So today after waking up to some of the following scenery, I really decided it was time for a change! Results in Starcraft 2 have not been spectacular as of late, and I am actively thinking of ways I can turn them around and start delivering good performances again in the game I love. To jump right into things..
This is what it looks like: The Room:
I've been smoking cigarettes for about 6 years now. Im up to about a pack a day, and I feel like I'm heavily addicted to them. Being a SC2 progamer, it's not easy when you are playing a series and you have that strong urge to have a cigarette. Overall it's just a completly useless and bad habit to have, that costs a lot of money and makes a lot of situations more stressfull, rather than relieving stress which is what people originally use it for.
Other than smoking, I also have pretty disgusting health habits. Some of the people in the SC community may know that I used to be a lot bigger - over 300 pounds.
Before:
After:
I have succeeded before living healthy for a long period of time and managed to lose about 120 lbs in the course of 8 months. After picking up SC2 again though, my workout habits slowely started to decline and are no pretty much non existant. Because of the hours theres a ton of garbage (gas station) food. I've been gaining weight and I want to make a change where that's concerned as well. I figured the best way to give these lifestyle ideals a good headstart is by sharing them with the community.
Today will be the last day I will smoke a cigarette, and the last day of junk food and other bad nutricion as well. The next 5 days are probably going to be hell, from smoking a full pack of cigarettes a day to zero. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep well, or what kind of side effects I should expect. I thought a fun way to keep myself distracted from whatever may happen - is just to play a shit ton of starcraft. I have 2 big tournaments coming up in November, MLG Dallas and LoneStarClash, and if I just do nothing but play Starcraft 2 for 8 days while beating a bad habit, I think nothing but good could come out of this for me.
Other than obvious downsides of smoking, such as smell, cost, and addiction, it also makes your heartrate increase and has a bad influence on your brain. I don't think this is good for a starcraft progamer. I want to try and compete and be as healthy and fit as possible from this point on - we are cyber 'atlethes' after all.
Tonight I will clean out my room, make it look super clean and neat! I think that will help make a new start in a good direction. Tomorrow I'll take new pictures of my room (the place I will stream from). And I hope if there is anyone out there that also wants to make some lifestyle changes, will join me now in making changes. It doesn't have to be tomorrow when I start, but think about it, and live a little healthier, nothing bad can come of it!
First thing I'll do tomorrow is go to the gym and then I'll stream for 10 hours - everyday untill I go to MLG Dallas to compete, and you guys can watch me struggle with beating this addiction, support me, make fun of me, whatever!
But I know now that I've told EVERYBODY about this, I won't fail :D
My personal goals:
-Becoming a non smoking person over the course of 1 day...2 days... 1 week.. 1 month..forever. Living a healthy lifestyle that attributes to becoming a better progamer overall. Fitness, physhical health, mental health are all linked and living a healthy life should contribute to better results in the game.
-Being happier. (Of course!)
Short term Goal:
-During this 8 day heavy stream stint before MLG Dallas, I will Absolutely, Unquestionably, obtain rank 1 EU GM!! :D (This is just for fun, and to motivate myself haha)
-You can expect from me to stream 10 hours for the next 8 days each day, untill I go to MLG Dallas to compete
No matter what happens I will update on twitter - wether it's sleeping problems, headaches or anything else, aside from the hours a day ill be on stream and you might see me squirming away on the floor screaming for a cigarette. Everybody whos tried knows what a bitch it can be to cold turkey quit smoking, but hopefully after a little while I can start tweeting about how much nicer it is to breathe, and all that good stuff.
As a Follow up of all this I will post a VLOG at some point during or right atfter MLG Dallas, recapping the whole experience.
Hope you guys enjoy the show tomorrow, and most of all I want to call on people that enjoy SC2, or even ones that don't, that want to make a change in their life to pick up the axe and start axing away in the following days, and we can start living healthier (This bunch of emo crap should appeal to the American Spirit around here - note ret.)
Tomorrow people will laugh at me for this but in the end I hope to see the benefits and I just wanted to make it fun. And If I can get one other person to quit too then this would be a great succes also
As I post this the whole room is clean and all the traces of ashes or cigarettes are 99% gone - it was too dark to do it 100%. And tomorrow we start this battle with sc2 as the remedy :D Lets GO!
You've proven that you have the strength and willpower to shape up when you dealt with your weight, you can totally do it again with smoking. Good luck man
From a psychological perspective, avoiding situations or places in which you used to smoke may help you on your drive to quitting. It may be helpful to avoid doing certain activities if you used to smoke while doing them, for example: if you typically had a beer while smoking a cigarette, it may be beneficial to cut down on drinking as well, as the two stimuli (alcohol intake and nicotine intake) can be linked in that way, and having a beer may increase your urge to smoke.
Hope to see you streaming more often! I always click yours first if it's up on that sidebar.
Don't discount the helpfulness of products designed to help you quit smoking. I have not personally smoked, but I have friends who have tried to quit and after a few weeks got right back into it. I think products like Nicorette can really help make quitting easier.
Edit: Good luck! You're one of my favorite pros and I'm rooting for you
Nice man! Good luck! I think quitting cigarettes will definitely increase your quality of life, and hopefully your new motivation can positively impact your SC2 results as well. Gogo Ret!
I have absolutely no doubts on this. You will do it. Let's do a good effort on finding some proper food at events even though it can be really hard at times! ^_~
I'd been smoking for about six years as well when I decided I'd quit. I'd tried quitting seriously thrice before, and all ended in failure.
I tried switching to electronic cigarettes my most recent attempt, and to be frank, as long as you really just don't enjoy smoking anymore, they work in weening you off. It took me a while to shop around and find a brand I liked, but now that I have, I haven't had a cigarette in three months. I haven't had a strong desire to have a cigarette since the first week or two of switching to e-cigs (except once at a party where I was very drunk -_- ).
