As usual, my most important new years resolution this year is to never smoke again! I thought it might be an idea to start a thread for those of us who are about to go through this difficult time to offer encouragement and support (unless of course, I'm the only one! )

9 days so far and I've only actually had one serious craving which I'm happy to say I didn't give into.

For me, the incentive was a bout of chest pains towards the end of the year last year - my immediate thought was "its my heart and smoking has caused it!". Doesn't seem as though that is the case thankfully but, it was enough of a shock to make me more determined than ever to quit!

My method this time will be cold turkey - I don't want to rely on patches again.

So, if there are any more of you in the same boat - heres a place for you to post

*Edited by Allen, just fixed the title thats all.

I'm 3-4 weeks into it now, broke down once, bought a pack and smoked it over two days, but I'm back on track.

3 - 4 weeks is awesome! Most important thing to remember when/if you slip is that it doesn't mean you have failed! Its just a glitch in the process, nothing more.

I stopped smoking when I graduated high school (I know it's not the same as trying to quit when you're well into your adult life). I did it beause I've always had really sh!tty lungs and asthma. Doing any kind of cardio just wore me out and cigarettes made it a thousand times worse. Try running or jumproping if you get an urge for a cancer stick. It's hard to want to inhale smoke when you're huffing and puffing for air

~Nicole

I wish I'd had that problems - well, I don't wish I'd had it but, if it would have stopped me smoking when I was young I do....you know what I mean!

My problem is, even though I've smoked for more years than I care to admit to (20+) I've always had pretty good cardio. At the peak of my fitness last year, my resting heart rate was around 60 and I could do 2 hours cardio no problems!!

My 2 main weapons besides willpower this time around are cold water and sugar free gum. Seem to be doing the trick so far

I can remember smoking a ciggarette while doing my streaches before going on a 17 mile run in the Marines. It never held me back physically but I always knew it would catch up with me.

I smoked for 12 years and quit cold turkey 3 years ago. I started with the patch but soon felt that it was all in my head. I never understood how people could make it months then go right back to smoking. For me the craving was a steady decline. The first 2 days were by far the toughest, then I started to feel a little better, after 2 months I was rarely even thinking about it, usually the cravings would only come back when I was drinking.

If there is one piece of advice that i can offer besides telling you that the hardest part is behind you is try the nicotine free ciggarettes like Qwest. The taste like $#(& but its the act that you can have relieved some. It worked for me, I bought a pack and smoked 1 a day for about a week then I couldn't stand them anymore. That was that.

Good luck!

Its the cravings when I'm drinking that get me too. Also, they usually occur in an environment where cigarettes are readily available. Thankfully, I'm not really drinking nowadays. A couple of beers every couple of weeks so, hopefully that won't be an issue.

I tried some herbal cigarettes years ago, they were truly disgusting but, instead of putting me off smoking, they pushed me right back onto the real thing

I don't think I had any cravings at all today so, feeling pretty positive

Almost slipped this morning

Was having a blood test (I hate needles) and was pretty nervous - on the way, I was so close to buying a pack!! Sucked it up in the end and got through it but, that was my lowest point so far this year...

Keep it up! Do not weaver in your goals, Be strong it will be the single greatest thing you have ever done for your health/life

Good job, Chris! How have you been doing these past few days?

Thanks for the support. I've been doing pretty well. The cravings still come and go but, I'm learning to live with them. Saturday night was a bit of a test as I enjoyed a few beers. I definitly wanted to smoke, it seemed natural but, there is no tobacco of any description in the house so, there was no opportunity for me to slip (well, I could have gone out to the shop but, resisted that temptation).

It will be a while before I feel confident enough to go out to a pub and have a few drinks socially though....

I was suppose to quit New Years Day but I pulled out my "get out of jail free card" cause I had a hang over. lol

So now I am going to quit in the morning when I wake up. Over the 10 yrs of smoking I developed asthma in the past 4 but it only really effects me when I am sick. There was times in BJJ and softball where I needed my inhaler, but nothing severe. I remember how I felt when I quit for 3 months and I was taking BJJ i could actually tell a difference in my stamina when we would roll. Thats my biggest motivation. So hopefully I can quit for good.

Best of luck with it Ron. I am already feeling healthier (maybe psychological, who knows!) Food is tasting better too Today is my 16th day and, I'm amazed at how well I seem to be doing without any patches or anything.

I have a feeling that this will be the best decision we have ever made!

I think it will be too. It's a big change in lifestyle thats for sure. I was smoking almost 2 packs a day.

Welp, here we go! Day 1!

From what I've heard and what I've read, the initial 2 or 3 days are by far the hardest. So, if you can make it through those, its all downhill from there

Whenever you get a craving (and you will) make sure you have some gum to hand, or some water, or just something else you can concentrate on. The craving passes in under 5 minutes so, in reality, thats all you have to deal with, 5 minutes.

Best of luck man! Be sure to keep posting your progress.