 2 years!!

1 year is simply fabulous!! Massive congrats. x

Aw massive congrats on your 6 months Jow. Way to go. xx

Paul massive congrats on 10 months. Also thanks for being fabulous and supportive generally. Much appreciated. x

Happy birthday beautiful. I miss you and hope you're ok. xx

So pleased you have 4 months comrade. Thanks for being so real, it's appreciated by those who are and massive congrats to you.

Agreed. I am missing two absolute beauties whom I genuinely care for and I know you guys are sneaky smoking if you read this. Now come back and let us help cause you know you don't want to right... But yes, agree 100% with Andrew, come on home chaps and chapesses and lets go again. Lost count of my endless quits, oops! x

PS - I don't know if previously I really believed those craves would ease?! I fell off the wagon quite regularly because I thought I would feel like that forever and it was less "painful" to smoke - however it was only ever mental pain, not real!! Don't think I actually understood that either.

1. What helped me is knowing it could be done, reading smoking horror stories and genuine support. I did not want to let myself OR you guys down and sometimes you lot are the reason I held on. Although of course I was super happy after the event there were 3 times I would have previously failed. 2. I failed previously as I had no understanding. I also think every failure contributed to the quit I now have, almost a year of trying to be varying smokers (social, weekend, evening etc, 5 a day etc). I actually struggle to see why I was so thick about it actually lol but pleased I'm good now. I hate the craves/trigger thoughts now, but I love the freedom so I will trek through them until they are merely reminders of what I used to be dumb enough to do.

I'm also a tongue bleeder from biting lol. No advice, oodles of empathy :)

nope.

Reading your healthy meals as I finish annihilation of 4 cheese and crackers - oops. See you have spotted bread as a potential problem, that's a big one for me too. The other thing I noticed is my weight moves quicker if I drink more water. That is an easy win to add. x

nope.

Have you got a plan to come off then when the time is right Gabby? Shifting the patches was a big step, brilliant. x