Honey, the only way to lose weight is to eat less calories than you use, energy-wise - slimming pills do not work - take it from one knows.... :(

Stick to 1800 calories to start with and reduce your calorie intake when you "plateau" (get stuck).

IMHO never eat less than 1000 calories.  Always start high and reduce.

Good luck
:)

Thanks Vicki..... i'll give that ago, and see how i get on.

I've cut out choclate, crisps, & biscuits altogether.

Take care
kerry xxxxx

Also, I tried to give up smoking and to diet at the same time.  I succeeded in giving up smoking, but the diet failed miserably.  IMO it's too much to try both.  Try the smoking first, as you WILL put weight on, even if you eat exactly the same (which you never do) because there is something in the nicotine that ruins food that you eat in some way.  More proof, as if we needed it, of how nasty the dreaded weed is.

I am trying hard to resist them still - back to work on Thursday so it will be easier then as I'll be more occupied.

Good luck chick :)

Its a cliche but true nontheless .. giving up smoking is all in the mind

I used to smoke anything that burned, tried to give up several times but once the question "shall i have one or not?" formed in my mind I knew I was going to fail

It was only when determination blocked out that question that it became doable

Motivation is the key .. with me it was the thought of my kids inhaling my smoke that spurred me on as well as not wanting to be lying in a hospital bed in a few years time with tubes inserted in every orifice breathing through a respirator thinking "I wish I never smoked!"

Good luck to all those trying .. hang in there! .. it does get easier and its so worth the effort.  Ive gone from someone who loved tabacco, ciggies, cigars and pipe, spent a fortune on it,  to someone who wouldnt smoke even if it was free and i was paid to do it

Cheers
Nigel

Hi Nigel,

I have to disagree with you here - it's not all in the mind - nicotine addiction is a very real physical thing.  However,  I am of the opinion that you will only succeed in giving up if YOU really want to - once you get your mind set it's much easier.  Others telling you to give up, for whatever reason, always made me smoke more - must be the rebel in me! :)

Lol Vicki.... I totally agree with you......i am so determined this time not to smoke, and Nigel made a very good point regarding lieing in a hospital bed wishing i had never smoked..... i never want to get to that stage..... i will quit... thats what i keep telling myself.

Take care.
kerry xxxxxxx

Does anyone have any idea how long it will be before i wont think about a cigarette.....like at the moment i'm a bit on edge, i remember when i quit for 6 weeks last time... i felt great on the 6th week.... so does that possibly mean that it may take 6 weeks to feel great again.

Hi Kerry,

I have to admit that I felt better the very day I gave it up - the cough disappeared within 3 or 4 weeks and I had that "very proud of myself" feeling - it's great.  You feel really smug!

I think because I was on the nicotine patches, I didn't stop thinking (cos the patches were a constant reminder) about a cigarette until they were finished.  I was on them for 10 weeks (normal is 12) because I left it too late to get the next strength down from the Doc so OH kindly donated his last couple to me and I cut them in half LOL - this got me through. 

I can honestly say that, provided I am not out of my routine and at work and doing all the "normal rountine stuff" then a cigarette only crosses my mind when someone at work has had a crafty fag outside and then comes to talk to me.  I feel like telling them to bugger off as they stink, but being an ex-smoker, I know that they don't even realise it!  As I am off sick at the moment, I think about them more, but only because I am bored senseless!

Back to work tomorrow, at least for a few hours, so normality should kick in.

Good luck chick - I know you can do it.

Vicki
x

Thanks Vicki....... Good luck with returning to work tomorrow, you'll be fine... and i don't think that you'll give cigarettes a 2nd thought, once back at work as you'll be sooooo busy.

Thanks for supporting me through this.... you've been a real godsend.

Take care
love kerry xxxxxx

FWIW I gave up smoking when I was pregnant but during the whole of that time I still wanted to smoke and the first thing I did after delivery was have a cup of coffee and a cigarette! :rolleyes:  I never lost the desire to smoke but the desire not to commit what I personally consider tantamount to child abuse, was stronger than my craving for a fag.

When I gave up several years later it was because I came to the sad realisation that my life was being ruled by a small white stick, did I have enough to last me overnight/the weekend etc etc.  I thought how pathetic I was and stopped cold turkey and have not touched one since 1989, however the urge to have one did not completely disappear for a couple of years......... but I just did not weaken.

