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Steeldrifter

Celebrating 6 years smoke free

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Today is a special day for me. Today marks exactly 6 years since the day I finally decided to become a non smoker. At the time I was smoking over a pack a day and tried everything I could find to quite but nothing worked long term for me. Then finally 6 years ago I just got up one morning and simply decided I was tired of slowly killing myself, so I tossed out what I had on me and have not touched a single cigarette since that day. One of the very best decisions I ever made in my life by far.

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Congrats! Smoking has to be one of the hardest habits to break. I'm almost one year (mostly) smoke-free. Still want one every now and then but it gets easier every day.

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LOL Congratulations.

 

I quit a little before you did, if I remember correctly, but I couldn't even tell you exactly how many years ago it was, let alone what particular day.

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Congrats Steve !!

 

I did that in 1973, brand new pack of butts. I found myself sitting staring at the end burn up and concluded that it was in control of me vs me of it and crushed it out, crushed the pack and threw them in the trash. Years later was alcohol, never drank a lot but same analogy. Plus I never felt physically good after even 1 drink so what good was it anyway.

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Dave we seem to have more in common than we even knew. I'm a recovering alcoholic myself. Have been for many years now thankfully. Had a pretty serious problem for many years of my 20's and very early 30's till I finally got help but that is the other good decision I made in my life right there. If I had not quit drinking and smoking I most likely would not be here today.

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I'm a recovering alcoholic myself. Have been for many years now thankfully. Had a pretty serious problem for many years of my 20's and very early 30's till I finally got help but that is the other good decision I made in my life right there. If I had not quit drinking and smoking I most likely would not be here today.

Yep, decided I really didn't want a second ex-wife because of alcohol and drank a six-pack on the way to detox 90 miles away, checked and said I wasn't leaving until they found a bed in the treatment center. Did my 31 days and have been sober now for 45 years. Was told not to try to quit smoking until sobriety was well in hand. Give it at least a year. One year to the day I got out of rehab I threw away what was left of cigarettes and haven't touched one since. Two pack a day, one regular one menthol and cold turkeyed it. Yes it was tough but it saved a marriage, a huge amount of money, and my health. I'm 73 now and with COPD in better control, losing weight and becoming more active I know I wouldn't be around to enjoy these things now if I'd have kept at it.

 

Congrats to those who learned to live without cigarettes and those who live day by day without alcohol when it was a problem in their past. I have no problem with drinking and alcohol today but do have a problem with drunks like I used to be. Sitting around a campfire with others having a beer or three is the one time I ever really feel the draw but have overcome it for 45 years and will try to get through tomorrow without a drink.

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So excellent to hear these experiences and sharing it.

Proud of you guys.

Glad you guys are all still around, beating any form of addiction is tough business, I bet you feel great when you are in control and do not allow unhealthy choices to govern you. Carry On!!!

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Congrats Steve!!

 

I did the same thing about 26 years ago. I was sitting on the couch and was out of cigarettes and just decided that I wasn't going to walk across the street to kill myself and that was my last time to pick one up. It also helped being 1 1/2 years sober, kinda had a little bit of a handle on how things worked by then.

 

Great stories from real "Quitters".

 

Blane

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I quit smoking Easter Day 2009. I also changed how much I drank when I found out my Uncle was an Alcoholic. I might have one drink every 6 months. Both of these are habits I picked up in my 10 years in the Army. Now I am on a diet and have almost lost 45 pounds. Stared at 304 and trying to get down to 220. It has not been easy but I continue everyday. Completely changed my diet. I do not need more health issues than I have, low thyroid and I just got checked for sleep apnea and possible high blood pressure. Most likely will be going on a CPAP machine.

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Stick with the healthier eating habits Prybis they will pay off. Case in point- At my highest I was 399lbs just 5 years ago when I decided to make a change in my eating. Now 5 years later I have dropped over 170lbs and stay right about 230lbs which is good for my 6'5" frame. I didn't do any crash diets or any sugary like a lot of people do. I simply changed to a healthier way of eating, count my calories daily and get as much exercise as I can and that's what helped me to drop all that weight and to keep it off as well.

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Steve, congratulations -- I knew about your weight loss from some of your other posts, but not about the smoking. You have beaten two seriously tough opponents in your life and my hat's definitely off to you. I've never had the struggle with tobacco--I love my cigars and will buy a pack of cigs once in a while, and I even have a pipe--but I've always been able to put any of them down indefinitely and not have cravings. Just lucky, I guess. Food--well, that's another story. I grew up in the rural Midwest with some seriously great "meat-and-potatoes" cooks, and each and every one of them believed that Food = Love. They showed their love for you by cooking for you, and you showed yours for them by cleaning your plate, That was great fun until the metabolism dropped some time in my late 20's. I had just about decided that I was just going to be a portly dude for the rest of my life, but recently a friend posted a photo of me in waders, and I looked like a well-stuffed sausage. I just decided I didn't want to be "that guy" anymore. Been using an app on my phone ("My Fitness Pal" lol ) to track calories, and wearing my wife's old Fitbit to help me hit 10,000 steps a day. Down 7 pounds so far and already feel so much better. My goal is to see the weight on my bathroom scale start with the number "1" for the first time in over 20 years.

I also want to say "thank you" to all who shared their stories here. Every single one of them has some version of the line, "One day I just decided...." and that is what it's all about. Nothing changes until the day our unhappiness outweighs our fear of doing the work.

Best of luck to us all. :)

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