10 Years Anniversary After Quitting Smoking

Wow, I didn't realise I quit smoking such a long time ago. Feels good still and I never get the urge to smoke. 

Quitting was super easy, you just need to want it. Thanks to everyone who has visited the blog. I hope it encouraged a few of you to quit too. 

Anyway, back to the grind at my job with 3Digital (Dubai marketing agency). I haven't had the urge to pop out for cigarette breaks at all. 😇

Sugar Helped Me Quit Smoking: 4 Years Update from an Ex-Smoker

I started this blog 4 years ago and am happy to say that the method of replacing cigarettes with candy worked a treat. Sugar helped me quit smoking along with a will to quit. I put on some weight and then got rid of it after a year or so. I had smoked since I was under 10 years old.

I did want to quit and didn't force it, but repeated failed attempts will help you get there in the end. A doctor recently mentioned this on a Joe Rogan Podcast. So if you don't feel ready, don't be afraid to try as it will help with that final push. It helped me to "be ready" as I simply don't let cigs get into my head now. I refuse to visualize them. Sounds simple and it is. Plus it works.

Stop Getting Cancer from Smoking with Sugary Treats

I quit smoking 4 years ago and my body has now probably repaired itself. 92% of people who quite before they are 30 years old will not die due to smoking related diseases. I was 37, but fingers crossed that percentage will not be much different for me. What ultimately made me want to quit was remembering the very long deaths of people I knew who got cancer from smoking. They went before they wanted to and that helped convince me it just doesn't make sense to smoke. It isn't logical to smoke.

When you are ready you will know. Then get some cranberry juice to help get the nicotine out of your system and eat as many sweets and candies and you like in place of cigarettes. You can deal with the weight much more easily in future. Throw your ash trays, lighters and packets of cigs away. Good luck quitting smoking. 


Update 2020: 
I am now 5 years cigarette free and thriving with eCommerce tools blogging. I think being smoke free is easy. I now don't need to try and force myself to ignore the smell when others smoke. I kind of like it sometimes, but not in a way that makes me want to actually start again. Easy-peasy still.

I can smell again

It has now been quite sometime since I quit smoking using candy. I still need to lose a few pounds, but I don't even let the thought of a cigarette enter my head. 

I am now able to taste food more than before as smoking burns your taste buds.I can now smell more too as it is not doing the same in my nose. I have never appreciated a good perfume as much as I do these days. 

Good luck on your journey to quitting smoking and heightening your senses of small and taste to how God intended.

Eight and a half months update on quitting smoking cold turkey

It was eight and a half months ago that I tried to quit smoking cold turkey. So was it a success?

YES

Easy peasy. I really have found it extremely easy to quit smoking the cold turkey method, which is simply to stop without cutting down. I was on 20+ cigarettes per day for 15 years and less for around 10 years before that.

How did I quit smoking so easily?

Cold turkey with candies, lots of candies.

I am now a little fatter, maybe 1 stone (I am guessing that is 10+Kg). So I have been trying to switch from hard candies to more fruit, nuts and sugar free candies.

Due to travel in Asia, this has not been too easy, hence my weight gain. However I am now going to make a concerted effort to cut down on the candy and replace them with sugar free options less often.

Do I still get cravings?

Not at all. I don't let the thought of smoking enter my mind. Even as I type this I am able to not let a full cigarettes image enter my mind. When in a smoky area like a bar I switch to breathing through my mouth. If there is an ash tray on our table I remove it before sitting down. Like I said easy peasy.

Would I recommend this method?

100% yes. I will begin to loose weight soon, I am confident of that. I just saw a photo of me on a beach and it was in a very unflattering angle. I met someone I hadn't seen in 2 years and she said "Wow you got so fat" lol. 

The weight gain isn't too bad. Like I said you can get some sugar free candy, switch to fruit which is healthier sugar and now I am eating more nuts and sugar free gum which lasts longer.

It is better to be a bit fatter for 1 year than to die 12 years too early in a painful, long death. I am certain I will not smoke again because I don't want to. I am now one of those people who looks down on smokers and thinks "dumb idiots".

I bought 12 years extra life just by swapping smoking for hard candies like Worthers Original and coffee candy. Now I am getting bored of these sweets I shall snack less and less, and gradually get back to my normal weight.

