Greetings, fellow brothers and sisters of iron! I need your advice and expertise.
So, I've been smoking actively for 10 years, give or take. 1-2 packs a week.
I quit, was smoke free for 1 year, but keep going back.. Only smoke 1, maybe 2 cigarettes a week at this point, been like this for a couple of months and I don't crave more.
But I am so SICK of it! But I can't quit 100% - probably because I'm surrounded by smokers and a lack of knowledge, taking the risks too lightly and ultimately 'cause I'm a dumbass.
- But thats all history and excuses. I need to quit, I know I do.
Please, any and all advice is greatly appreciated! Throw it at me.. I need facts and ideas to finally just stop 100% and never look back.
On the other side of things;
I don't drink or do drugs, I'm eating 4-6 meals a day, clean diet and lots of water + them sweet supplements and an occasional sugar free energy drink.
I train (bodybuilding) with intensity 5-6 times a week and have been, on and off for 5 years now.
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08-02-2017, 05:49 PM #1
I can't quit smoking. Please help a fellow BB'er!
Last edited by ObscureFIT; 08-02-2017 at 06:13 PM.
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08-02-2017, 06:35 PM #2
Sunflower seeds. Or something else to fill the oral fixation. Stay away from other smokers. Avoid activities that would typically involve smoking.
Ask to sit in on a lobectomy surgery of a smoker. Go talk to someone with a trach/stoma. Visit some lifetime smokers who are chained to their oxygen tanks around the clock.MISC Blood Drive (MOD REPS): https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=175220881
Start: B-175/S-185/D-185/OHP-95
Current:B-335/S-365/D-365/OHP-215
Goals: B-365/S-405/D-495/OHP-225
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08-02-2017, 07:37 PM #3
If you cut down to one or two a week, then you are forcing yourself to relive the withdrawals over and over and over again. Cold turkey is the most effective way to stop smoking in my opinion. Go out right now and buy Allen Carr's The Easy way to stop smoking. I had to read it numerous times for it all to really sink in and finally get over it. If you like to read, another book that helped identify the psychology behind habits and rewards is The Power of Habit. I definitely recommend it.
Another method is hypnotherapy. Do your research if you go that route. Find someone who is rated well and is successful. For me hypnosis was a very memorable experience. To this day I still listen to some of the recordings to help me get to sleep.
Take a look around you. Look at other smokers and ask yourself if they look like they are enjoying themselves while they smoke. Please go get that book and read it. The Allen Carr one. You can stop. Everything in your life will be better after you stop. Food tastes better, sex is better, life is better. You are not giving anything up. You are freeing yourself from a terrible affliction.
GOOD LUCK!
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08-03-2017, 05:47 AM #4
I couldn't agree more. I have been cigarette free for a month now, and - funnily enough - I tried to quit before by reading the Allen Carr book but (and he predicts this in the book) if you don't finish it you're almost certain to relapse.
The fact of the matter is to quit smoking you truly have to believe that this cigarette is already incredibly damaging to you, and it is because of the way addiction works. For me I would think "Hey it's saturday I can have a few cigs with a beer and I haven't smoked all week" and then bam, one packet later and I'm back. And then I quit again during the week and then on the weekend (or whatever reason) I start smoking again.
You say you only smoke a few a week but when is that happening? The morning coffee? A friend at work you'd meet during smoke breaks? You have to shut all of these situations down. You'll see within a few weeks what a tremendous improvement you will feel in your life. Trust me as someone who smoked almost two packs a day sometimes and really struggled to quit. Cold turkey - go for it, and don't be afraid to ask for help.
Glad you posted - good luck.
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08-03-2017, 07:21 AM #5
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08-04-2017, 06:35 AM #6
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08-04-2017, 06:46 AM #7
I just want to take a second and thank all of you.
- I'm gonna get that Allen Carr book, avoid smoking situations entirely and possibly print out a picture of the actual impact from smoking.
I'm currently on day 4, cold turkey.
This time, I'm gonna avoid cigarettes as the actual effects of smoking instead of ''just'' a bad habit.
Wish me good luck and stay strong friends!It was the first time that I really gave my all towards something, because I didn't want to squander the only opportunity I had. Get READY! Through the blood and the sweat, the pain I will feel. This is the time I cannot lose. Live or die, I'll have to choose.
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08-04-2017, 06:48 AM #8
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08-12-2017, 02:20 PM #9
I quit three years, then got on it again, then quit for a year, then started again.