Now I find the whole smell etc of cigarette smoke and those who smoke so completely revolting nothing could induce me to restart.

My giving up this time was for health reasons - I was having heart palpitations at night and they were really starting to worry me.  I guess as you get older you become more aware of your own mortality.  I too was ruled by the little white stick, but I'm hoping this is the last time I give up!  Someone once said to me that I'd want one every day for a year - can't say that's true, as I can go for days without them even crossing my mind.  Here's hoping I can beat last time's record (4 years !) and then just keep on going......

My husband gave up a year ago.  He has succumbed a couple of times and bought the odd pack of 10, but only ever smokes 2 or 3 of them before feeling guilty and throwing them away.  I guess he's very lucky that he can do that and not fall back into the trap of smoking again, but then he does have me nagging at him too which I hope helps!!  However, he still craves fags now and again now, so I guess it's at least a year before you stop wanting one!  Of course my opinion counts for nothing really cos I'm not a smoker - thank goodness!

I needed to come on here and type lol..... as i'm really really craving and i don't want to go and buy a packet of cigarettes.

This is doing my headin honestly..... this morning i took my daughter to school and as i left the house.... i picked up my purse to go and buy 10, but then i thought NO and i left my purse at home and went to the school.... i'm so chuffed that i didn't buy any...... but this feeling is soooooooo horrible.

Thanks for listening to me moan
Take care
kerry xxxxxx

i think you are doing brilliantly justlou,i wish i could do it ! the longest ive ever done is two weeks,i keep saying im giving up ,and i do cut down but i carnt seem to give up completly.

Just keep typing on here Kerry - it keeps your fingers busy - there are lots of us ex-smokers who can keep replying :)

Lol Vicki..... when we were smoking we were spending £80 a week on cigarettes.... so what i've done this week is bought myself a see through jar and i've put £60 in it..... and for every week that we dont smoke i will put £60 in it..... then when there's enough we are going to buy a large screen T.V :-D :-D :-D

I'll keep you posted ;) ;) ;)

Take care
kerry xxxxxx

Thanks Scarymary.... i do hope that i succeed this time ;) ;)

Take care
kerry xxxxxx

Regarding the money thing, the last time I bought any I went to France and bought a whole year's worth (£1700 no less!) for both OH and me, and I then said when they had gone, that would be it.  On January 4th we smoked the last of them.  On 5th January I was at home and had almost got to the end of the day when I found a packet - I rushed round to a neighbour and gave them to her - if they had stayed in the house, I would have definitely smoked them LOL.

The point I am making is that I have not spent any money on fags since November 2003 so there's no "spare" cash cos I'm not buying them.  I don't have a jar for the savings, but I do have a real weakness for designer handbags, so that's where the extra cash is going :) :D

Lol Vicki.... what a good idea regarding the designer handbags!!!!

This doesn't seem to be getting easier :-( :-(

Have a good day at work tomorrow.

Take care
kerry :-) :-)
xxxx

Not going back to work yet, despite planning to - doctor has signed me off for a further three weeks.  Keep the fags away from me aaarrrggghhh  :)

Oh no..... did you want to go back to work, to keep your mind occupied?

You won't have another cigarette.... you've been quit now for 4 months haven't you?

Is it your back that your having trouble with? I have a spinal condition called shuermann's diease (crumbling of the spine)

Anyway sorry for all the questions.
Take care
kerry xxxxxx

Yes, Kerry, it's my bloody back :( - I was in a car accident nearly 20 years ago and damaged it then.  Consequently, it "goes" every now and then - last time was late 2001, and I was off work for 7 weeks.

I'm in a lot of pain at the moment, so no, I didn't really want to go back to work - don't actually think I could have.

Your back condition sounds really nasty.  Is there any cure?

Take care
Vicki
x

Hi Vicki...... your back problem also sounds very painful.

No there's no cure for my condition... i've had it now for about 13 years, i just have to take really strong painkillers that don't work.. they just help me to relax a little... but i'm in pain 24/7, they did say to me a few years ago that they could operate but there would be a 50-50 wheather i'd ever walk again.... so i told them to forget it.

So really i'm stuck like this for the rest of my life..... when i have a spasm (muscles lock) i have to have a doctor come out to me and inject my spine to release the muscles as the last time i had a bad spasm i was in so much pain... and couldn't walk for 4 days.. then the doctor came out and released the muscles and i could just about walk again.