If you are considering stopping just go for it. Don't let the thought of smoking get in your head, drink cranberry juice for the first 3 days and suck on a hard candy when you get the urge to light up. 

I do not miss smoking at all. It is poisonous and therefore it doesn't make sense to smoke. Once you have quit for a while you will just have disdain for smoking. I spent my saving on a drone instead which has been a blast.

1 Month After Quitting and It is Getting Easier and Easier

It is now over one month since I quit smoking. I am finding it very easy, the cravings are very rare now. I don't envy people smoking nearby. So I am pretty confident that I am now a bona fide ex-smoker.

Health wise I have not noticed anything different besides the lack of the occasional small sore throat and coughing. I have been complimented on my complexion, I have been told my colour is now better.

I had my first cigarette when I was 8 years old and probably started smoking more than 5 a day in my early to mid teens. By my twenties I was on 10-15 a day and by my thirties 20-25 a day. So I have been a smoker for around 20-25 years and my lungs are probably almost black.

At 36 years old I would have been over half way through life if I had continued smoking. My guess would of been death before 70. Now that I have quit I have almost as long as I have been alive for my lungs (and the rest of my body) to repair. That sounds like a good amount of time to me and I am now confident of getting into my 80s.

a few benefits to quitting...

• I no longer have to go outside to smoke which is crap when it rains or in the cold.
• I no longer get condescending looks from people who realise I smoke.
• I don't have to leave any social situations to nip out for a cig e.g. wanting to walk out of the cinema, getting up in between courses in restaurants or having to deal with the day to day cravings when not allowed to smoke for any period of time.
• I am going to save a lot of money.
• Myself and my home smell normal now.
• I will probably find exercise much easier (when I get round to it).
• But best of all I am now likely to avoid being one of those people that gets cancer too early and cries out with regret with things like "I'm not ready to die, I don't want to die yet" (if you have been bedside with someone dying from cancer young, you will know what I mean), and then later wishes to die because the daily, never ending pain is too much to bear.

In all honesty quitting smoking was easy compared to what I expected. Sugary snacks helped a lot (I am still chewing on Mentos a lot). The first week surprised me how easy it was, then days 7-12 tested me mentally, but after that it got easier and easier. 

Day 15 - It is getting easier now

I am now at the 2 weeks mark and haven't touched a cigarette. I'm not sure if it is psychological but what I read about the 9th day being bad and the 2 week mark getting better seems to be true.

My last post was a week after quitting and it was starting to get harder. I would say that peaked around day 9 which is when many people seem to give in and light up again. The last couple of days have got noticeably easier. Now that I have done 2 weeks I am very confident that it will only get easier from here on in.

I have probably put half a stone of weight on, but so what. The cravings are getting less so I am snacking less. I'll deal with the weight soon. I am now able to do most things without getting "pangs" for a smoke (previously little things like sitting at my desk would remind me of smoking). Drinking booze still makes me miss smoking but I guess when I've done that more it will also fade too.

The future is looking good, I just keep reminding myself that I have probably extended my life by around 14 years and drastically reduced the chances of a long, painful death like lung cancer. I started smoking when I was 8 so maybe I won't get the full 14 years back, but quitting now will certainly help.

Quitting smoking isn't getting any easier - day 7

It is now day 7 in the morning and quitting smoking is not getting any easier. Actually just the opposite since my last post on day 4. It is now becoming more of a mental battle.

The little pangs I felt in the first few days have been overtaken by longings for a cigarette. The cranberry juice is not needed anymore as the nicotine leaves the body on day 3 or 4. I have tried to continue snacking often which helps with blood sugar levels to combat pangs.

Today I am just about to take a 5HTP tablet as I feel like my serotonin level needs a boost. I think I read somewhere that many people light up again on day 9 so these next few days are crucial. Then after 2 weeks things should noticeably get easier.

One resource I have been reading is http://whyquit.com/ which has lots of articles on it. I often find a page to read which relates to a specific feeling. For example there was one which helped me yesterday about longing for one "ideal" cigarette. It made me realise that I have been romanticising about the perfect cigarette instead of looking at the bigger picture.

For the initial few days I was thinking "quitting smoking cold turkey isn't hard at all". Now I am realising that it is the week that follows the first few days which is more testing. Fingers crossed I can prevent the thoughts longing for a smoke from winning over the next few days.