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G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required) same spot different day different tide

nope

NOPE!

Nope!!!!!

*** N O P E ***

NOPE

N o P e

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

Nope No way. the only way I will see or smell smoke is in the fireplace, having barbeque or if the house catches fire!

I love this. I can make my pledge a good twelve hours in advance! Thank you.

NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE

NOPE…

NOPE

NOPE...

NOPE!

Well finally My Friday, it really should be my Saturday, but the extra day I have to work makes my Saturday my Friday even though it is really Tuesday. Monday is My Fri, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday are my Saturday and Sunday plus one. The Plus one is really cool get an extra day and lose a working day that way I have 3 days to play, and it still adds up to 7 very cool. Well any way I will be off tomorrow and it is a good thing, not sure what I am going to do, but I do know what I am not going to do, I am not going to smoke. Well I may smoke a Ham or a Turkey My new favorite

NOPE

NOPE

One of the greatest gifts the process of quitting gave me was the opportunity to practice detachment on a daily basis. I started thinking about this earlier today after hearing Jocko Willink talk about detachment on a podcast. In fact, the moment I figured out how to separate myself from whatever emotions and thoughts I was having in the moment was the turning point in my quit. It was a struggle before I figured it out. After I figured it out, it has been nothing but smooth sailing. The cravings didn't magically go away when I turned the corner. The odd thought about "the good ol' days when I was a smoker" still popped up from time-to-time. The basic tenets of addiction were still there, I just changed how I reacted. Instead of surrendering to the chaos and allowing the emotional upheaval to dictate my actions, I just took a step back and observed what was really going on. Identified my thoughts as nothing more than a temporary feeling born of decades of addiction. Detaching yourself from the self-defeating thoughts and emotions of addiction allows you to observe what's really going on and make wise decisions. The cigarette is an inanimate object. You are not a smoker. You are someone who used to smoke. Your thoughts have as much or as little power as you give them.

congratulations BKP on 6 years quit. I bet your hiking is much easier these days! keep on hiking

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required scribbly bark gum tree

Congratulations BKP, this truly is an inspirational quit. Thanks for helping pave the way for the rest of us. Mad Respect to you

So here I am setting pretty victorious at my desk, My Manager can force me to answer my phone any time I am off of work. He was not happy about that, and now he has to write a retraction on a Email letter of warning he wrote to me. My crew and I raised enough unrest that we all are getting paid for the holiday. another OOOOPs moment for the management.

Yay for you, buddy! You can't count to six on one hand so that's a lot of non-smoking years. I hope all is well with you and you're out enjoying the smoke free life.

Congratulations on 6!!

Hearty congratulations on the 6 year mark. Best wishes.

Congrats, @NADA aka BKP! Celebrate your achievement and KTQ!

Inspiration for us newbies! Thank you. And hope everyone is having a great day.

I appreciated this so much. Just cruising through postings, reinforcing the commitment. No particular cravings thankfully. Was at the shelter last night and one of the clients asked me for a lighter. I got to say, "No I don't smoke." How lovely. I did find her a pack of matches in the bowels of my backpack and was just shocked at how bad it smelled. How even being near it just felt toxic. Feeling gratitude for the freedom but maintaining vigilance. Holidays are here and usually present us addicts with challenges. Hoping you all are well tonight. K

THIS!!!

NOPE!

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NOPE

I always put on a bit of weight around the holidays. Rather than fight it this year, I'm just going to lean into it. Figure if I'm going to bulk a bit might as well start a powerlifting program. I'm going with a four day split, alternating volume and intensity. Monday: Deadlifts (1x5), Highboy Rows (3x5), Romanian Deadlifts (3x5) Tuesday: Squat (1x5), Bench Press (3x5), Overhead Press (3x5) Thursday: Deadlifts (3x5), Highboy Rows (2x5), Romanian Deadlifts (2x5) Friday: Squat (3x5), Bench Press (1x5), Overhead Press (1x5) It might look like overeating, but I'm calling it "bulking."

Awesome job, BKP, aka @NADA. I hope all is well and you come back soon. You've helped many in your journey to nonsmoking success. Great job and much respect from me.

I do not know you, but I hope to be you. You have done the thing I am after, You have worked hard and have won the battle. I am still fighting but I know it is possible, I have quit, people here are wonderful, supportive as I struggle. I believe I would have failed without them.

I do not feel well right now and must go to bed. I have tried to reach out for help for MLMR She has restarted a quit and needs us to help. Please let her know that we are here and we care about her.

I am on the couch, with the two little dogs, the big boy on the floor at my feet. We had pancakes for dinner, mine with butter and syrup, the pups shared one plain, as a treat. Watching PBS Grantchester. Now watching Sister Wives, I am not going there with my opinions. In the big picture that does not matter. Sometimes it is better to stay silent and leave it alone. If more people would do this the violence in America would stop. I do not care what color you are, your sexual preference, what your religion is, what gender you are or what you eat for breakfast. It is not my or anyone elses business. If you get up everyday, go to work, take care of yourself and family you will never have a problem you can't overcome. I am sick of people that think they have the right to judge other people. Let's face it folks, people looked down on us because we were smokers. That is not fair. We have to stand up and oppose any form of discrimination, if we do not we are hypocrites. I do not want anyone to feel less than. K

