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G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required) cobwebs n dew ........or dreamcatcher

NOPE!!!!!!

NOPE, not today.

Nope! @Cbdave another nice pic! Did we miss 22nd?

Nope!!!

oh my goodness!!! 9 years????? that is so awesome!!! I never ever EVER thought i would make it 9 months yet alone 9 YEARS!! KEEP at it folks.....if you are struggling as you read this...just know....I was there. I struggled. I did. But the one thing I didn't do? I didn't take a single puff. Not ONE! Thank you Jillar for thinking of me and for all of you!! So happy to see this place is still going strong! Keep the QUIT!! LOVE YOU!! Babs xoxoxox

Welcome aboard Justin, good to have you along on this journey. From what you say you know what is coming and have planned well. Looks like you have 2 weeks into this quit at this time, congratulations you are doing well and have a good grasp of what is happening to you -- that is key in your quit. Yes you are at the time that the cravings are annoying and that you have to be on guard but each day you will get stronger physically and mentally. You have come to a good place, there are several people here that are ready to listen and to help and we always need new members to share their experiences to show that none of us are alone and are willing to help. Others will come along to chime in so take time to go over this site and get to know what it is like on this train ride. Again -- Welcome on this train!!!!!

Congratulations on one of your best decisions - to quit smoking. You've made it past the first two weeks and your body and mind are beginning to heal. The craves can't hurt you and I always give the advice to dismiss them immediately. Tell yourself "Smoking is not an option, so move on." There is a lot of information on this site to educate you about nicotine, smoking and quitting for you to take advantage of; knowledge is power.

NOPE…

I quit my 1 pack a day habit cold turkey on Sept 7 at 6:30pm. I actually had a pretty easy first 3 days. a) I had my wife (who does not smoke) hide both sets of my car keys so I could not drive to get cigarettes and told her I was not to get them back until 3 days were done. (I had here write location and seal in an envelope just in case of emergency). Except for long walks, that stopped me from having access to cigarettes. Nicotene is only in the system for 3 days, after that, it is all mental. b) I bought a bunch of cold red mountain dew to deal w/ any tiredness. c) I printed a calendar of the month for putting my red x's on. d) I decided my visualization to fight urges was that I could smoke, but I would have to pay $4000 for that 1st cigarette and accept being handcuffed to a barrel w/ 7000 cigarettes in it that I would be required to smoke. It was realistic because I know I never am able to seriously try quitting again for at least a year and that would be cost and approximate # I would smoke in a year. I believe there is no such thing as a "minor" slip up. When a junkie gives in to the craving, they have quit their quit. Its interesting how easy it was to get through the first 3 days when your access is cut off. All my previous quit attempts would result in irritability, tiredness, dizziness, and other issues during the chemical withdraw. This time, I had some slight dizziness a couple times and minor irritability, but nothing major like in the past. I think the symptoms were inflated in the past just like when I have my "man" colds. Since I had no access, the mind did not seem to get as bent out of shape over not getting the nicotene. Now I have to get through the more long term issue the constant cravings. They aren't huge cravings, more like having a child poke his finger into the back of your head every hour to remind you that you haven't had that nicotene you've been taking 20 times a day for the last 40yrs. And that's why I'm here. Just wanted a support group to turn to and share the pain some. And give encouragement to others if I can.

NOPE

NOPE!

Hats off to you!!! A hard-won victory and the happy ever after is all that matters now.

Congratulations on your One year Anniversary, loved reading your story, and so happy for you that you are now free and loving life .

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Nope!

