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14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 312

Good morning,

Ron, good ideas, I will work on those for sure. I get up, on a work day, at 5:30am, it's still dark outside and I live out of town, so I would be a little scared to go out and walk...however I do have a treadmill at home and will start doing that in the morning (That will help overall health not just withdrawal).

Jim, thanks for your insight. And I just love the 6 P's, I think I will post that up at my work also....couldn't hurt..lol

I'll keep in touch.

Charm

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Hey Charm!!!

A belated welcome to you and congrats for making that decision to kick that demon's ash!!! You have a plan and have set your quit date and if you think that cutting down is right for you, then it definitely IS!!!

I, too, cut down before I quit and it worked for me! So did the Chantix and the huge desire to be a non-smoker!

Use the next week or so to psych yourself up for the big day!!! Keep telling yourself that you CAN do this and that it is the most important thing in the world that you are doing! Maintaining a Positive Mental Attitude is one of the most important parts of quitting and if you can do that, you have half of the battle won!

Remember the 6-P's.... Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance! Having your plan in place and following it is another important key to success! Going through all of the milestones in the Program will definitely help you prepare! Also try to list some things that you can do to keep busy and distracted! My distraction was the forums here for days and days!

Read and learn... knowledge is power and you will need all you can get to do battle with the demon! There is a wealth of information here and that is one thing the demon hates!!! LOL!!

Jim

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 931
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 23,275
Amount Saved: $3,840.38
Life Gained:
Days: 160 Hrs: 9 Mins: 40 Seconds: 39

Quit Meter

$47,610.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1162 Hours: 8

Minutes: 39 Seconds: 41

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6348

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

190,440

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 377

Hey 4th,

I agree with others that if you cut down without changing anything else then you will be constantly focused on when you can smoke which is giving the cigarette too much power. To mitigate this problem what I suggest you do is start to change your habits as if you are a non smoker. For example when I first quit I would always wake up and instead of making coffee and smoking I would walk around the block for 30 minutes. If you did this now before you quit you would hold off having a cigarette because of your change in behavior. You would probably cut down just from making some changes to your routine and in that case you would not be thinking as much about smoking. You might join a class, get out and do new things, or just start up a new hobby now and see if that can cut your smoking down.

Good Luck,

Ron

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 6/17/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 827
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 14,886
Amount Saved: $5,210.10
Life Gained:
Days: 128 Hrs: 19 Mins: 49 Seconds: 40

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 312

Thanks Ashley...

Now, for those of you with "inquiring minds". I have decided to continue with the cut back of my daily intake by a 4th, I am going to delay or eliminate the "hard" ones..like first one of day, one after meal and one driving to work. However, I am not going to watch the clock all day and make sure it has been over an hour...I will just cut out the "habit" ones.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

Charm

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11226

I know you can do it too charm!

Keep posting. I am looking forward to hearing about your success!

The positive attitude you have now will certainly help you in your quit.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 312

WOW...Guys,

I am impressed with all of the feedback. And you all are so right about the one thing you agree on...It is my decision..everyone is different and I will decide what is best for me..

My quit date is Oct 1st (10 more days) and I will make it this time, I have a good feeling.

I will certainly need the help of all of you rather you be firm or nice...I can handle it.

You guys are a great bunch of people and I am proud to be a part of the SSC gang.

Charm

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 672

Sorry i'm with Breather on this one, i think you pretty much answered your own question.

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2005
Smoke-Free Days: 2089
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 73,115
Amount Saved: $19,009.90
Life Gained:
Days: 302 Hrs: 19 Mins: 59 Seconds: 50

Quit Meter

$14,127.60

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 703 Hours: 18

Minutes: 24 Seconds: 5

Life Gained
Quit Meter

3860

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

57,900

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 58

Oooh! .. I can see how this works, it's the what came first argument ... the chicken or the egg?? For me, cutting down just didn't work - because my addiction was/is so much stronger than my healf hearted willpower - it has to be all or nothing for me ... but even with my whole hearted willpower thrown into the mix ... this is STILL a tough old struggle.

As for you 4th time ... you are cutting down right? you have been smoking less and less as the days are ticking by right? you are preparing yourself both physically and psychologically for this quit on the 1st October? ... and you fully intend to quit on this date dont you? .... Well, try not too worry too much about 'rewarding' yourself with the cigarette - the 1st October will put paid to all of that and what you will have done is kick started your willpower in advance of this ... you ARE waiting extra time before having the smoke ... that takes willpower ... and it is your extra willpower that is your reward ... not the cigarette.

Try not to be hard too on yourself before you have even started - you are heading the the right direction .... congratulate yourself for this ... you deserve it!! You are doing everything you can to prepare yourself ... and your quit is YOUR quit, you have to do what works for YOU.

It makes no difference what road you take ... or how much baggage you bring along ... it does not matter how far you travel .... and nobody will care how many times you have passed this way before ... the only important thing is .... just to make sure that you get there in the end.

Keep at it

Lil x

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 9/9/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 12
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 180
Amount Saved: �56.70
Life Gained:
Days: 1 Hrs: 3 Mins: 45 Seconds: 53

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 816

Hello Charm In my humble opinion I don't see why anyone would want to punish themselves that way. Everyone has there own way of doing things but to me it seems like an unnecessary constant drain on ones self. I would smoke the regular amount until quit day and start then with either a NRT or cold turkey. Just my opinion. breather
My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 11/11/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 679
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 33,950
Amount Saved: $16,296.00
Life Gained:
Days: 123 Hrs: 21 Mins: 0 Seconds: 34

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11226

Hi 4th time,

You ask a very valid question and the answer certainly isn't easy. Cutting back is certianly a way to quit smoking. Remember every individual is different and different things work for different people. Some people stop sold turkey, others cut back. This is a personal choice.

Delaying smoking is a great way to avoid a slip. In our Emergency Coping Plan (http://tiny.cc/iwy74) we actually advise members to tell themselves to delay smoking when they have a crave. However this often results in not having a smoke at all.

I do understand what you are saying that if you keep rewarding yourself with a cigarette you may be reinforcing the addiction. I think this is certianly a great discussion for members to discuss. By cutting back cigarettes are you cutting back on the physical addiction? By rewarding yourself with a cigarette are you reinforcing the behavioural addiction? If you answered yes to both of these questions, what are some ideas on what you can do differently?

Members, please share your thoughts and ideas.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

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