Now i too, can not quit.
But when the time is right, i will quit without problems.
But that time is not now!So you're on the internet for good advice, here's some good advice: have a good laugh once in a while. And never tear your bicep!
628 / 661 LBS DL
529 / 600 LBS SQ
242 / 300 LBS BP
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08-12-2017, 02:36 PM #10
1-cardio
2-Strive to go cold turkey but don't view it as a total failure if you cave & make note of the times you do (alcohol/stress/boredom)
3-chew gum/toothpicks/straws & do something with your hands when you're craving a smoke
Sources: former addicted smoker turned "only-drinking" smoker (not an alcoholic either)
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08-12-2017, 02:56 PM #11
In the military I had a LOT of friends who tried to quit smoking/dipping. The only success stories were the ones who quit cold turkey, just stopped 100%. A few relapsed after a few months, but then would go
cold turkey again.Former Navy Russian Linguist, now happily a stay at home Dad/French/German student
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10-18-2017, 07:21 AM #12
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10-18-2017, 08:09 AM #13
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10-18-2017, 10:40 AM #14
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10-18-2017, 12:44 PM #15
yeah, vaping is my suggestion.
I was a pack per day smoker for nearly 20 years. The patch is great for nic fits, but doesn't help to break the habit of smoking. Not a fan of the gum either. Cold turkey just sets you up for a hard back slide and a bunch of guilt.
Get yourself a good vape. I used a Kanger Subvod. Its cheap, and replacing coils is cheap and easy. I didn't get into modding or anything. Start with something that has high nicotine and work your way down to lower. I used my vape for nearly a year. I'm finally putting it down. It's hard, but not nearly as hard as putting down cigarettes.Goals:
1.5 bw Bench
2.0+ bw Squat
2.5 bw Deadlift
Gain 20 lbs
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10-24-2017, 07:46 PM #16
Just a small contribution to the great advice above. My father was an alcoholic and smoker for several years of his life. He has told me that what helped with was a smoking cessation hotline. Weird, I know. But he would stop and then, bam, another cigarette a week after. He says he would call the hotline frustrated and defeated, "I relapsed". The operator would tell him " OK, well now we start again". And so he did, started again from 0.
Its been at least 10 years since his last cigarette. I think posting here was a good idea, lots of people rooting for you. Good luck, OP.
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10-26-2017, 06:48 AM #17
- Join Date: Oct 2017
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A friend of mine used vaping to quit smoking. He was a pack a day smoker for 15 years and gradually reduced the nicotine level on his vape until he was vaping 0% nicotine and then stopped all-together. I was also a smoker for about 15 years and used vaping to stop smoking cigarettes. However, I enjoy vaping and do not want to stop. I buy the juice in bulk so it only costs me about $3 a week. I haven't had any negative health effects in the 4 years that I've done it whereas with cigarettes I'd get bronchitis twice a year at least. Obviously, from a health perspective I'd say you should quit inhaling anything that isn't clean, pure, air, but vaping seems to at least be a good alternative to smoking cigarettes or as an aid to get off nicotine completely.
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10-31-2017, 02:39 AM #18
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11-01-2017, 05:59 PM #19
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11-01-2017, 06:07 PM #20
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11-01-2017, 09:55 PM #21
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01-15-2018, 09:55 PM #22
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06-27-2018, 04:19 AM #23
You lack self discipline and self control. I smoked through highschool and i was skinny and smoking made it worse so i was then abnormal skinny. This was the reason i quit because i never again want to go back and be skinny as ****. Then i started gym,and change that addiction to cigars to addiction to gym.Probably you train, so find friends who live healty lifestyle. When you quit now this will made your mind stronger,you will gain score in self control and it will help you to have self control in other things. When mind say you can; Then you can, When mind say you can't; Then you can't.
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06-27-2018, 05:22 AM #24
I'm going to be honest.
You can't quit because you don't WANT to quit. You're taking the easy road & blaming it on addiction.
What I did, when I quit cold turkey; Whenever I wanted a smoke, I had some gum and stood outside for 5 minutes.
GONE. It's not about the smoking, it's the habit.- Slow progress, is progress.
- Losing fat is a marathon, not a race.
- Take care of your body, you've only got one.
- Progressive overload + good form.
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06-27-2018, 11:02 AM #25
I stopped smoking doing exactly this. Snus is disgusting in the beginning, but so is smoking. But what it actually does is decreasing your crave for nicotine so much that it becomes managable, and after a week or so you will like it. I did a spontanous and "hard" exit, just stopping to smoke and use snus instead.
