Kickin’ My Habit: The Smokers Diary Week 1

October 29, 2008 - 11:30 am By Kelly - UMass

Well, we all – even the smokers like myself – know smoking is a bad habit. I have been smoking on and off since I was 14 and, not to date myself, with almost 10 years of smoking under my belt, I have decided it is time to try and kick the bad ‘ole habit once and for all.

Because quitting is really effing hard, I am going to share my journey with and you, CollegeCandies. I hope this inspires you to join me…and inspires me to stick with it. Smoking kills thousands and thousands of people each year and I don’t want to be part of the statistics.

So, week one, here is the progress to date:

After smoking a pack every two days, a few weeks ago I decided not to buy packs anymore. Translation: I’d only mooch my cigarettes, which I hate doing. I figured this would cut my daily intake drastically. And it did, for a few days. Then, one weekend after having a few too many cocktails (my prime time to smoke), I caved and bought a pack… and proceeded to smoke the entire pack in one evening.

Not so good for me considering I’m an avid runner who huffs and puffs on my daily run like I’m a 400 lb. man.

Then, I tried another option: limiting myself to two – four cigarettes a day. Some days, if I didn’t need them, I wouldn’t have them, and others, I’d reach my limit and learn to hold off.

As of today, October 30, 2008, I have smoked three cigarettes total. Not too shabby. When I want more cigarettes than I allow, I drink a glass of water, chew gum, or listen to music to take my mind off of it. So far, so good (kind of).

Tomorrow, I hope to smoke two, and will continue to allow myself two for each day, for the rest of this week.

The weekends are when I cave, especially if I’m out with my smoker friends…and cocktails. Any fellow smoker will know how natural it feels to have a drink in one hand and a smoke in another.

Wish me luck on my week journey to smoke free livin’! I’ll report back next week and give you the 411 on my progress. Any tips on how to kick this habit are greatly welcome, ladies.

Christine says:
Wed, 29th Oct 200812:29 pm

I wish you luck in this. It’ll make you stronger if you can resist more and more over the weekends when you’re in tough situations. Just keep at it and soon you’ll be happier without the cigs I’m sure.

smoker says:
Wed, 29th Oct 200812:56 pm

I hope you can do this. I have a similar smoking history and If you can do it, then that means I can do it. I’m rooting for you!

michael says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20081:47 pm

keep with it! You got this!

Olivia says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20081:49 pm

Good luck!

Kirsten says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20082:00 pm

Ive heard the first two weeks are the hardest. So try to quit cold turkey and last that long and you’ll be off to a great start!

Coco - University of Alabama says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20082:14 pm

good luck! i smoked for a while and quit over the summer, but recently picked it back up again. i’ve been really good recently and haven’t smoked in like a week and a half keep it up girl!

cosette says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20082:22 pm

Put the money you save by not buying cigarettes into a jar, and use that to buy yourself something you really want when you reach your goal!

Nikki says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20086:05 pm

Girl, I feel ya. I was a smoker for nearly 6 years and decided to join a quit-smoking group my university was offering this past spring. It was amazing because we received the patch for free and had the support of other girls to quit so it was super helpful. The patch is incredible because we started off with a certain about of mg of nicotine and every few weeks would go down to less and less so we wouldn’t be addicted to the nicotine anymore and we just had to focus on the mental difficulties with quitting instead of just the physical. I was a pack a day smoker so it really was super helpful However, once the group ended, my smoking started up again. So, I smoked all summer, allbeit less than I had before the group began, but then one day, I decided I didn’t want to do it anymore. And, I know it sounds so cliche and whatever, but take it from someone who was a heavy smoker–the easiest way to quit is when you decide you REALLY WANT TO. As lame as that might sound, if you really want to quit, you will. I haven’t smoked a single cigarette since September 14th and I really feel so much better. You can do it! I know you can! Stay quit love!

Cat says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20086:22 pm

Awww good for you! I wish you all the strength and determination in the world!

