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G’day NOPE to start the day

I'll nominate Sazerac for all the videos she likes to post and bump

I nominate MLMR for writing and posting a complete and honest documentation of her successful quit.

This blue butterfly was given to me ,when I first arrived at the forum...all i could do then was type HI... Nancy took me under her wing ,gave me a ticker ,and this beautiful picture of freedom ... She has been my constant support off board and here... I love this lady ...hugs Sweetheart.xx

About 2yrs ago I started my journey to quit smoking for several reasons - the longest I made it on my last quit was 90 days - but boy what a difference I felt in those 90days!! But like most there was always a reason or excuse to start back up again, just as there's a reason to want to quit again. I'm really hoping this time will be my forever quit. I'm tired of the wheezing and coughing and all the fatigue and illnesses that come with smoking and I'm ready to start feeling healthy again. I've always stuck to the patches as they seem to help me the most. Popped one on this morning and already finding myself fighting thru the cravings and just the plain old habit of having a smoke to relieve my stress - even tho I already know smoking just brings on more stress and to give into the craving with just one puff can lead to a major undo of just a few day days or several weeks worth of success and leaving you with that deflated full of regret feeling. a pattern I don't want to repeat. The one good thing I did do was keep a private daily journal during that time of how I progressed what worked and what didn't and then my relapse hoping to learn from my past mistakes. I remember how hard that 1st month was and remember the sheer excitement of hitting 1 week then the 2nd week and so forth. I want to feel that excitement and healthy again. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and being able to take a deep breath without coughing and reaching for an inhaler to get some relief. I've already removed all smoke related items from the house to resist any temptation - especially for these 1st 3 days. I do remember sleeping a lot those 1st days of of my last quit just to keep from smoking and may try that again - whatever helps right? So here's to the start of day one! I'll probably be posting a lot the next few weeks along with mindless rambling. But wishing the best for all of us on this journey to a healthier lifesytle!

NOPE

NOPE - smoking sucks!

NOPE ... Woo Hoo.....it is so hot here that I am not leaving my house today! Thank God I don't have to go anywhere or do anything but catch up on my reading or find a good movie to watch!!

I will nominate Jillar's Air Cigarette !!!! I used it and I know others and it worked great!! I used a blue straw and cut it down to cigarette size, still have it

NOPE Read through my list of the many reasons to quit. Got to keep my motivation strong. Ready with cookies to stimulate those endorphins when a craving for nicotine hits. (Carrots just don't do it for me.)

Your friendship has been a gift and a blessing to me...love you right back!!

Have to add @c9jane29 glitter. I was covered in glitter in my early quit. Miss her very much.

I nominate a giant rubber duck for the Hall...Miss that guy.

No...just " Doreen Fear " It's not rational.........but I now wear a helmet all the time, I'm wearing one now.

^^ hey Joe you better not be lookin for a lighter.

NOPE

Nope

Nope

NOPE...on this Saturday where the heat index in my neck of the woods should be about 115 (temp 96)

NOPE - Smoking sucks!

NOPE...

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!

My three biggest triggers were alcohol, coffee, and food (after a meal). I didn't drink alcohol for the first 3 months because I didn't need anything to make quitting any harder; I couldn't stop eating so instead I ate more; but, like Diane, I decided I would not give up my beloved all day coffee. I was very happily surprised when I found that I still enjoyed drinking coffee without a cigarette and it actually became a bit of a life raft in my sea of abstinence. I guess I just need to have at least one active vice at any given time. Interestingly, when I started drinking alcohol again after 3 months (although I was still definitely craving cigarettes), I found that having a drink was not only still enjoyable, but also helped ease by cigarette cravings at that point in my quit -- but I don't think it would have at the very beginning. Cheers and hang in there, the things you love will still be lovable when the smoke clears.

Positively NOPE !!!!

If we're going to pay tribute to Bakon and his shoe obsession, we should include a pair of Bigfoot's running shoes. And just to spite him, an old pair of flip-flops...

What accents, we don't have accents, everyone else does ..lol, joke Joyce. Australia is the greatest place on earth (not biased)... and when you get down here you will love it. Just plan well it's the same size almost as the USA so unless you come for a long time you won't manage to see everything..it's a huge place. Wait that gives me an idea....get one of those money tins or jars and each week put the money you would have used to buy ya smokes in there....before you know it you'll have some of you coming to Australia money...two bucket list items for one, Visiting Aus and being Smoke Free.