I find that i am extremely stiff first thing in a morning...... is that when your back hurts more?
Take care
kerry xxxxxx

No, not really, just hurting all the damn time at the moment!  One mornin I will wake up and it will be gone - simple as that - roll on that day please.......:(

Yours sounds awful though - makes me feel a bit of a wimp.....

No dont feel a wimp.... life goes on, i'm glad to hear that yours isn't all the time.

I was pushed down the stairs.... thats what caused mine, but i'm used to the pain now.

Take care
Hope your feeling better soon
kerry xxxxxxx

OMG - who did that to you???  PM me if you would prefer....

Hi Vicki......I've PM'D u. Thanks

OMG you two - my thoughts are with you. I 'fell' off a horse and did mine years ago. Thank god I dont need pain killers very often, although I do find that yoga helps and have recently had special insoles made for my shoes as I had started to 'walk funny' again these have helped a lot by putting me back in line. I 'spose at least you could say mine was self inflicted (and then agrevated by a Lab running through mu legs while I was wearing a long skirt)

Oh Bluebell... sorry to hear that about your back... i hope you dont suffer to often, as i wouldn't wish my pain on my worst enemy.

Now that i've quit smoking.. i feel i think more about my bad back pain as before the fags used to help me as a sort of pain killer.. well thats what i thought anyway!!!
Take care
Love kerry xxxxxxx

There apparantly is a full proof book to read if you want to give up smoking.."The easy way to stop smoking" by Allen Carr. A few of my internet buddies have read it and they all stopped,another person stopped reading it half way through because she was really feeling like stopping,but didnt really want to :( The guy who wrote was a couple packets a day man and he delves into the physcological reasons why we smoke and they say it just makes sense,and it's easy to read to boot!
I havnt seen it at any bookshops,but i havnt really looked for it,it's probaly available through amazon or one of the other internet book stores.

I have really been thinking about stopping lately! I cant get the image of me lying on my death bed,my kids and family standing over me crying,and me not being able to see my kids grow up,and all because i was too weak to quit!! I've even imagine the funeral and everything

I smoke outside so the 'child/dog abuse' doesnt really affect me Tohme! I think people who smoke around their kids and make them more or less smoke as well are extremely selfish! :(

For those of you wanting to quit but cant,just imagine the sheer terror of being told you have lung cancer or emphasymia(sp?) and knowing you literally killed yourself. I really want to see my kids grow up and become a grandma one day,i just know i'm going to die of some painful hideous smoking disease if i dont stop NOW.My smoking(40 a day) is mostly habit,i cant talk on the phone without a smoke,when a good song comes on the radio i have to light up,cant have a cup of tea without a ciggie,have to have one when i'm blowdrying my hair,i find i smoke MORE when i'm on the computer,i'm a dab hand at smoking and typing :( the bloody list goes on and on :rolleyes:  My next step is to call the quit line :)

Hi Frodo..... Good for you, i woke up yesturday morning with a really tight chest and i felt like crap.... this is my 3rd week of not smoking and i'm still craving like mad... i can't really understand it as i was told that after 3 days nicotine is no longer detected in your body.

I was like you loved to smoke while on the phone, while having a coffee, etc etc....

My nan died at 61 and she was smoking 60 a day... she died of lung cancer, and i certainly dont want to die the same way she did... she looked terrible her skin was all yellow etc.

Tell yourself that your not going to have a fag today and so on.... if i tell myself "thats it i've quit", i always fail... so this time i'm not looking at tomorrow just today and so far it's working for me.... even though i'm still craving, but hopefully that should go away soon.

And on Monday i will be putting another £60 in my pot towards my new T.V..... :-D :-D :-D

You can do it
Take care
love kerry xxxxxx

This is a good trick that really works if you STICK TO IT.....

You only need to resist smoking one more cigarette ..... the next one.....

geddit???

Now go and do it......(or rather don't LOL)

:)
:)

Thanks for your kind message Kerry :) You oughta be so darn proud of yourself,1 day is hard enough to get through letta lone 3 weeks.By now the tar on your lungs will be breaking away,youv'e probaly got better taste and smell and you can rest easy that your not going to die a slow painful death,i have been told lung cancer is a terrible way to go,it must have been horrible watching your nan die  :(

FWIW i really,really admire your strength Kerry,and everyone else who has manged to quit,it would have to be one of the hardest things one can do! Kerry youve lasted this long,the rest is going to be plain sailing ;)

Cigarettes are not worth dying for,and i refuse to pay to make myself sick! Monday's the day for me

This thread has really helped me to make this decision :)

Well Done :D

Oh Frodo... thanks for your kind words, i have tears in my eyes now.... it was horrible to watch my nan die, but she wouldn't quit for any of us... and then when the doctor came in and told her that she'd have 3 months to live if she didn't quit.... she quit and died 6 weeks later.