Over time I've been smoking even the e-cigs less and less. I use disposable ones, and I used to go through one in about five days at first. Now one lasts me around two to three weeks.
If you're struggling with the cold turkey, I'd recommend looking into e-cigs. I won't recommend a brand to you (I don't want to make it look like I'm trying to push some referral shit), especially 'cause there's tons of reviews and resources you can find if you look around. Most smoke shops carry e-cigs now anyway (don't know about Europe, though).
Anyway, quitting smoking is a bitch! Good luck! You've been a badass since the BW days (:
I quit smoking on June 15th. Been using the E-cig that Mondi recommended its great!!
Edit: I had been smoking heavily for 19 years, the last 3 or so smoking roll your own non-filter. I still love the act and idea of smoking a cig but I have managed to stay strong with the e-cig Ive been using .
I am sure you can do both. Lose your unhealthy addiction to smoking and junk food! By the way, I also think you can go ahead and win MLG Dallas I wish you good luck of course, but remember that quitting will be hard not only at the beginning but after like 2-3 months you should really be careful to not start again.
Awesome ret! I remember you've tried quitting before, it's definitely not easy. Perhaps you should quit a little more slowly, use that motivation to decrease the amount of smokes. DJwheat recommends those electric cigs things if you've never tried those.
Here here Ret such an awesome initiative by you I will support by watching your stream and also cutting junk food!! I am heavily addicted to junk food to the point where I just won't eat but I love all kinds of food. High protein meals and working out for me I started this yesterday as I like Mondays.
You can do it! I wanna see you win MLG and Lonestar.
I support you in your effort, good luck, but more that that I believe you have what it takes to kick ass and take name at whatever you do. Keep it up, and your awesome.
Cold turkey is going to be ridiculously brutal, best of luck Ret. You'll likely suffer some serious withdrawal symptoms, if it gets bad, make sure to see a doctor.
On October 24 2012 05:24 FuDDx wrote: I quit smoking on June 15th. Been using the E-cig that Mondi recommended its great!!
Edit: I had been smoking heavily for 19 years, the last 3 or so smoking roll your own non-filter. I still love the act and idea of smoking a cig but I have managed to stay strong with the e-cig Ive been using .
Don't get on the ecig train. It will do much more harm in the long-run, than good in the short-run. It will keep your mind littered with the habbit of inhaling something and after a while it just won't be enough no matter how much you use it. Cold turkey is the way to go. Been almost a year now for me. GL to you as well!
Good luck, great initiative. I can't even imagine how hard this must be, but I'm kind of going in the same direction at the moment. I don't have a cigarette problem but I'm trying to work much harder, party with less alcohol and I dearly need to pick up a work out routine again. So this is quite inspirational : )
Good luck Ret, I also quit smoking recently and it's easier than you think it's all in the mind! You can do it and looking forward to your impending success
Good luck ret, such a change in lifestyle will be difficult to achieve all at once. I hope you can manage, or just take little steps to get where you want to be. There are also a lot of subreddits about fitness and quitting smoking which you might find useful; r/fitmeals r/fitness r/weightroom r/loseit r/getmotivated r/stopsmoking
On October 24 2012 05:50 Ikkuh wrote: Good luck ret, such a change in lifestyle will be difficult to achieve all at once. I hope you can manage, or just take little steps to get where you want to be. There are also a lot of subreddits about fitness and quitting smoking which you might find useful; r/fitmeals r/fitness r/weightroom r/loseit r/getmotivated r/stopsmoking
My father quit smoking and he did so on 01-01-2000, so the first day of the new Millennium. I think as long as you identify the moments where you habitually start to smoke, you can find the willpower to stop smoking, but only if you really want it to begin with. My mother was allergic to smoking and she reminded my father of how disgusting of a habit it was about a few times a day, so he really wanted to quit as well to not have this divide between the two of them anymore. If you really really want to quit, then finding willpower will be easier I imagine.
I think nicotine is even more addictive than heroin, so it's tricky though.
On October 24 2012 05:53 Rimstalker wrote: i'd expect quitting cigs to be easier than shedding the blubber. Gogogoggogo!
I don't know, the physical symptoms of losing weight: more energy, feeling better. The physical symptoms of quitting smoking: aches all over, manic energy. I'm really loving the fact that we're doing tournament prep at TKD right now, I get to do a lot of hitting things and people.
On October 24 2012 05:59 Zeburial wrote: Good luck Jos!
Fruit & Water helps a lot with the headache that will follow from going cold turkey, and working out helps too!
Absolutely. Try to go for a run and get some cardio with the process, I know Liquid'Hero will be sad to lose his smoking partner but hopefully you'll inspire him to quit as well.
Good Luck Ret! I'm rooting for you and I'll be sure to tune in and support you in chat over the next few weeks! I know this i has got to be hard but you've shown you have the willpower to do something like this! You got this!
Hi Ret! It's awesome to see you making those huge changes to your lifestyle, they can only entail great things!
Anyway, I wanted to throw in some advice, or offer my perspective and experience on the topic of tobacco! Myself, I quit about three and a half months ago using tobacco, having used it daily for over 3 years. On the 6th of November I will hit four months. Anyway, what has been absolutely astounding about my experience is that it hasn't bothered me the slightest! The first week or so was a bit "uncomfortable" because quite a bit of time was freed up, and sure it bothered me a bit the first few nights, sleep wise. But truly, I have absolutely no desire to ever touch anything tobacco related again.
Now what helped me achieve this was a book written by Allen Carr, called The Easy Way to Stop Smoking (/or using tobacco as he gets into in the book). The title itself is quite... comical(a sell-out ish type of title I guess you could say) a lot of people think, and most will directly relate it to yet another advertisement that's just there to pickpocket you and waste your time.
