I did it!

I quit smoking last friday.Today is day five and i feel awesome!

I gave myself permission to eat whatever for the first week but you know what? I did not feel the need as in the past!

Smoking was an excuse to not exercise as was my weight.Since the weight is coming off I decided to quit.My thinking was

how can I exercise if I can't even breath!Why become healthy while killing myself with cigarettes?Now the weight will eventually come off,my lungs will pink up and I WILL BE HEALTHY!

Imagine that!me doing all these things:D

Yeah!!!! You are awesome!!!! What great things you are doing for yourself and your loved ones!!!

I quit about 15 years ago. What finally worked for me was when I GOT MAD! I got mad that I was wasting my money (at about $1.50 a pack, then!) I was making my clothes and hair and apartment smell, I was making myself ill... mostly I just got mad that something I had to pay for and didn't want in the first place had that much control over me!

So, get mad, Chantel! And stay there! WooooooHooooooo!

Exactly how I feel!

1 pack of smokes here in Ottawa is $8.50 A PACK!! canadian!

Sheesh!

The stink,my kids coughing,guilt!I quit for 1 1/2 years when I was pregnant with my daughter so I know i can do this,holy cow if I can lose weight i sure can quit smoking!

I opened an RRSP and direct deposit the amount I was spending

right into that account!

Chantal

good for you c!!!!!

thats very impressive!!! you ROCK!!!! you are making major life changes in order to have a better quality of life for you and your family!

Where else could we all laugh and celebrate for being quiters and losers! ha ha Thats great!

Chantal, that is so great! Here in Ireland, smokes cost about the same as in Canada, they are super taxed to try to discourage people from smoking! Also, I am very proud to let u know that from the 29th March Ireland is a smoke free zone in all places of work - ie pubs, bars, restaurants, taxis, even company cars - it is causing a lot of contraversy here but as someone who grew up in a very smokey house (mom, dad and 2 sisters smoked! - dad smokes a pipe!!), it put me off for life - but apparently 50% of children whose parents are smokers become smokers themselves - which is exactly what happened in our family - two of us kids ended up smoking and two didn't.... anyway just wanted to heartily congratulate you on your descision - i hope you get on really well - with all your eventual savings you can come and visit me in Ireland - no temptation here when socialising!!!! Well done xx

Thanks Bright!

We are smoke free as well.The only place people can smoke are in their own homes,cars or outside.But even if you go to a park you can't smoke, not because of any by laws but because of the nasty looks from the moms .I feel great and my hubby has quit as of April 1 so i am super proud of him!

Chantal

ps..One day I might take you up on your offer to visit:)

Now it's my turn to pat you on the back! What an awesome thing you have done for yourself! Your lungs are on their way to being healthy and pink!

I'm on day 2 of quitting and if I can make it the distance that you have... I think I'll have it licked! You've definitely inspired me to hang in there!

Darcy

Congratulations!! I haven't had a ciggy since the day of my surgery, February 20th...42 days (6 weeks) wooohoooo!!!

I don't miss them one bit and I was easily a pack a day smoker during the week and a 2 packer on weekends sitting at the puter playing games for hours.

I quit about 17 years ago and gained 70 lbs in one year...since then I packed on another 50 trying to get rid of that 70...what a triangle..up down, up down, lose, gain, lose, gain...over and over and over again....until I was at my top weight...I was scared to quit again thinking I would do the same thing and I knew I couldn't afford to gain that much weight that fast again...but...

When I got the band I thought "I'm just gonna do it all at the same time" and so far I've been doing fine....

Keep it up!!! I drive better cuz I'm not digging in my purse looking for a smoke or a lighter. I smell better cuz I don't have that smoke clinging to my skin, hair, and clothes. The house smells better and the walls aren't turning orange

And just think of all the money I'm saving...right at $1500-$2000 a year. Hmmmm I think I'll start put that ciggy money in a piggy bank now and start planning on a nice trip for summer 2005

I'm so happy for all of you quitters! :D

Honestly, in a few months you'll wonder how on earth you ever smoked. Congratulations!!! :banana

Congrats to all of you who have stoped smoking, its a hard thing to do as I smoked for 23 yrs. ashame to admit to it but I did. I wanted to quit so many times before I finally gave it up but it was always the throuh of weight gain that kept me smoking, but one day I just decided on my last day of smoking and when it came I make that commitment and have not been sorry that was 6yrs ago and many lbs in weight gain but I now feel must better and have lost the cough and the control that smoking had over me and with the band the 40lbs I have lost to date have made up for the weight I gained after stopping. Good luck to all of you Angelina

Hiya Chantal...

