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    Quitting smoking cold turkey tonight! 

    by
    KOBE SBM
    Published on 08-15-2010 12:42 PM  Number of Views: 150 

    Okay, this was the night...August 15, 2010. This is the night where I told myself "You quit cold turkey, starting TODAY". Its been 6 hours, and I have felt the pangs of "where are my cigarettes?" three times already. This was my brand:



    I miss my familiar blue box of cigarettes, but I also know why I have chosen to do this cold turkey "out of the blue, literally". I ran out of cigarettes, and I bought a pack of Marlboro from a neighbor and smoked the pack and I feel horrible. Went on a 3 mile walk at around 8:00pm on the beach bike walk and it felt great. But when those urges to light up a cigarette come up about every hour or so, I'm frantically thinking of where I might have stashed an "emergency smoke" somewhere. Then, after about 5 minutes, it passes. I constantly have to think about what I am trying to do and actually quit smoking. I have quit far more destructive behaviors in the past, and this is no different. But what I did finally realize is this:
    IT MUST BE DONE COLD TURKEY

    Everyone I have talked to who has successfully quit smoking has done it cold turkey. 100% of them. Searching around the net for a different, less "radical" approach to quitting smoking led me to dead ends which I had tried in the past. Patches, Nicotine gum, other self-imposed rationing protocols, smoking only half cigs...nothing worked. I thought back to some of the other behaviors I changed, and the change came from...well, CHANGE of the behavior! What a concept. There is no way to "smoke less" and have it be better for me than quitting smoking altogether. But there is this hunger for nicotine.

    The trick here is going to be UNDERSTANDING why I have decided to quit, and preparing myself for what I already know is coming as a result of my quitting.

    http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_30_Who_to_Believe.htm

    When I started my Atkins WOE, I already knew what to expect, both in the beginning and after I passed into ketosis. But thats another article. Tonight, its MONUMENTAL. I have been smoking cigarettes since I was about 18 years old, became a moderate smoker at age 20 while serving in the Marine Corps, and now Im 50 and I have attempted in the past to try "cutting down" with the intention of quitting. Does not work! The patch worked in terms of making me not want to smoke a cigarette, but when I stopped using the patches, the cravings for smoking came back. I have had at least 20 "last cigarettes". Will this one stick? We shall see from the posts I make after this one.

    ITS THE NICOTINE


    ITS THE NICOTINE

    There is no other reason for anyone to smoke other than the nicotine contained within the cigarettes or the chew, or the cigar or the patch or however it is delivered. ANY amount of it is bad, because it causes physical addiction similar to heroin, according to this video. Today, when I was searching for cigarettes, I sat at this computer and typed out the drafts for this article. I found this short clip:



    I have made two game-changing decisions in the last year or two, and this is a big one. I will become the coveted "ex smoker" I wanted to be for years. And because I have now published this article, I will have to keep my promise to myself, like I have with Atkins. I have shared my goals with others, and I have to answer for any failures now! But this is great! Im gonna become an ex smoker. I hear it takes 2 days (sounds familiar to me because of Atkins Induction which is also 2 days to get through the switchover to ketosis). I have to go through an intense withdrawal period I have not yet experienced. Wish me luck.
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