Of course replacing one drug with another is not the optimal solution, but man, smoking is just so much worse, especially for an athlete! Your condition will be much better after a few days already.
Your profile says your living in Norway, I think it's legal there? Otherwise you could probably get it quite easily from Sweden, if it's legal to import.
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06-28-2018, 11:03 PM #26
- Join Date: Oct 2008
- Location: Kent, Washington, United States
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The ads on tv promote chantix to help you quit. I tried it and had some issues with my people skills. Your results may vary. Another drug that has worked for me is welbutrin. It also takes away the physical desire to smoke and much easier on the craziness. See your doctor and talk about it. You need a script anyway.
Both remove the physical need but you will have to do the psychological side of quitting on your own.
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06-29-2018, 01:45 AM #27
- Join Date: May 2014
- Location: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
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Personally I used to smoke 10-20 cigarettes a day for several years, I wanted to quit and a lot of people suggested a vape and that has helped me quit cigarettes all together. Combined with doing lots of cardio and getting fitter I feel like I don't need a cigarette at all and haven't smoked in around a year. The vapes are really good for quitting imo as it still gives you your nicotine which isn't the 'deadly' chemical in cigarettes.
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07-02-2018, 08:34 PM #28
Smoking is hard to give up and do not beat yourself if you relapse and pick up a packet or smoke a couple of ciggies, you are doing your best to quit!
I found that buying a vape with a lower nicotine 3mg and smoking that for 2 months and dropping to 2mg and smoking for 2 months helped, I then brought 0mg nicotine vape juice and smoked that for a good 5 months.
Although vaping is not healthy either it is a little more healthy than a carcinogenic ciggie, and it is way better than the nicotine gum , patches and all the other crap they sell.
Keep working hard you will get there and don't be so hard on yourself, you got this!
For me I liked the sensation of smoking it was not so much the nicotine habit, I like smoking and something I will always crave once in a while.
Work out why you smoke, keep a smoke journal and write down the time the feeling and the why, you will notice a pattern and then work on unlearning the routine
You will conquer smoking no doubt about it.
And christ (don't listen to people who have never smoked who think they know all because they had a ciggie at a party once)
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07-05-2018, 01:31 AM #29
As an ex-smoker of almost 12 years (10 cigarettes a day), I can tell you honestly that I loved smoking. I found it enjoyable and thought it helped me through tough times. I suffered from seasonal bronchitis every year. That made smoking unpleasant, and for two weeks in a year, I had to get my nicotine from snus or gums.
Slowly I realised that I was trapped. My day would go haywire if I didn't have my fix every two hours. There were times I would have run out of smokes and had to search out cigarettes from the neighborhood shops in the middle of the night.
I loved smoking, but hated being so utterly addicted to it. My daily routine was tied around my 10 cigarettes. One day, when I took a smoke break at work, I realised how silly and sad it was. To stand by yourself for five minutes and stare at nothing while smoking.
I tried to quit a couple of times and failed. Then around August 2013 I contracted severe bronchitis and had to go off smokes. I supplemented with Swedish snus and nicotine gum. It went on for two weeks. I decided to see how long I could go on with nicotine replacement instead of cigarettes. My lungs were still infected and a few more days passed. In three weeks I didn't want to smoke as badly. Then I stopped the snus and switched to a smaller quantity of nicotine gum. It took me another month, but I gradually tapered off, switching to regular sugar free mint gum.
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07-06-2018, 05:04 AM #30
I'd smoked off and on for more than 50 years. Some of it a pack/day, some much less. Like you, I'd quit before, sometimes for a few years. I generally started again when something brought me back to self-destruct mode.
I've just quit again, cold turkey May 18. The first day or two were the only time I'd craved, but not caved. Smooth sailing ever since. I've been extremely fortunate in my life of having a strong will power, which is extremely advantageous in situations like this.
Here's how I look at it OP, meaning looking inwards toward myself. You already know what you need to do, and why. There are zero positives or benefits to smoking, it's all negative.
You're working-out to be healthier, but sabotaging yourself by smoking. I'm assuming you've restructured your diet to further your healthier lifestyle. Stopping smoking is no different than changing your diet by cutting-out putting things into your body that are counter-productive/harmful to it.
Simply put them down, and walk away. You have the will power over a mere paper and plant product.
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