If I had not met a particular person this summer, through work, I would probably still be addicted to & using nicotine, but because of this person, who shared his experience with me and told me about the book, my life has been absolutely cleansed of tobacco!
What Allen Carr is discussing in his book is primarily the ´uselessness´ of tobacco and how it does _absolutely_ nothing for you (and you have already figured out one key component: cigarettes do not relieve stress; they create it)! But what most people try and do when they quit is apply _willpower_ as in "I can do this, I can hang on for another week etc." -The reason they apply willpower, he goes on to explain, is because they feel like they are making a sacrifice; they won't enjoy certain occasions as much, for example: drinking, the cigarette after a meal, the first in the morning, etc! People relate to certain occasions and attach the importance of the cigarette to it! When the cigarette is doing absolutely nothing, it only has detrimental effects, zero positive ones (there is _no_ sacrifice!)
I've always wanted to write a blog post here on TL about this book from Allen Carr, some sort of review, but I guess I am just doing it right here in a reply to your thread!
You obviously do not have to take my word for anything, as I am just "another guy on the internet" but you have absolutely nothing to lose by checking out this book (you can even read reviews from Amazon or any other book review site about this book to possibly get different perspectives).
Either way you go, I hope you succeed and your joy for life increases!
GOGO ret! :D i hope quitting from one day to another doesn hit you so hard but i think if you could at least keet it down to a 1 box a moth it will be okay
Good luck, good sir! Very motivating! :D I had the privilege of meeting you when you went out for a smoke in Anaheim. I was lucky enough to get to chat with you for a bit, you were quite kind and personable. I hope all the best for you, and I know you can accomplish your goals. Even if you slip a little, just get right back in there! My addiction is mtn dew, I'll quite the Dew, dude! :D
GOOD LUCK! :D
This song is great motivation, if you enjoy that type of music at all.
My best advice for food is to find a good place to get healthy food nearby. I study from 8 in the morning till 8-9 in the evening every day, so I buy a lot of food outside my house. In the beginning it was easy to just buy some random shit, but after a while I found where I could get the healthiest and best food for me! Even though I'm this busy I still manage to exercise 2-3 times a week as well.
You might play more than 12-13 hours a day though.
Good luck, man! You have my support. Cold turkey was hard i heard, but recently some people around me pulled it off, so i'm sure you can too :D I'd really wish for you to rise to the top of foreign (i wouldn't mind korean either) ranks again
I just quit smoking cigs recently (~1.5 months) went cold turkey after 2+ packs a week. You’ll be able to do it, no question. It hurts like hell and isn’t fun at first but I feel way better now than I did a few months ago; the only advice I can give you is to never pick up another cig. The urge never leaves (I’ve quit before, I know what I’m talking about), despite that you have to be stronger. I still reach into my inner pocket when I walk outside grabbing for my pack and I doubt I’ll ever stop.
The e-cig isn’t a bad idea, my problem was that it was too reminiscent of smoking and, therefore, made me miss smoking too much. I think cold turkey is the way to go.
Ret: you the man. Good luck, I know you’ll need it but I know you can do it too. You remain one of my favourite pro players and now, knowing what you are putting yourself through to become a better player and a better person, I’ll be rooting for you even more.
On October 24 2012 05:13 dGHaiL wrote: From a psychological perspective, avoiding situations or places in which you used to smoke may help you on your drive to quitting. It may be helpful to avoid doing certain activities if you used to smoke while doing them, for example: if you typically had a beer while smoking a cigarette, it may be beneficial to cut down on drinking as well, as the two stimuli (alcohol intake and nicotine intake) can be linked in that way, and having a beer may increase your urge to smoke.
Don't meet up with HerO anymore, he's a bad influence!
jk :D Altho he will probably miss you as a smoking partner?
On October 24 2012 05:13 dGHaiL wrote: From a psychological perspective, avoiding situations or places in which you used to smoke may help you on your drive to quitting. It may be helpful to avoid doing certain activities if you used to smoke while doing them, for example: if you typically had a beer while smoking a cigarette, it may be beneficial to cut down on drinking as well, as the two stimuli (alcohol intake and nicotine intake) can be linked in that way, and having a beer may increase your urge to smoke.
Don't meet up with HerO anymore, he's a bad influence!
jk :D Altho he will probably miss you as a smoking partner?
Hey man, congratulations on taking the first step! Best of luck! you have the support of the community! Looking forward to some great games! DO IT JOS!! <3
Awesome initiative, and really cool of you to try to bring this kind of positive effort to the community. Good luck, Ret! I'm always rooting for you, but this just makes me want to root for you harder!
One thing I will say about quitting cold turkey. You either quit or you don't. If it comes to pass that you find yourself looking at an unlit cig after going cold turkey, it can help to say "Quit? Or don't?" This will help bring your mind back to that place where it needs to be in order to be successful.
I was trying to find a video of someone crushing tomatoes with their hand, but I found nothing but people stepping on tomatoes.... I found this I guess close enough.
Crush it like a tomato! :D
My dad's smoking habit was pretty bad to the point he would smoke the buts of the cigarettes he already smoked (assuming he smoke a pack a day.) He might have quit cold like you are gonna do it, but he wasn't smoking when I popped out.
If someone with that bad of a smoking habbit you can do it too! Especially with your weight lost, you can totally knock it out of the park! CRUSH IT LIKE A TOMATO! You can do it!
My mom always told me you and HerO set a bad life example with the smoking. Glad to see I'll be able to tell her things have changed :D glgl Ret! You can do it!
