Stop Smoking

by Melissa
(Port st lucie Fla)

I am being forced from work to quit. It is not something I want to do, but America is not the land of the free anymore. I enjoy my smoke break so my change is going from a traditional cig to a non nicotine e cig. I can continue the habit without the nicotine. Yes I will be smoking water vapor but the habit of getting my break, will keep me from eating and gaining weight.

Nicotine Detox Comment: That's a tough scenario when you are forced to quit and it doesn't come from your will.

Another issue that you mention is weight gain. Quitting smoking and weight gain is a huge concern for many smokers who would like to give up but don't want to pack on the pounds. Gaining a renewed pair of lungs while going up in dress size can bring a whole new set of health problems.

Nicotine is an appetite supressant as well as a "filler" between meals. The sudden shock on all accounts to the body can make the quitter look to food as a replacement and comfort.

Two of the biggest helpful tips for this is exercise and having healthy snacks available. Remove the treats from your house and find something that will adequately distract you when the withrawal symptoms are their worst.

Back to Detox For Life Homepage

I'm scared

by Michelle
(Dallas, TX)

I am a 22 year smoker. I have tried many times before to quit and failed. And I have quit twice for more than a year each time only to start back. Each time I decided to start back I did so by telling myself I still had plenty of time left in life to stop and get healthy. Well, that has lead me through the last 15 years that passed in a blink of the eye.

I am now in my early 40's and I feel like I am in my 80's. I have no energy. No desire to get up and go. I feel like crap all the time. I don't like to go out because I can not go for a long time without a smoke. I feel as if every person who looks at me is judging me.

I have to beat this demon that has so much control of me. I hate being a slave to cigarettes. But I am. I do what it wants when it wants and have done so for far too long.
My quit date has come and gone twice in the past 2 months. I don't know why I have such fear in trying this again. I do not want to fail. I want to succeed and be proud of myself. I want my friends and family to be proud of me.
I have a small window of time left before the summer ends and life gets crazy again. I really hope I can do this.

Editor's Note: Thanks for sharing your feelings Michelle. Fear of failure is something that holds many of us back in so many areas of our lives. My encouragement to you is that you are worth more than the fear. You are all you have. I can highly recommend a book by Allen Carr called The Easy Way To Stop Smoking - So many people have found that it helped something click in their minds about giving up forever and they've never looked back.