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@Mona I'm quitting cold turkey as well. As far as I know, there just isn't any other way to break the grip Nicotine has.

@Mona Welcome to Day1 of your quit!!! Day 1 for me too. If you feel grouchy, try some physical exercise. It will be difficult and you will run out of breath. So take it slow, but do try it. Its a great way to start getting fit and to get some angst out. Will also help you build confidence. Also, as many people here will suggest, some breathing will help whenever the urge to smoke arises. Watch Joel's videos.

@sgt.barney Thank you for your advice. I do want to quit. Honestly, there is the desire to smoke a cigarette. But, I have to learn to be smarter than the cigarette (as Joel puts it).

@Lilly Thank you for your words of encouragement. Day 1 went fine. I thought I wasn't going to make it. Started my day by throwing all remaining smokes and remaining paraphernalia. Then cleaned my room. Stuck post-its wherever I could think of in my room that say "Never take another puff". Then did some breathing, watched some of Joel's videos related to Day 1 of a quit and did some physical exercise. Ate a couple of sandwiches, had plenty of juice and water (besides my regular meals). There was one thing though - I almost would forget today was quit day. After a meal I would think, "right, time for a smoke" and then immediately remember, "oh yes, today is quit day and no more cigarettes for me." I would then find something to keep myself busy and forget about smoking. I thought that you thought I was some sort of trickster/troller by changing my profile name or something like that. Good to know that that's not what you thought.

Today is my quit day. I pledge NOPE.

@Doreensfree Yesterday, I made a list of the reasons as to why I want to quit smoking. I do want to be free of Nicotine addiction.

If you've written down the reasons as to why you quit smoking, read them again. Look at the positive, you managed to stay away from cigarettes all through the bad times you've had after quitting. That's a good thing and that should give a boost to your confidence. At the risk of sounding repetitive (especially since I've given the same advice before), punching and kicking something (even if its just the air) will help to get your anger and grief out. If possible, take up Boxing or something similar. And even after getting your grief out, Boxing or whatever you decide to take up, will be a great way to keep physically fit and build confidence. If possible, talk to some friends and/or to a family member who will listen to you, and will communicate transparently and openly with you without judgement.

@notsmokinjo Thank you for your words of encouragement. Yes, there is no such thing as luck, I will just have to persevere and stick to my quit. I'm nervous and I sincerely hope I can pull off the quit.

@Lilly I have decided that physical exercise will be a good way to deal with stress after I quit, but at the same time I should not use exercising as a crutch. Besides exercising to keep myself physically fit is another goal of mine. So, stress or no stress, doing physical exercise on a regular basis is going to become a part of my life. I will do a lot of deep breathing as suggested in Joel's videos initially though. Before I started smoking, I used to just walk stress off by listening to a lot of music. It was work related stress that finally did me in. I thought that's it, I can't cope with work-related stress anymore. I am going to go buy a smoke. Biggest mistake I ever made. This was way back in 2005. Should never have started smoking. I am not Redemption3, I do not even know who that is.

@Jet Black Vaping cannot be harmless water vapor. It contains Nicotine and a chemical called Propylene Gloycol and the latter's effects on the human anatomy have not yet been fully understood. I find it hard to believe that a person can literally get addicted to cold turkey meat. In any case, the lesson for us all is never to start smoking in the first place.

@jillar I just wanted to add that one of the side effects of such medication is insomnia and for someone who is a chronic insomniac and on psychiatric medication, dependency on such drugs (like Chantix and Zyben) may be a bad idea. Btw, is there a thread on Quittrain for people who do take psychiatric medication and are trying to quit smoking? I searched a lot, but I could not find such a thread.

@jillar Yes, quitting smoking is the goal. I was just speaking from experience. I had tried Nicotine gum for a few days. It just made me want to smoke more. There are other forms of NRT as well, (medications such as Chantix and Zyben) but that will just shift the dependency from one source to another. Maybe such medication is helpful for people who take psychiatric medication, however, all medication comes with its own side effects which may not be disclosed by the doctor or insufficient information is available on the internet about such drugs. Again, its just about shifting dependency from one source to another source.

@Doreensfree Thank you for your advice. Btw, I do not have a history of kidney stones.

How much Cranberry juice should I have per day to get the Nicotine out of my body ASAP? I was thinking of buying five liters of it and having around a liter and a half per day.

I think vaping is nonsense. I tried it for a very short while and then gave it up. Its no good. Just makes the insides of the ears so itchy. Besides, if one thinks about it, NRT as a whole is pointless. One is just substituting one Nicotine source for another. Nicotine is the addictive drug. Whats's the point of substituting one addictive source (cigarettes) for another (NRT)? It does not help beat the addiction for good, just changes the source while keeping the person still addicted.