You know what, Ret? I'm sick of smoking too... doesn't help that I'm actually sick right now with the flu or a cold or something. Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna quit too! So hey, if it gets a little bit crazy just know there's someone else out there (a huge fan, btw) that's going through the same thing as you.
Try to gradually lower your levels of smoking. For example, smoke 11 cigarettes a day for a month and then once you get use to it, go down to 10. Good Luck!
Good luck Ret, good on you for taking the initiative to make your life better. Sure it's going to suck and it'll be hard, but it'll be worth it in the end. Crush it!
If you want some tips I would focuse on kicking the nicotine habit first and save the junk food habit for later. Changing habits are hard and changing 3-4 at the same time is even harder When you are done with the cigarettes you will usually feel a lot better and thus want to eat better = free help.
On October 24 2012 08:13 ToKoreaWithLove wrote: Good luck!
If you want some tips I would focuse on kicking the nicotine habit first and save the junk food habit for later. Changing habits are hard and changing 3-4 at the same time is even harder When you are done with the cigarettes you will usually feel a lot better and thus want to eat better = free help.
For me, junk food is the top thing helping me quit. I keep shoveling other stuff into my mouth to pass the time and distract myself. But then, I could stand to gain a few pounds.
Good read, and I'm extremely excited to see you have a better mindset and a more positive attitude! Been a fan since your BW days and its great to see youre still the baller I thought of you as ^_^ although this leaves your smoking buddy HerO by himself ( GOGO RET FIGHTING!!!
Glad to hear you're quitting smoking, best of luck! You might consider looking into some nicotine replacement like gum or lozenges because that could help your quitting go smoother and easier.
good luck with quitting and good luck at MLG. I have a tinny weight problem and a big problem with the cleanliness of my workspace so I will join you in the process of bettering our self's
You can do it! Be sure to buy some gum and/or sunflower seeds (or other things like that). SC2 will give your hands something to do, but your mouth needs something to replace that oral fixation.
IMO cold turkey is the way to go. It sucks at first but after a few days the most painful of the cravings go away, and then it becomes something you only think about 100 or so times a day (instead of 10000 times at first), slowly scaling down till you only get a craving every once in a while. Apparently the cravings never go away entirely. My mom stopped smoking over 35 years ago, and hates smoking, but tells me that she still gets cravings :D.
With replacement, you have to quit twice--quit the habit of smoking, and then quit using nicotine. Just my two bits--it works for other people sometimes.
GL Ret, I smoke a fucking pack a day and I hate it, it steals money from my wallet and time from my life. I want to stop to badly but depression does't help ><
gl ret! Improving your health and environment will definitely improve your mood, gaming and life in general so stick with it! Your before and after pics have inspired me to clean my messy room right now.
On October 24 2012 08:40 Mr. Black wrote: You can do it! Be sure to buy some gum and/or sunflower seeds (or other things like that). SC2 will give your hands something to do, but your mouth needs something to replace that oral fixation.
IMO cold turkey is the way to go. It sucks at first but after a few days the most painful of the cravings go away, and then it becomes something you only think about 100 or so times a day (instead of 10000 times at first), slowly scaling down till you only get a craving every once in a while. Apparently the cravings never go away entirely. My mom stopped smoking over 35 years ago, and hates smoking, but tells me that she still gets cravings :D.
With replacement, you have to quit twice--quit the habit of smoking, and then quit using nicotine. Just my two bits--it works for other people sometimes.
I know it's immature of me, but I can't help but giggle whenever someone uses the term "oral fixation." >_>
From my experiences with tobacco addiction (I've dipped regularly for the past 5 years with week to month long periods of inactivity) you crave it really bad, but if you just fight through it for the 5min it's bugging you, you actually feel quite good. Exercise and lots of water!!!!!!!!!
On October 24 2012 08:40 Mr. Black wrote: You can do it! Be sure to buy some gum and/or sunflower seeds (or other things like that). SC2 will give your hands something to do, but your mouth needs something to replace that oral fixation.
IMO cold turkey is the way to go. It sucks at first but after a few days the most painful of the cravings go away, and then it becomes something you only think about 100 or so times a day (instead of 10000 times at first), slowly scaling down till you only get a craving every once in a while. Apparently the cravings never go away entirely. My mom stopped smoking over 35 years ago, and hates smoking, but tells me that she still gets cravings :D.
With replacement, you have to quit twice--quit the habit of smoking, and then quit using nicotine. Just my two bits--it works for other people sometimes.
I know it's immature of me, but I can't help but giggle whenever someone uses the term "oral fixation." >_>
If you haven't read it yet, I'd also recommend trying Allen Carr's book, it made it easy to quit for me as well (too bad im a moron and started again about a year later). You can easily google it to read it online for free, but if it works for you, would be nice to buy the book afterwards (can gift it too). It's also not very long so you will have time to read it even with your streaming schedule. Besides after you quit it can help prevent relapses (though not in my case) Good luck.
At first I read the OP without looking at who the author was and thought it was great that someone was sharing a good message, i.e. quitting smoking on tl. Then I saw it was made by Ret and I was pleasantly surprised that he would share this portion of his personal life to everyone. I wish you the best of luck in quitting smoking. You are likely to get symptoms like flu/different digestive system, and you might actually go crazy, but it will go away and you'll feel a lot better.
I'm a smoker myself but don't smoke heavily and sometimes my addiction becomes less and i'm able to stop again for another couple of weeks. I don't really know what it is. I hate smoking and i think about quitting all the time but these periods where i don't smoke come without any effort... It just goes all by itself sometimes. The strange thing is i have no power over that.
Most of the time when i try actively i'm not able to stop smoking... I don't understand what the trigger for my abstinence is. Right now i nearly didn't smoke for like 3-4 weeks and i will make it a try to stop forever like always =) I hope you found the right moment to stop!!
