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Moving on from being a smoker Cancel The title field is required!

1. atp

   

   501 posts
   Registered:
   31 Dec 2018
   31 Oct 2019

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   I remember standing on my porch and smoking that last cigarette. Trying to savour every drag. Feeling like I was giving something up that I was going to miss. 
   
   Those first week weeks are so difficult when every moment is a struggle not to smoke.
   
   Then somewhere after the first month I started to get used to the new normal of not smoking. Those days were filled with overcoming so many triggers, learning how to be a non-smoker, and generally still thinking about smoking a lot. 
   
   As I got to the 3rd and 4th months I really started to appreciate not being chained down by cigarettes. I felt healthier than I had a in long time. I had more energy too. 
   
   I've been coasting along and now 10 months later I'm actually starting to look at smokers in a different way. I feel bad for them. They smell. They have nasty coughs. and the butts littering entrances to every building are annoying. Wow. What a difference in attitude. But I need to demonize smoking to a degree to be sure I never go back to it. 
   
   I don't really have any desire to smoke now. 
   
   I'm also now deciding to lose some weight by eating healthier and cutting back on drinking. Amazing what quitting smoking does for our attitude about our own health. I gained about 15lb since I quit smoking, plus the dad bod creep and i hope to lose 30 lbs. 
   
   I'm coming up on 10 months since I quit smoking and a lot has changed for me since my last cigarette. 
2. justfortoday

   

   168 posts
   Registered:
   12 Aug 2019
   31 Oct 2019 in reply to atp

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   atp,
   
   Ten months ... what an amazing accomplishment!
   
   Thank you for sharing your journey. It's inspiring and you give hope to all of us following the same path.
   
   I'm just past 8 weeks and you have played an important role in my success. So, thank you for your support, atp.
   
   I'm not quite there yet when I see smokers and feel bad for them ... I'm at that stage where I get a little ticked because they can smoke and I can't. And that's okay because I know I'll get there. I agree with you on the smell! I actually believed I was that one smoker who didn't smell. I recently asked my husband if I smelled when I was smoking. He just kind of looked at me, his face frozen ... like I asked him if I looked fat in my jeans! Of course I smelled, and I can smell a smoker now a mile away!
   
   I can agree with you that my life has changed too, and when a bad moment pops up I'm empowered because I know I've got the tools to move through it.
   
   And do you remember the first time I ran up those stairs and could breath? I still smile every time I face a staircase.
   
   Life is soooo sweet on this side, yes?
   
   
3. renee, quitcoach

   

   117 posts
   Registered:
   16 Jul 2018
   02 Nov 2019

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   Atp what an accomplishment!
   Please be sure to do something nice for yourself.
   Congratulations once again!
   
   Renee