C says:
Wed, 29th Oct 20089:07 pm

I smoked for five years and i went cold turkey when i stop. i never had one final one. i kinda just stop and have only had a few drags since. i now cant stand the smell and even holding one makes me feel sick and cant even see myself smoking again

Good Luck

Dina says:
Wed, 29th Oct 200810:46 pm

Well, living in the second most tobacco friendly city in America, I’ve seen this a lot. Here is an unconventional approach, tell yourself that you don’t have to quit smoking. You just have to give it up until you are 75. By telling yourself that it is not forever, it makes all the difference in the world. Trust me, it is extra hard living in north caroline when you can smell the tobacco blossoming.

rachel says:
Wed, 29th Oct 200810:50 pm

I just quit smoking two days ago, and after smoking for 5 years I know EXACTLY what you are going through.. It’s so hard.. But keep up the good work and I’ll be reading all of your updates – It’s nice to go through it with someone!!

Fran says:
Thu, 30th Oct 200812:03 am

GOOD LUCK! I’m also trying to quit… actually, on saturday I had my first cigarrete in WEEKS. I really wanted one, and since I hadn’t smoked in so long I allowed myself to have one… sadly I had to buy a pack, so I’ve had a couple of cigs today, too. I can’t help it, if I have some, I’ll smoke them. I guess I’ll just have to finish the pack, hopefully it’ll last a few days… and then not buy one for another couple of weeks.

Alice says:
Thu, 30th Oct 200810:43 am

If you want to quit, just move to England. With the smoking ban, if you want a fag on a night out you have to shiver outside the doorway, in hailing rain which systematically puts said fag out. Oh and most people will also give you dirty “you’ve-got-herpes”-type looks if you light up around them.

Lisa Marie says:
Thu, 30th Oct 20089:14 pm

When I quit smoking, I wanted to smoke the most when I was drinking. I bought a huge bag of Dum-Dums and toted some around with me at parties. When I wanted to smoke I popped one of those suckers in my mouth and it took care of my oral fixation.

Heather says:
Thu, 30th Oct 200811:52 pm

yeah i quit for 6 months once, and the whole time i felt like i wanted a cigarette. Most of the advice people give towards quitting smoking deals with the physical, and my problem was that I wanted a cigarette as a knee-jerk response to stress. I would be okay having said quit, until i got in a fight with someone close to me, for example. In that six months I was never able to find something that could give me quick stress relief, as this was my main trigger. So its brought me back to where I started. I relapsed, and relapsed, and relapsed again, and before I knew it, I was once again a smoker.

Dan says:
Tue, 4th Nov 200811:28 am

quitting is easier when there is something to replace it with. i found it nearly impossible to quit when drinking with people that i normally smoke with. on the other hand i can drink and not smoke if i’m with my brother or someone who normally doesn’t trigger smoking for me. as for replacing it, exercise works for me, oh and chew which i know is cheating, but i view it as beter in the short term.

i tried every mentioned step above. i’m to the point where i will smoke roughly a pack’s worth on the weekend while bumming cigs out. not perfect but better than 4 packs a week, and cheaper. as for chew it is also about a tin a week and really attracts the ladies

Kelly M. says:
Tue, 4th Nov 20085:00 pm

FYI dan, chewing is way worse than smoking cigarettes.

College Candy

Kickin’ My Habit: The Smokers Diary Week 1

COVER STORY

HAHA

Overheard: What am I made o

Is Sending the First Text the Right Move?

The Morning After: Girl on Girl

Intro to Cooking: Fake Pinkberry

CC Beauty Live: Indulge In Soap And Glory

One Month Challenge: Fun with Fitness, Week 2

3 Easy Ways to Score Free Drinks

Hot Links

What's Hot

18 Comments		Posted in Body
		Tags: 411, bar, Body, cigarette, cocktails, daily intake, drinking, drinking and smoking, habit, health, lungs, mooch, no smoking, pack a day, pack of cigarettes, quit smoking, runner, smoker, tips

Like this? Check out more related posts.

COVER STORY

HAHA

Hot Links

What's Hot