You have to keep in mind that you might suffer from nicotine withdrawal like maybe bad concentration or headache (I suffer from this all the time a few days). The good thing is that i overall feel much better during the times i dont smoke )))
I hope you can make it past the negative side effects and become a better "athlete" )))
You're such a boss man! Quitting smoking is hard (I've never had to do it but I helped my brother deal with quitting) but it can be done, and you've already shown you have a lot of willpower losing all of that weight. Best of Luck!
Good luck on your endeavours, ret! I've been smoking for nearly 3 years (most of the time close to a pack a day) and tried to quit cold turkey 3 times. I guess I have pretty much no willpower since the longest I made it was 2 weeks. Currently, I am in another attempt to quit but this time I gave some pills a try. They are not a magical product that makes you forget about smoking the instant you take it, but (at least for me) the pills prevented the bad cravings I had my first few attempts at quitting. I still feel like I'd like to smoke every now and then, but it's by no means comparable to the insane I-must-smoke-this-fucking-moment-or-I-ll-die cravings I used to have before. The product has been used for about fifty years in East Europe and allegedly helps somewhat when you try to quit. In case, you don't succeed with your cold turkey attempt (I hope you do though!), you might want to give tabex a try. It's cheap and its side effects (if one gets any) are pretty much the same as some nicotine withdrawal symptoms (headaches, stomach aches). By the way, I have no idea if the site I linked to is a trustworthy place to buy tabex, but it was the first one I found in English.
Looks like Hero is going to lose his smoking buddy (I still remember that from the documentary, hehe). Maybe that'll prompt him to follow suit, hmm? Going to tune in as I'm able.
As an American, I naturally have to jump to drugs and suggest that if cold turkey is too difficult, do consider using nicotine replacement therapy and/or medications such as buproprion or varenicline. Best of luck to you!
Good luck! It is brave of you to put this goal out there with so many folks watching. Exercising discipline will pay dividends down the line, looks like a great move for your future no matter how it plays out in the short term.
I'm always happy to see someone take a huge step like this to improve their health, a truly inspiring effort. It will probably be hell to quit cold turkey like this, but all the same I wish you the best of luck
GL with the goals dude, i´ve been in your seat. Was a smoker for 7 years adn decided one day it was enough. now i´ve been smokefree since that day for 5 years and still going. My advice to you? get gums, aloooot of gums. That was what helped me through going from 15 a day to 0. Also you should be prepared to get headaches as you said and moodswings gonna be a hell frist 2-3 weeks. But i dont doubt you´ll get through this, its a matter of share will and since you´re a progamer i think you got that mindset allready Looking forward to your stream sessions, and best of luck to you in both upcomming events and the distant ones
Good luck Jos! I quit cold turkey last week after 7 years and it's been less hard than I expected, did it for similar reasons as yours. An advice; look up videos about how addiction works; about how dopamine affects the primal cortex. It's something I hold on to when I crave a peuk and it does work for me. (As I can then easily rationalize the emotional craving I get).
Fighting! good luck. This may offend some, but in many ways I think that losing weight, eating healthier and quitting cigarettes is way more important than practicing SC2. Not that they can't be done together, I'm just saying.
Hell yes. You can do this. Old school TL guys have more will power than most people I've ever met in my entire life. I'm not kidding about that. I don't doubt your ambitions for one moment.
I helped mine go cold turkey and she went mental all the time; i had to physically stop her from smoking...
I definitely recommend working out; get your natural high. Healthy food (we cut all sweets, even chocolate) helps, too (otherwise, you might feel inclined to replace nicotine with excessive amounts of sugar).
Decreasing the amount of smokes is just like telling a little girl that she'll have her beloved teddy later. That's my experience. It wouldn't work for me like that. I do it or I don't. So if decreasing the amount doesn't work for you just cut it out. Without smokes for one year now and I don't feel like need a smoke anytime. Good luck!
Edit: Funny though, I've never experienced any mood swings or whatsoever, just the urge to smoke, in the early time. I never had the feeling to be addicted to it anyways, atleast not mentally. I smoked for "only" 3 years, maybe that's why. I just was bored as hell, so it became something like f5ing the reddit front page, haha.
What a total boss, good luck man! I will definitely follow your stream when I'm home! It's been 10 months since I managed to quit my nicotine addiction. Go for it! :D
gl! i quit a year ago, it was really hard to stop myself from smoking when going out (after some beers), so better don't do that in the first few weeks, other than that, i dunno, maybe finding out your smoking habits/rituals and replacing them with something else helps. you can do it!
Pressure's on now, this got featured. Good luck to you. I believe if you have the will to lose the amount of weight you did, then you also have the will to quit smoking. Quitting cold turkey is the way to do it too. I smoked a little longer than you did and had to quit twice. I tried the gum the first time and it just made me want cigarettes AND gum. I think most "stop smoking aids" are actually just a last ditch effort to make you spend the most money possible before it's out of your life.
PS maybe consider disabling chat because nicotine withdrawals make you rage.
This will be easy for you Ret. To have the willpower to lose all that weight. I am sure you can do it again.
I am somewhat surprised that you were drinking all those coca colas and energy drinks. I had the impression that you would be probably the kind of guy who would just stick to green tea and water after your successful dieting all those years ago.
Good luck. I hope you can stay motivated this time to reach your potential as uberawesomebestdutchiprogamerofsewurld for once. Been waiting for ages for that one *growl*.
Good luck, Ret! I've been smoking for about 11 years, now- ever since I had a concussion remove me from my Texas HS football team. Quitting was so hard for me, every time I tried- still can't shake the habit... Maybe your effort will be an inspiration for me to quit, too! =0)
I've been a smoker for 6 years as well, and unlike you Ret i have a chronic disease which makes smoking for me prohibitive. I haven't been able to quit smoking since i started it when i was a teenager. I have no idea how you're gonna quit smoking immediately... In my experience, every time i tried quitting this way it was a really painful experience. I think the best way to quit smoking is to take it easy and start smoking less every day/week and eventually reach a point where you only smoke a few. Then it might be a lot easier.