Ohhhh boy do I have a story to tell. Some of you know me and some of you don’t. However, I can’t expect you to remember me. It’s been an incredibly long and arduous journey. But it’s been my journey and it’s been a decent one so far. I’ve gone by many names in the past; some born from shame, some merely from forgetting my login information. Probably the most prominent username I’d been known by was HonorAmongstThieves; although many of you endearingly referred to me as HAT. Well, I could not pinpoint any username on this website, so I had to make a new one some time ago, which, as per usual it had remained dormant due to being a smoker. You see, my quit smoking journey unintentionally began on 1 January 2011. It was New Years and I only hd a couple cigarettes left but I didn’t want to go out so late to buy more. I decided to see if I could quit. And I did for about 4 months. I relapsed; which I would soon learn would be a recurring theme in my life. On the first night of my quit I came across a now defunct website, the QSMB, which is where I met many of you trying to accomplish the same thing that I was. I didn’t make an account until I was 72 hours free of nicotine in case I couldn’t hack it. I learned many techniques and coping skills that did help me through my initial 4 month quit. But alas, I was weaker than the cigarette and I fell back into my old ways. This is much how the past decade had gone for me. When I got wind of wanting to quit again, I’d lurk around, quit, be active for awhile, and then eventually relapse again. I met so many wonderful people through that website. I was even around during the great migration to this website, though I relapsed and when I came back, that website, to my surprise, was completely gone. But that’s alright because change is good. I began doing the same things here, lurking, quitting and being active here, and then relapsing. So many amazing and wonderful things have happened in my life over the past 11 years that I have tried to quit. I have worked incredibly hard to make changes in my life and I’m proud to say that I am not the same immature young adult that I was 11 years ago. Even then, I still kept smoking. Quitting. Relapsing. It’s a vicious cycle. Through all the personal struggle, the drama on the QSMB, the difficult and often painful pangs of growing and maturing, it’s all been worth it. But like Frankie said, “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, to few to mention.” Still, if there was one thing I could change about my life, I would never pick up those first cigarettes. They took too much of my life, my health, my money, my looks; too much of everything. I always wondered if I would ever be back to this place, other than lurking. Even now, I still do. It’s been hard. So many countless, blurry nights where I told myself that I hated myself. That I would never change. That I told myself I didn’t have what it takes to be a better person. Even those days aren’t that long ago. But I made gradual, sometimes baby-step, changes in my life and I’m a better man now. A better husband, father, provider. I often look back to that fateful night, 11 years ago and cringe with regret. If hadn’t relapsed, I’d be preparing to celebrate 11 years of freedom from nicotine. It was exactly that thinking that kept me bogged down, unable to advance. It seemed so far away. So impossibly out of reach. I’ve honestly had to fight myself from coming back to this board and posting, and being active. Not because it’s bad, lol that is NOT the case. I learned so much about quitting smoking from the people here…but I also learned about myself. I didn’t come back because I wanted to do it on my own. With my support group at home; my wife and children; my family and friends. My mentors and peers who believed in me. But I did tell myself I would be back. I told promised myself that I would not forget the people who helped me get to this point in my life, which certainly consists of many of you who tried to educate me. For those who believed in me and never gave up on me. I came back for you. Because I believe that I owed it to you to let you know how things have been. How much my struggle with nicotine impacted my life and my decisions to this point. But most importantly, I believe I owe it to you to tell you that, as I submit this post, for the first time in my life since I began smoking, I can openly and honestly say, unequivocally, that I am happy to be here to celebrate with you that I am officially one year free from nicotine! I have waited more than a year to share this post. It is literally 11 years in the making. I don’t expect to be a full time poster here, but I will try to check in from time to time. Just know that I am finally free from this beast. It’s an amazing feeling and I cannot imagine going back to it. I know it happens. I know that people who are many years quit sometimes relapse. Just know that I am doing well, I am happy, and I am nicotine free. What a time to be alive. Thank you for never giving up on me after my many relapses and thank you all for teaching me how to kick this habit. For any new quitters, it gets better. Take it one day at a time, or one minute at a time if need be. It’s invigorating to finally be on this side of the quit. For anyone lurking, what are you waiting for? The water is perfect, come on in. As Sarge always used to say, “eazy peazy.” Very Respectfully, Your old pal HAT

Welcome @JustinHoot99. Glad you have decided to quit smoking. You have a good start on quitting but you truly have to stay away from the cigarettes on your own. Smoking has been your pattern for 40 years and it is going to take a while to retrain your thoughts to avoid the cravings. You can do it. I smoked for 42 years and have been quit for three now. Stay close to the forum, educate yourself and get to know us. We are here to support you on your journey.

