My Journey to Quit Smoking – My First Week

I was actually very surprised at how easy my first week off cigarettes was. I’m not saying I didn’t have a few cravings or ate a bit more junk food than I usually do but I managed to not smoke. Every other time I have tried to quit I just end up giving up within a day and smoke again, it was the usual “I’ll do it tomorrow” attitude. I don’t really know what’s different about this time, I think I have been wanting to quit for so long and I no longer get the enjoyment I used to out of smoking, I also have great support behind me which helps me stay strong when having a craving.

On several occasions I have been offered a cigarette and have thought about asking a friend for one. “one won’t hurt,” would sometimes run through my head but I quickly come to my senses and think about the nicotine that would be coming from that one cigarette and starting my addiction all over again. I have spent the last 2 weeks refusing to smoke so I can clear out all the harmful substances that I have willingly put in my body. They say it takes between 14-21 days for your body to be completely clear from nicotine and I am at/very near that mark. 

Today marks the 14^th day since quitting and I have to say I feel so much better.

My sense of smell has improved and I find myself enjoying food much more now. I have always been a bit of a foodie and now I can fully experience how nice the things I am eating are. My boyfriend also tells me that I smell better now as the smell of stale smoke has been completely washed from my body and clothes. It is a really nice feeling knowing this.

I have started reading “Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking,” I am told this book has helped many people and decided it would be good to have on my kindle to just take out whenever I get a craving. It is really good to have a plan on how you will tackle your cravings in advance. 

Another thing I have been using a little bit (mainly when I’m in work) is an E-lite cigarette. This is something you should be careful with when trying to quit smoking. I have met people including my own family who have used electronic cigarettes to try quit but smoke them more than they would a normal cigarette. This is pointless when you’re trying to get the nicotine out of your system as these e-cigarettes contain nicotine and you will continue craving it if you don’t cut it out.

I bought mine in the start to help me cut out the cigarettes and just to puff on when getting a craving. The only place I really used it was in work. I would still take my quick “cigarette break” but just go outside and puff on the E-lite a couple of times and go back in. I did this so I wouldn’t get the habit of smoking it inside and so it still felt like I was going for a normal cigarette that I wanted to cut out. I am happy to say I haven’t touched the E-lite cigarette in 3 days and haven’t missed it at all. 

That’s all I’m going to write for now but I will post another blog on this subject next week. I will be talking about the effects of drinking on cravings and how I handled it. I might also talk a little bit about Allen Carr’s book as so far I have found it to be quite interesting and has given some good quotes which I think are good to keep in the head when getting a craving.

Thanks so much for reading! 

Till next time…

~AlwaysTimeForTea

xx

My Journey to Quit Smoking

As a smoker I have spent the last few years in the routine of having a cigarette at different parts of the day, some days more than others depending on free time, stress and alcohol levels. But whether I was having 1 or 10 a day, I still knew that I was hurting my body and slowly killing myself.

Yet I still smoked….why?

My name is Elisha Tierney and I am addicted to smoking.

This is where my blog is taking a little bit of a turn from just beauty products to all sorts of things to link in with my life and plans and things I am interested in. While I do enjoy writing reviews on beauty products, I just don’t feel the pull to write about the new things I try for the sake of it. Of course I’d write about something if it stands out to me but I don’t really wear much make-up and try to keep a very neutral look which I think suits me best.

So from now on I will be taking my blog in a bit of a new direction.

I have very recently stopped smoking and since I haven’t posted in long time I decided this is something that can benefit me and possibly my readers.

I have been a smoker for about 4 years. I never thought I was truly addicted to it until I tried to stop. And believe me when I say, in the last few months that has been many times.

I would decide that “this box is my last” but as soon as I finish that one, I almost instantly would want another cigarette. This also had a lot to do with work for me. I am currently working in a four star hotel bar and restaurant. This means I’m on my feet all day long and running around a lot. Anyone who has worked in the same industry can agree that the smokers get more breaks purely through addiction.

“I’m just gonna go for a quick smoke break.” This is a line I have used many times myself after a busy lunch or dinner in the restaurant just so I can sit and relax for 5 minutes. Non-smokers would usually wait unlit their scheduled breaks. Which really isn’t a fair thing to be happening in work but it just does. Work is where I would smoke the most….
apart from when alcohol levels are high.

Drinking…. When I go out with friends for a night out, I probably smoke about double what I would smoke in a full day. This is due to just sitting out in smoking areas with smoker friends, drinking alcohol and the whole social aspect of it. As soon as I have a pint or drink I always want a cigarette. I can’t explain why other than the feeling that something is missing unless I have one, also because of the social aspect of it. This is definitely something I am worrying about on my journey to quit.

 I am going to have to face a night out while restricting myself from cigarettes. Luckily I have very good support from friends and also my boyfriend who has threatened to stomp out any cigarettes he sees me holding. Thankfully he isn’t a smoker and this will really help me to not give up on giving them up..

I am not going to write too much more in this post as I wanted to just have a starting point for this little series of blogs. I am now 1 week off the cigarettes today so in the next couple of days I am going to be writing about my first week cravings, how I have coped and what has helped me.

7 days and counting…

My Quit Date:         25-07-14