However now that you shared that with the community, if you were to start it again or even smoke one or two, you're gonna hate yourself which I'm sure will stress you a lot. All i can say is good luck man. I hope you do it.
But saw many friends getting into it and now being stuck.
I was fat as well a few years ago (has been 4 years now) : i was 90 kg (200lbs?) for 1m75.
Wasn't ultra obse but i wasn't feeling good at all being like this. Gaming was (still is in some way) the best way to escape that reality - being fat -. Though i was fat i loved sport, especially basketball. So when I arrive at the University i had the chance to do a shitload of sport (resulting in failing my first year : D) but I reached 72 kg (158lbs) in 6 months without changing much of my food habit.
So my food habit wasn't that bad but had too much meat. Now - since i have a gf - my meals have more vegetables than meat (and than ever), and cooking is being a pleasure. SO IS GAMING, when you feel healthy, when you feel you ate well but not too much! You can sit on that damn fucking chair and be ready to play, watch and rage because that damn T shouldn't have been able to max like this.
I wish you the very best Ret. Going to the gym ? try swimming : once you are in water it might be too shitty to get out of water, change and go smoke . Instead just keep on swimming. It is a very nice exercise to be healthy and to get some breathe back. It is very balanced and doesn't damage at all (compared to weight lifting/running for example). But alternating the two is good : one day easy swimming and shit, good for recuperation. The second day go weight/run, you'll be healthy in no time. Don't forget that the time you spend sitting can be assessed as time of recuperation.
Stopping smoking ? Best challenge ever for hard smokers are you seemed to be. Want to smoke ? Drink a fucking shitload of water, and focus on your amazing macro. I guess it is all about Focus and determination.
I was focused and determined when i wanted to lose weight. Determination actually, I enjoyed doing sport too much for me to actually focus.
damn it will be so great to see you play that much again. I was so fond of your style
Good luck Ret, don't let yourself down! If you lost that much weight in the past it shouldn be a piece of cake, right?
Although I personally can't really relate with quitting smoking though as I never started in the first place but shouldn't that be just pretty much down to willpower, sounds much easier than losing over 1/3 of your weight at least..
Really rooting for you, this is gonna be hard and you're gonna feel like shit initially. My friend's dad quit last year and he had been smoking for at least 20 years. My friend said that he was grumpy for like six months after he quit.
On October 25 2012 00:09 GreYMisT wrote: The hardest part will be disassociating different activities with having a cigarette, but you'll get through it!
i know everybody says this... but thats absolutely not true. its just such an easy excuse to start again when youre having a drink or something similar. if you really wanna stop then you will succeed... know this from my own experience and i am usually a pretty sick addict^^
gl sir, def important to live a healthy life as a progamer and probably something thats not talked/thought about often enough.
On October 25 2012 00:09 GreYMisT wrote: The hardest part will be disassociating different activities with having a cigarette, but you'll get through it!
i know everybody says this... but thats absolutely not true. its just such an easy excuse to start again when youre having a drink or something similar. if you really wanna stop then you will succeed... know this from my own experience and i am usually a pretty sick addict^^
gl sir, def important to live a healthy life as a progamer and probably something thats not talked/thought about often enough.
Its one of the many factors that are attributed to relapse due to craving
Good on you man! I smoke way too much and live a pretty unhealthy lifestyle as well. It's really been on my mind lately. I'll be cheering you on and it may even inspire me to make some changes. Idk if I could play sc2 without the urge to smoke tho. I'd probably start smashing holes into the wall.
As far as reducing your usage goes, I know, as a former heroin addict (2 years), that it's usually better to just quit all together than to try and reduce your use or find some other crutch like e cigarettes. Get some support. Hell, as lame as it sounds, try going to a smoking cessation group a couple of times. It definitely couldn't hurt.
Whatever you do, DON'T DRINK! I've quit smoking several times for periods longer than a few months, and every time I've gone back to smoking, alcohol was involved. Good luck to you, I'd also recommend you get something to take your stress out on, the first 2 days to a week will be hell, Get a punching bag, do pushups, a stress ball, whatever, but have something to deal with the "figits" and get your heart rate up. Chewing gum (just regular old gum) can actually be very helpful! GLGL!
quit smoking 10years ago, 3-4 years later I gained after hitting +20kg I decided I need to loose that weight again, asap 1 year later I was back to 72kg. Today my weight is constantly around 72-74 and of course still non smoker.
I could write lot of experience stuff here, I would like to but I don't want waste the readers time with banal advices which you probably heard sometime somewhere.
I know how hard it is to quit smoking (had been a casual smoker for about 10 year, but it was never one package per day on a regular basis) Points I still like to stress out: nr1 what made me quit for real was, I developed a very strong antipathy against cigarettes (also there had been slight health issues, a better blood circuit was the best thing for me to fight that "slight" health issue) nr2 someone mentioned, stay away from alcohol, emmm this is not true, you need to understand your habits. if you avoid the situations in which you normally had been smoking, you will fell it much easier to quit smoking. Smoking is a habit thing, if you understand that and keep control of your habits, than you can easily control yourself, still you have to be strong minded and consequent, there is no room for mistakes! (example: if you got used to always smoke when you drink alcohol, every time you drink alcohol you will have the feeling that something is missing, it did take a long time for me until I could again enjoy drinking alcohol without have a "I miss something to enjoy the drink" feeling, I guess it will be the same with playing PC games, if you have used to always smoke when playing PC)
Finally I want to wish you Ret and anyone else, whom you inspired with your path of getting/staying healthier, good luck in succeeding. I think you will have a hard time because of the habits to have a smoke while playing SC2. It's clear that you cannot avoid this situation as a pro gamer and therefore I wish you a special strong mind to master the situation.