It is the hardest thing that i've ever had to do!! but i will do it and so can you... good luck for Monday and please keep us posted on how you get on... sometimes when i need a fag i come on here and type, that helps.... and i don't know if you've ever tried it but the nicotine chewing gum is good i buy the freshmint 4mg... i can now smell & taste things that i couldn't before :-D

So go on girl you can do it!!!!

Take care
love kerry xxxxxxxxx

I had some chewies and patches in the pantry from when i tried to give up last time,so i pulled them out,ready for monday,i then noticed the use by date is 2/2002
Guess i cant use them then ;)

Stupidly it gripes me having to fork out for the patches but it's not as bad when i buy the cigs :rolleyes:

Frodo - you DON'T have to fork out for the patches - they are free from your NHS doctor - I recommend you get an appointment and get some asap - I couldn't have given up (5th Jan 05) without them, they are wonderful and made it so easy for me.

Best of luck for Monday.  Keep Justlou and myself updated with your progress, even if you have a setback - remember, it's not the end of the world, if at first you don't succeed etc etc etc :) :)

Hi Frodo & Vicki...that was my attitude to buying the patches and chewing gum as you can buy fags cheaper.....i can't get the patches from the doctor because i failed before and there so expensive to buy.... so i have only been using the chewing gum which costs me £6.69 for 30 pieces.... and then my husband is on the lozengers which cost £7.99 a pack for 36.

It is so expensive in the beginning but well worth it in the end!!

If i were you though... i would go and see your doctor and get all the help that you can.

Like i've said before please keep us informed... and if you feel like a fag just get on here and start typing to us.... i'm always here if you need to chat. :-D :-D :-D

Take care
kerry xxxxxxxx

Lol Vicki :-D :-D :-D

Hi Kerry - Not often unless I do something silly! LOL ciggies as pain killers - I think that is the adictive part playing tricks on your mind.

Hi Bluebell... i'm pleased to hear that you don't suffer all the time, i also think that it's my mind playing tricks on me.... but i will not let it get the better of me :-) :-)

Take care
kerry xxxx

You MUST keep trying, I have never and will never  smoke , however on 6th of june it is 1 year since my Dad died of lung cancer, the hardest time of our life and nothing will ever make it feel any better. so if you cant do it for yourself, then do it for the people you love and love you, it is them you leave behind. it is them who have to give up you and you cant get a patch to make it any easier... i know
  John

Hi John - I'm sure all us recent ex-smokers will do our damnedest to keep on the straight and narrow!

Hi John.... Sorry to hear about your dad, i'll be thinking of you on the 6th June.
Take care
kerry

Keep trying you will manage it in the end. I used to smoke 60 a day, and on Saturday me and my husband will have been ex smokers for a year. I did it with the help of nicotine gum and to prove everyone wrong that said I could not do it.

Congrats on the year Naomi and OH - this is the second time we have seriously given up the dreaded weed - did it in 1994 for 4 years and then in a moment of total insanity started again.  On 5th June we will have been fag-free for 5 months - wheeeee !!  :) :)

Hi Everyone....i'm feeling so stressed today, i haven't had a fag for weeks now but i've cried all day :-( and i've also really craved all day.

I will have enough money to buy my new 42" t.v a week on Tuesday :-) so hopefully that will cheer me up

Morning chick - keep hanging on in there - it gets better - I still crave now, so you're not alone!

xx

Thanks Vicki....i won't let it beat me :-D i feel a little bit better today

Just an update really.....i craved like mad yesturday all day, so did my husband......but it wasn't like oh i need a fag, i got this feeling that i really really wanted one, but i didn't let it beat me :-) i very nearly gave in though :-( i get my new TV a week on Tuesday so i can't give in now :-D :-D :-D

Keep going Kerry (and Tom) - OH and I reached the 5 month mark last Sunday (5th) - perseverance is the key!

:-) :-) vicki, do you feel better in yourself for quitting though??? i'm not to sure that i do :-(