How are things going with the quitting????? By the looks of the board there are a lot of people that are saying goodbye to tobacco. Just think... WE are in the cool Non-smoking crowd now!!!!!!! No more going to the Dr. and hanging our head in shame when he asks... Do you smoke and how much... no more walking into a smokeless area and getting a big whiff of ourselves... no more shortness of breath other that what may really be attributed to weight... no more nasty cough... no more wrinkles caused by smoking... no more worried looks from those that love us... and no more beating ourselves up for smoking cause.YAH BABEEEEEE WE QUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day #11

DArcy

Allo Darcy(said very french-like)

The non smoking is going EXCELLENT!!

I am so proud of us!

I took out some blankets to use this w/e and had to wash them first since they smelled PU!

It's been over three weeks for me and i think about it a bit but not as much as before.I have no excuse to not exercise now.

When a doctor asked me if i smoked i said'nope don't smoke'because not only did i have problems getting proper service because i am fat but a smoker too!geez why would i need medical help?!so i lied.

It really does reek doesn't it.When people come and sit in my office i puff puff on the air freashner now.I am happy for my kids too.It's such an awful thing,smoking.I can't beleive that after 15 years of smoking(HOLY COW i'm old,i still FEEL 15)i am finally rid of it!

How 'bout you,how u doin'

Chantal

Bon Jour Chantal! (Accent used... well... I tried....hehehehe)

I'm doing okay... I went through a period of depression... missed the nasty ole habit that follwed me through 18 years of my life. I think I am finally done with that and just enjoying the freedom and the pride that goes along with success! I have hidden this habit from so many people in my life... including my daughter... that made the habit even more stressful... was always sneaking around like a theif in the night just to have a smoke! It has helped that I never smoked in my home or car or in social situations... none of those places trigger a need to smoke. It's mostly in a time of stress or frustration that I long for the nasty ole cigs.

I know what you mean about visiting the Doc... I'm an LPN and went to great extremes to keep my habit from all of those I worked with... especially the Doc I worked for... I also would fib when I went to the MD when sick... but you know... it did make a difference in how I was treated if I told them I smoked... like I deserved to be sick.

WE are definitely going to make it Chantal... I can just smell the success in the air! (o:

Au Revoir? (It's been years and years since French Class in high school... lol... hope I spelled that right!)

Darcy

Yikes!If i had cigs in the house last night i would have smoked!!but i was too lazy to get dressed and go to the store.

What a busy stressful day,when i got in my car i reached for my purse for one and then wondered what i was doing.The biggest motivator was thinking of disappointing you!

I ate instead,then felt bad for eating when not hungry and not a good choice like an aplle or cheese.Oh well maybe today will be better!

C

Hanging my head in shame :think

Well Chantal... I feel horrible... feel like I let myself down and you down. I gave in and bought a pack. Not that it is a good excuse... but the frustration of dealing with the bariatric team has been unbelievable. Last week they told me they FORGOT to call me after their review... they decided they wouldn't approve my seeing Dr. Chua until I faxed my food records (two weeks worth) AHHHHHHHHHHHHH... so... I faxed them yesterday... they called me back and said that I am eating too much and too often (duh) and that they want me to be successful so they want me to record two more weeks. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH This is not what they told me at my appointment and I met every single goal they set forth. THis is the first summer I have had off with my daughter... EVER... I wanted so bad to be able to lose enough weight that we could do things like swimming and biking and rollar blading... things I either feel to self-conscious to do or just can't handle physically. So... I am powerless in the bariatric situation and now obviously the smoking. THey knew that I had just quit smoking but it is apparently more important that I adhere to a bandlike diet... it seems they would have taken that into consideration when looking at my food records.

Sorry for venting... it did make me feel better and sorry for puffing... but as GOd as my witness... I will quit smoking if it's the last thing I do! I hope you hang in there Chantal... if you can do it... then I know there is hope that I can too! I consider this a setback... not a failure. I just reek... shame on me.

Darcy