AND please focus with prio1 on quitting smoking, doing more sports and eating healthy is great but really if things go different than planned keep the stop smoking on prio 1
I just want to say though, you mention just becoming a happier person overall.
I understand that this is your job, but I guarantee you sitting at the computer for 10+ hours a day is not going to contribute to that happiness in a great way. I'm sure you get an exponential amount of joy from playing SC2, but binging on such a sedentary activity (that isn't even real) for that long and that constantly is not good for people.
That's why I worry so much for pro gamers. You dudes play this game nonstop. I know how I'd feel if that's all I did. Like blowing my brains out.
This is a great decision Ret, wishing you all the best.
By the way if you want to get serious about being in shape, try the P90X workout program. It worked wonders for me, helped me to eat right and get in the best shape of my life. Being at a desk job all day can wreak havoc on your health if you are not active.
Be prepared to gain weight and not lose weight though. The nagging hungry feeling nicotine gives stays for a long time and many start eating then instead, since eating gives some satisfaction to stop that feeling.
"Alan carr: stop smoking" helped me a lot gaining insight how to understand the smoking habit better btw, made it pretty easy to quit.
Gaming in an orderly environment is a must for me and as you said nothing relieves the stress like a cig but likewise in the wrong situation when you are craving a cigarette it can ruin you!
Hey Ret. I've been smoking for 21 years. At first it was just a few. It's been basically a pack a day for the last 15 years. Lately I've been telling myself, logically, that I should quit smoking, but I couldn't find the motivation. I'm very attached to Starcraft and the TL community. You've been one of my favorite players for a long time, since the BW days, and I am going to throw my hat in the ring and quit with you. I'll post a couple lines about it each day in my never used blog. Tonight I just got back from the bar, where I love hanging out and connecting with people. But I feel like the constant drinking and smoking is going to take a serious toll on me if I keep doing it. I probably go out to the bar and drink 5-7 times a week. Wow, just typing that out sounds rediculous. On nights I drink it's not uncommon for me to smoke a pack and a half in a night. This also leads to me getting very little sleep and being a zombie the next day, until the next vodka red bull where I start to get in party mode again.
I just want you to know that your effort has motivated me to join you. I've been looking for some motivation. I've seen what you were able to do with losing weight, and I know I can change too. Let's do this!
I'd been smoking for about six years as well when I decided I'd quit. I'd tried quitting seriously thrice before, and all ended in failure.
I tried switching to electronic cigarettes my most recent attempt, and to be frank, as long as you really just don't enjoy smoking anymore, they work in weening you off. It took me a while to shop around and find a brand I liked, but now that I have, I haven't had a cigarette in three months. I haven't had a strong desire to have a cigarette since the first week or two of switching to e-cigs (except once at a party where I was very drunk -_- ).
Over time I've been smoking even the e-cigs less and less. I use disposable ones, and I used to go through one in about five days at first. Now one lasts me around two to three weeks.
If you're struggling with the cold turkey, I'd recommend looking into e-cigs. I won't recommend a brand to you (I don't want to make it look like I'm trying to push some referral shit), especially 'cause there's tons of reviews and resources you can find if you look around. Most smoke shops carry e-cigs now anyway (don't know about Europe, though).
Anyway, quitting smoking is a bitch! Good luck! You've been a badass since the BW days (:
I would actually be really interested in what e-cigs you've found better than others if you've researched / tried a few. I bought one tonight and it's terrible. =( Maybe PM me if you don't want to push a brand publicly, but I don't think anyone here thinks you're pushing a brand.
Ret...You have exactly what it takes to do this. I believe in you, the entire TL community believes in you. As someone who has chosen to live healthy the last 2 months, I know what's in store. Sugar cravings, the desire to do some disgusting habit when you are feeling kinda sad/bad results etc. Im here to tell you, that you dont need any kind of food or cigarette as a crutch. In fact, you will soon see that these things are holding you back! You will start feeling wonderful, and your energy will know no bounds.
All the best to you, and keep posting pics and blogs! I love reading them. Your fellow companion, SoniC
On October 25 2012 17:46 NeWeNiyaLord wrote: One question, might seem idiotic but how can you smoke weed without a little cigarette mixed in? :p Don't know if you still do this tho!
u can use a vaporizer wich makes using weed harmless for the lungs/ larynx
On October 25 2012 17:46 NeWeNiyaLord wrote: One question, might seem idiotic but how can you smoke weed without a little cigarette mixed in? :p Don't know if you still do this tho!
u can use a vaporizer wich makes using weed harmless for the lungs/ larynx
Or just eat it. Butter and cookies! Or drink it. Green Dragon!
Some pretty life changing decisions indeed. Guess it will be easier if you look at this thread each time you crave for a cigarette or some junk food. Gl man, I believe !
Hey Ret! Love the streams! I would recommended something that I do when I play Starcraft. What I usually do in between games is as many pushups as I can and situps. Judging on how much you will be playin, this can help you begin getting I shape. It is hard to do every game but it is well worth it in the long run!! Best of luck Ret!!
its almost the end of day 2 without cigarettes... Today i feel a lot better than yesterday. Yesterday I felt like I was losing my mind, and I think I lost 11 games in a row before I stopped streaming. Today went a lot better and I was doing more closely to how I normally should when playing, although definately still feeling the desire to smoke and the lack of nicotine in my body.