I am going to take this a different way. Sitting here on the couch with back door open five feet away. The cool air drifting in, two of the pups here on the couch with me and the big boy laying on the patio enjoying the cool night. Keeping his home safe and without worry. I wanted to go off to a pity party, we all tend go to the bad sometimes. I am not thinking of smoking. Just missing the crazy activity that this house has seen. A house full of little boys, and the next day (or so it seemed) a house full of teenage boys that were always hungry. The yelling and laughter as they played the latest video games. Making pallets on the floor for those that wanted to stay the night. Making pancakes, bacon and eggs for them in the morning. They drank so much milk we should have bought a dairy cow. They may not remember but I will. I still get to see most of them, all grown up, most are married with young children of their own. There is one who still calls me Mom. Then I realized I am not alone, you all are here with just a few clicks of a button. Is that not a miracle, a blessing that none of us have to go through this challenge alone. I am so grateful, thankful to all of you. You wait and listen for me if I struggle. You give comfort, advice, make me laugh, share your hardships and your joy. I am truly thankful for all of you. K

I have been sticking to my routine of two 2 mile power walks per day. My average speed is 3.5 miles/hr, and the entire 4 miles is an uphill climb. I start at 3.5 % and increase it to a max of 6%, by the time I am done. Each session lasts 35 minutes. I generally watch something on my big screen TV, while I walk. When I finish each session, I am drenched in sweat, and I have burned 315 calories. I am most proud of my consistency. Once in a great while I will skip one of the 2 sessions, for no other reason than to just treat myself to a break. I think I have done that twice in the past 3 months. Keep in mind that I do these workouts 7 days a week. The scale is finally moving to the left a bit. I decided to add more weight training to my routine. At my son, Ian’s suggestion, I bought Bowflex adjustable dumbells that can go from 5 to 55 lbs. each, and can be increased by 2.5 lbs at a time. They arrived yesterday. Naturally, I will start at 5 lbs. Ian, who works out, using a program called Nerd Fitness, has been sending me articles to read, that should be helpful. I think I will order a weight bench, to complete my small home gym. Turns out, they aren’t that pricey. I will let you know what I think of the weights.

Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz 9/11/2022 1.2 mile swim 56 mile bike 13.1 mile run all along the coast in Santa Cruz CA Looking forward to the training and the race!! Goal will be sub 6 hour finish

Drinking plenty of cold water and fruit juice will help get you through those craves. I only drank 100% cranberry juice the first couple of weeks because of the sugars. After that I only drank water. I couldn’t(and still can’t) handle caffeine after I quit smoking. It triggers some really bad depression and anxiety episodes for me now. And this is the only downside to my having quit smoking. I loved my coffee, Coca-Cola, and chocolate. Maybe you are the same. Cut way back on your caffeine to test it. Also, I’m a size 8. I’ve been a size 8 since my 30’s. I didn’t gain any weight while or after quitting. I maintained the same diet and exercise regimen I’ve always had. I did take quite a few short and brisk walks during the initial stage of my quit. To be clear, I used the nicotine patches to aid my quit. I have suffered from depression and anxiety almost my whole life and I knew that I could not survive a cold turkey quit. It was still a rough go. I also now know that I only have one quit in me. I don’t have another quit in me. I’ve discovered that my smoking was masking the severity of my issues. It was a long time getting my emotional state balanced but I’m there now. I will not give it back up for anything. I very rarely think of smoking now. I never want to smoke. They’re just brief ‘I used to smoke…’ thoughts. I’m soon to be 8 months quit! I never thought that I actually could quit. But I did! It wasn’t easy. It was ugly. The hardest thing I’ve ever done. It became easier when I realized I had been huddled under my blankets in the fetal position crying and having some real loop de loo conversations with myself for three days of hard withdrawal just like any other addict of any other drug. An addict. That’s me. This realization broke the chains for me. I will not allow nicotine to bind me again. Also, the more time you spend on here the easier it will be for you. The help you need is here. Read all that you can. Watch the videos. Play some games and document your quit. It will help you and others. Welcome aboard and I’m looking forward to following your quit!

I learnt the power of detachment a very long time ago...maybe 40 years ago now, it is also related to Art because "I do Art" and used this when I was in family gatherings, where the chitter chatter drove me crazy. I continued Art in my head, and took photos with my mind, when I couldn't stand the strain, I took photos with my camera. For the simple reason I was quite capable of observing, but the only difference in this scenario is that, the distraction lasts for the time it belongs to this particular event. The concentration of a particular object, is for me paramount to other than beauty, its like a seed of understanding that I wish to explore further. So unfortunately this is not one that I can use very often because my wave length is too long. What I am learning is that the power over myself and understanding of myself needed to be put in order as I was used to listening to my own drummer and no on else's. Now I realize that my common failure if you like is through not listening enough, and the detachment has progressed to a physical shield around me, which doesn't let me get caught in the trap of trying to solve everything. I now can observe and join in with love to my fellow man rather than as the thought of "Family" this works for me now, and I think I have become a better human being than before. So to cut a long story short, its been a tough thought process of learning to understand my reactions to myself. so maybe tough love is the answer for me. I have to learn to hate the thought of smoking without hating myself in the process. A bit deep but there you go I like philsophophy too.

I love this post, @Boo. I have a prompt to help me, a deep breath and feasting my eyes on something of beauty. As soon as I could recognize the thoughts of the addict, I was able to first, distract myself from them with a deep, deep breath and replacing the thought by looking at or listening to something of beauty. This distanced myself from them further and further as time went on and clarity ensued. I use this exercise whenever I am stressed or confused or upset or in a conundrum. The breath and finding something of Beauty now stimulates my endorphins quite quickly. Creatures of habit, are we.