I drank Rum today and smoked the same amount as i would have if I had not drank. So, didn't smoke an extra cigarette while drinking. Looking forward to quit day. Have a nice weekend!!!

@jillar My balcony is like a tiny corner where I thought I was safe from all the world. The only other reason I do go out to my balcony is to hang washed clothes. So from next week there is no other reason to go out to my balcony.

Nice to know you're not turning to a smoke. Hang in there. If you are experiencing angst due to your current situation, you could try punching and kicking something. Maybe not the right thing to suggest, but take up Boxing or something similar. Great way to get angst out, and once the angst is gone, great way to stay fit and build confidence as well.

@Doreensfree I was thinking of putting as many post-its I could all over my room that say "Never take another puff". I could put on the balcony door, one at my study table in the room, one on shelf where I store my stash and paraphernalia, one on the mirror, some on the walls, a couple on my cupboards.

@PorkandPancakes I am neither an expert on diet nor exercising. But here's what I did when I was trying to loose weight. I already had prior experience in going to the gym (although for a very short while). So I made a list of exercises that I had learnt and I stuck to them. If you don't know what exercises to start with, I would suggest going for walks to loosen up those muscles. I would also highly recommend hitting the gym. You will see other people doing exercises and you will be able to learn from them. Plus, there always is the trainer to help you. Using the treadmill for about 20 to 30 minutes a day should be a good start. Start slow and work up to a slow jog, since you don't smoke, it should be easy to work up to a jog and later on, a run. Also, eat plenty of salads. Reduce the portion size with whatever food you eat. You will tend to feel hungry as you adjust to eating smaller portions but resist the urge to eat. You can still have fried food but maybe restrict that once in two weeks. Also cut down on sugar and salt intake. Food like nuts, seeds (flax/pumpkin seeds/quinoa), and fresh vegetable salads will help. If using quinoa seeds, remember to wash them well before boiling them. You can cut fresh vegetables, use sprouts and yogurt and a dash of seeds, some seasoning and a little salt to enjoy the salad. A boiled egg once in two days and maybe some chicken in the salad is yummy as well (chicken once or twice a week depending on the quantity). This is just my experience talking though. See a dietician, read articles on the net on what food to eat while loosing weight and most important, go to the gym. Once you gain enough experience at the gym, you can do the same exercises using dumbells or buy a treadmill to do the exercises at home (if you have a busy lifestyle with work, it will save you travel time to and from the gym). Also reduce the quantity of red meat drastically, lean beef is OK (from what I have read), but lay off red meat while trying to loose weight initially. Hope this helps.

@Linda Thomas I am going make a list of things to do on a regular basis. One of Joel's articles do mention though that (and as you have also mentioned) deep breathing is the best and not to use crutches as any day the crutch is absent may be a reason for relapsing. Staying away from places I smoke may be difficult though. The only place I smoke is a small balcony next to my room. I stopped smoking when I go out with my family or even if I go out alone. If going outside stresses me, I always come back to my room and go to my room's balcony for a smoke. Staying in my room is going to be difficult.

@reciprocity It was work related stress that finally did me in. I started smoking fairly late in life. I was 24 when I lit up my first cigarette. I am 38 now and want to keep physically fit.

@Linda Thomas Thank you for your words of encouragement. Its nice that you have remained smoke free for so long. I'm hoping I can pull off my quit when the day comes which is now 2nd April next week. I preponed my quit day from 7th April to 2nd. I realized there was no point in keeping the quit date so far ahead since I am more mentally prepared now. Just need to stock up my fridge with all the needed food and juices to help me pull through. I am easing into getting rid of stash and paraphernalia as well. I threw away a couple of empty cigarette boxes, one matchbox, a very old e-cig and liquid which I had tried a few years back and then immediately stopped as they were horrible, they made my ears so itchy. NRT should be treated at the same level as a health risk as cigarettes and nicotine.

@Doreensfree Changed my quit date to 4th April 2019

@Doreensfree I'm going to look at other crutches (the non-poisonous type). I had started exercising last year to loose weight and quit smoking. While I did loose a lot of weight, I did not achieve my goal of quitting smoking. Then I stopped exercising, got too caught up with work, started yet again and stopped again, now I haven't done any exercise in almost two months. However, I managed to stop myself from going back to my original pack-a-day routine from before I first started exercising last year even after I stopped exercising. I am going to ease into exercising again.