Hello Justin! Welcome aboard! It seems that you have educated yourself and are very well prepared for the mental games our addiction likes to play with us! I’m 6 months in! There are some of the best people on the planet here to help you along in your quit. I would not have made it this far without them nor from all of the posts made here over the years! I wish you the best and please do hang around for awhile!

NOPE!

Hi @JustinHoot99, welcome to our train What a great way to get past those first 3 days. I love how you visualized your consequences if you caved to a crave, glad it worked for you I'm married to a never smoker too who couldn't understand how I wasn't "over it" after a month quit so finding an online support board was instrumental in my success. Being around others who had been or were going down that road with me gave me a lot of incentive to keep my quit and I now have friends from all over the world I hope you check out all our various forums because we have it all from educating through posts and videos to Socializing for when you want to stay close to your support but get your mind off it for a while.

Welcome aboard .... Congratulations on your great Quit .... You seem to be in a good place and have some understanding of this horrible addiction ... Knowledge ...this is what you will fight the Monster with ...make sure you read all you can here . On the Main Smoking Discussion Board you will find ..pinned in green ...brilliant advice and help to help you along the way .. Those that stay ,post often and help others ,are those likely to succeed... Looking forward to getting to know you ..

No problem, just know how sometimes men can be stubborn about going to the Doc. Would not want anybody not to get the care they might need. It is a pain in the ass and I hate it. Getting older sucks, in your brain you still feel the same but your body says no you can't do that anymore. Just take care of yourself! K

I am here to pledge another year smoke free. Right now I am 1year 3months and 2weeks smoke free so here is to making it another year.

NOPE…

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NOPE!!!!!!

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

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Congratulations @Kris! 3 months is a major milestone! The craves will ease off in time. L4L

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

Way to go, Kris. Keep it up!

Congratulations @Kris on 3 months. I agree, this is one of the hardest things to do in life and you're doing so well not only in keeping the quit but doing it with all the other things going on in your life. Well done!

Congrats, @SecondChanceSailor! Celebrate your achievement and KTQ! PS I found my way to quitting via the online support at QSMB and right after my 1 year anniversary it was shut down...glad I found my way here...

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As promised, I did get my workout in, yesterday. Because it was so much later in the day, than usual, I took it a little easier, emphasis on little. I didn’t want to risk having trouble sleeping, which can be an issue for me, on a good day. I did complete 2 full miles, at my normal speed, but with just a slight incline, which mimics outdoor walking. So, 3.5 mph with a 1% incline. I did have occasional bursts of running at 4 mph. I seem to be incapable of really taking it easy. I am such a driven person, when pursuing a goal. I know that can be a good personality trait, but it can also be a challenge. It’s hard for me to just take it easy, even when Common sense dictates that it’s the best course of action. I’m just pleased, that I didn’t skip my workout….

Should we bombard him with questions then?

Or maybe a fat pole? @jillar

Congratulations on the 3 month mark. Big step.

Heard this song driving to work this morning. Haven't been able to get it out of my head since.

Petting our new dog Oscar Hgbnm

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required) paperbark flowers

Finally I have a trophy and the strange thing I have done other things worthy of a trophy, much harder things I can tell you. This makes me feel very special because no one in my life smoked so they don't get the hard work we have to put in to get the job done. If I could compare I would tell my sister no make up for the rest of your life, she would not last the week. K

Congratulations Kris, this is a very solid start towards your forever quit. Reward yourself today because you deserve it.

Congrats, @Kris! Celebrate your achievement and KTQ!

NOPE!

Congratulations Kris .... A Quarter of the way there ....I know it hasn't been easy ....some things are worth fighting for .... Keep going !!!!

Congratulations on 8 years quit!

Congratulations on 8 years way to go!!!!!