6 months today
I want to thank you all for your help, encouragement and experiences on this forum. It's helped me get to the 6 month milestone unscathed. Its hard to begin to list all the benefits of being smoke free but freedom from the nicotine slavery, health and wealth all rate highly. After reaching 3months I set a new goal of losing the 6 kilos I'd gained and am pleased to have only 100g to go. I went on Dr Michael Moseley 5:2 diet and found it worked for me. It involves limiting calories for 2 days a week. I have also found extra energy and an increase in zest for life that cigarettes were sucking out of me.
NRT worked for me as well as NOPE. It doesn't matter what method you use as long as you get to the non smoking destination. I wish everyone luck and determination in their journey. All the best.
How awesome are you... you have done great and congrats on your 6 months of your Quiting journey.
I am so thrilled for you reaching the amazing goal of six months! Who would have thunk it? It may be 2 and a half years had you continued to read Allan Carr's book , but you put it down because it made too much sense. Even though he can be logical and assuage our fears of quitting smoking we fear to even read the book. My husband did the same thing years ago because he was going on vacation and wanted to enjoy it. He probably would have enjoyed the trip more has he not been on a timetable set by Mr. Nicotine. He obviously did not stay in contact with a forum or really grasp the mindset because he did slip back into the addiction. He now reads everything on IcanQuit , as i have it on my tv screen. and is almost a year quit as I am.
You really only need to quit once. Keep in touch, remember Day 1. Learn the mindset and stay free.
Hi r.m.d. Thankyou for your kind comments. Sorry to hear you lapsed at 5 months-have you tried again? I read Allen Carr's book The Only Way to Stop Smoking which flipped a switch in my brain to not want to smoke any more. I was gentle with myself and used nrt firstly patches which I subsequently cut in half then quarters. I moved onto lozenges which were 1.5mg them the spray which is 1mg. All the while I had mini goals and rewarded myself along the way. I used the same strategy to lose the weight. It takes determination and you are right in saying that life can get in the way some days but using the mantra n.o.p.e got me through some stressful times. I hope this helps you as I've found this forum is a great circuit breaker if you have to take time out and give your motivation a kick along. Everyone has a story to tell and you will find one that resonates with you. It's so much better on the smoke free side. Go you!
You're just about to hit 7 Months now, Well done FreshAirOK!
I agree with what you said above about the forum, for me it's uplifting to read about other peoples success stories.
There's also something inspirational about people posting their failures, recognizing them and vowing to try again.
Out of interest what's n.o.p.e stand for?