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nope

This morning I awoke and my first thoughts were about coffee and a cigarette. Incredibly, I started rationalizing that maybe the worsening of my eyesight in my right eye was from something like eye strain, something temporary. I stepped back 20 feet from the eye sight testing chart I bought on Amazon and taped onto my door and tested my eyes. 20/70 at best with my right eye. No change with left eye. The results of the chart triggered a cascade of reasons I quit for. I felt some relief that I could feel good about the improvements in my health that might be possible when I stay quit. All the while I smoked in the past, I said to myself that, "my father was "healthy" and smoked since he was in his late teens"--and he was around 80-85 at the time. He got prostate cancer somewhere in there, but survived. The irrational addictive thought was, "If I get cancer after 50 years of smoking, it' won't be a tragedy, it'll be a miracle!" (I'd be 120 years old.) What an idiot. My father had quit the moment he had the diagnosis and the doctor said, "quit or die." It wasn't until later that he was diagnosed with emphysema. I used to visit him most Sundays for an hour in the last few years of his life. I watched the disease take hold ever stronger and suffocate him. He was 91 when he passed away 10 months ago, his body like a skeleton with skin stretched over them -- emphysema made it difficult for him to eat anything in his last year. Somewhere in my mind I was thinking, "I'll quit before any cancer or other disease becomes a problem." The darkening color of my toes in the winter--they'd be better in the summer--it was just the cold weather. The pressure in my chest when I climbed stairs--just need to start walking. The varicose veins that cause my legs to swell--vascular surgery. The way my facial skin has aged, taking me from looking 40 into my 50s, to looking early 70s in my 60s. In my addictive haze, I rationalized that I could stop or reverse anything that assailed me. How crazy is our thinking when we smoke, mine, anyway. Dr Abraham Twersky wrote a book called Addictive Thinking. He wrote about how an addict skews cause and effect, attributing a problem or problems to anything but the addictive substance. In these early days of quitting, when I'm still craving, I'll have to reread it to reinforce my understanding of the lies of the part of my mind that wants nicotine.

I would also like to nominate the Chicks and Sticks game thread for the Hall of Fame. That game kept me occupied during any downtime in the early days of my quit. To a point that it felt like I traded in one addiction for another.

I nominate Jimmy and his bus. He always got us windowlickers to our destination in a safe and timely manner.

Nope Nope Nope not ever yuk. Who what’s to smell like an ashtray.

Oh Kate. Hang in there. I also made all those excuses, but when I turned 60, I knew it was inevitable that I would get a smoking related illness. I really think you have been mentally preparing yourself for this quit. Keep educating yourself and stay close. We are here to help you through. Keep looking past those craves to the power and freedom you will receive when quit.

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

I have to put Sonic on this list ...that guy had me peeing my pants more times than I care to admit !!!!!

...because when I play this one I can't resist movin' and smilin'

NOPE...

NOPE!

Nope!

We've built a bit of history here on the Quit Train, memorable moments, quirky characters, etc.. As with any institution that stands the test of time, it is important to not only look to the future but also honor our past. Commemorate the people and artifacts that shaped who we are. In reading through a current introduction post, it was clear to me what the first item enshrined at the Quit Train Hall of Fame should be. This item is wielded by the matriarch of the Train and has scared many a quitter straight. It is legendary and its lore lives on... It is my honor to induct into the first class of the Quit Train Hall of Fame Doreen's Frying Pan....

Hi Diane, You already know what to do, to not smoke again. You just do not smoke. You were not born as a smoker, so your brain in both conscious and inconscious manners has memory of how life was without cigarettes. Just because you learned how to be a smoker, does not mean that forever you are to be a slave to the addiction. It takes time for your brain to return to handling life without cigarettes, but it will. It did it before you became a smoker, and it will do it again now that you have quit. Just be patient, and most important thing is to not be afraid of nicotine addiction. It is not a monster hiding and waiting to get you. It has no intelligence. And no power. You control the it 100%. As long as you do not put nicotine in your body again, it will stay asleep. Cristóbal

Welcome hellkat, yes the first few months are the worst! Each month I read my posts from beginning to end just so I wouldn't forget where I came from. We have a great thread pinned to the top of the SOS forum to pre rrspond to your own SOS. I highly recommend you making yourself one and read it often, especially when you feel yourself caving to a crave. I also am a big fan of posting an SOS if you need that extra support. We will come running to help you get through the crave

Welcome aboard hellkat glad to have you along for this journey. I like that you are remembering things from your past quit's and using the journal from your past to gauge where you had been and also what mistakes you have made, leaning from your mistakes is important. Now is the time to focus and commit to quitting. Come here and post often for questions and education, for socialization, and yes for rambling (we are good at). Using the NOPE pledge section each day is a great way keep your focus!!!!!

Hi Kate, i’m in The same boat. I just quit a few days ago. I still think about smoking when I first wake up. I’ve changed the way I have my morning coffee. And the place too. You can do this! This week has been hard with the lovely parting gifts smoking has left me to deal with while my body works to undo all the damage. But this morning I’m feeling better. Just one day at a time. I can I will I must! My new motto.

Gee Boo, that is a really big pouch to fill. I thought you were a tighty whities type of guy.

Confession: I am guilty of stereotyping/profiling Jo. I just assume she knows all about boomerangs and kangaroos because she lives in Australia. Saw this commercial last night while watching a baseball game and immediately thought of Jo...