I also couldn't really sleep last night, took untill about 8 am so I woke up really late today haha.. Overall though it's not been so bad, especially today, and everday going forward here it will only be easier which is really nice to think about!
Just wanted to write a little update, thanks for all the nice posts the ammount of support ive had on twitter, here, and reddit has really really helped! Without all of you, it wouldve just been another failed attempt, like so many before
This may saound crazy but there is a quick (and horrible) way to quit smoking in a heartbeat: 1. Open two sigarettes and take the tobacco in a casarole. 2. Add one cup of water. 3. Boil it. 4. Drink the "tobacco tea". After a big gulp you will probably vomit. 5. (this is imporant) Then smoke a sigarette right after you vomitet and you will vomit again. Now, all you can think of when you want to have another sigaret is the aweful tobacco tea and the vomiting.
This is not a joke, this actually works, but few people have the guts to do it, good luck! - Xiphias.
Though I never smoked before, I read the book in an effort to motivate my dad to stop smoking. I definitely learned a lot from reading it, even though a lot of things said are pretty cheesy.
Very quickly from my terrible memory, some important tips from the book: - It's all in the mind. - The first step to stopping (not quitting, because quitting implies you're making a sacrifice, which you're not) smoking is to stop smoking. The proper mindset going into it is to imagine you're getting out of jail (smoking put you in "jail" because you previously had no control over smoking), as opposed to climbing Mt. Everest. Instead of thinking, "My next few weeks are going to be hell trying to battle this," you should be thinking, "I'm feeling great now that I don't need to rely on cigarettes anymore." Etc., etc. - There is absolutely nothing good that comes out of smoking. It does not reduce stress, but puts you in the position to feel more stress. - The cravings are all in the mind. Just like hunger. When you're hungry, your brain is telling you to "feed me" just like the nicotine is saying. There is no actual physical pain. When you're sleeping, you never notice the need to feed the nicotine craving. It's all fake. The difference between nicotine craving and hunger are that you need to eat to survive.
- Remember there is no such thing as "just one cigarette." On a bad day, don't fall into the trap of thinking, "I went X days without smoking, I did a great job and I can at least reward myself with one cigarette today." Doing so will have erased all your progress. Remember when you first started smoking, you never thought you'd get addicted to it. Don't let it happen again!
- This is more of a general tip for anyone else thinking about stopping smoking, and not for those who are already in the process of stopping. The idea of gradually stopping smoking vs going cold turkey. Going cold turkey (stopping smoking at once as opposed to over time) is the much better choice. Say you wanted to go from 20/day to 0/day by smoking one less cigarette every day. By Day 10, you will be going at 10/day, which is ok. But on day 15 you're at 5/day. The 5 cigarettes you have on day 15 will feel much more powerful than before because you have been starving yourself from the cravings and that relief will feel really really strong... so strong that you will perhaps subconsciously think that the cigarettes are a really good thing when in fact they aren't. This goes with my previous point that there is no such thing as "just one cigarette." After going X days without smoking, if you decide to smoke just one cigarette, the feeling would probably be one of immense relief. But remember, that feeling is just temporary...
Yeah, just check out the book It's a easy read anyway
This is an admirable goal to set for yourself, Ret. I hope and pray that you will succeed; I firmly believe you have the determination to. Stay strong.
I heard that after deciding to quit smoking, the addictive feeling is really just psychological - i.e. the need to "smoke" rather than there being any chemical withdrawal. This is what I heard on CBC news...can't remember the program, but anyway. I noticed how DJWheat smokes these "e-cigs" which emit some kind of non-carcinogenic smoke trail. Don't remember precisely, but it might help you to use those.
Ook ik heb vandaag eens hard en diep nagedacht over gewoontes die ik de laatste tijd alsmaar vaker mezelf zie doen. Stoppen met roken zie ik helaas nog niet als een optie, maar misschien wel een doel voor in de (verre) toekomst. Wel ga ik veel minder blowen vanaf nu, ik ga het beperken tot alleen in het weekend. Ook qua eten vind ik dat ik gezonder moet gaan doen, ik hou namelijk van koken. Mijn eerste stap was vandaag mijn kamer grondig schoonmaken en daar heb ik me meer dan zes uur aan onderworpen. Nadat ik morgen de laatste viezigheid heb weggeveegd ga ik naar de sportschool om mijn fitnessprogramma weer op te pakken. Ik vond het wel grappig dat jij ook net je levensstijl wilde omgooien en ook ik wilde de extra energie (en eventuele frustratie die gegenereert wordt door jezelf bepaalde genoegens te ontzeggen) te storten in Starcraft, alsmede mijn studie. Ik wens je hartstikke veel succes in je doel bereiken en ook al weet ik niet of je dit gaat lezen zal ik ervan uit gaan dat het gevoel wederzijds is.
My wife smoked for many years, but quit cold turkey when she found out she was pregnant. I really do think most of the smoking fight is psychological. Also on diet: I use to weigh 180 something pounds, but when I changed my eating habits (less junk / more nutritious foods) I now weigh 170 even at 5'10. I feel so great.. my abdominal waist went from 36' to 32'. I feel faster, stronger , and etc. Just got to focus on eating healthy #1.
I hope my 2 cents help any. Good luck with quitting smoking! *EDIT* Do you chew gum? My wife chews sugarless gum in exchange for smoking.
This may saound crazy but there is a quick (and horrible) way to quit smoking in a heartbeat: 1. Open two sigarettes and take the tobacco in a casarole. 2. Add one cup of water. 3. Boil it. 4. Drink the "tobacco tea". After a big gulp you will probably vomit. 5. (this is imporant) Then smoke a sigarette right after you vomitet and you will vomit again. Now, all you can think of when you want to have another sigaret is the aweful tobacco tea and the vomiting.
This is not a joke, this actually works, but few people have the guts to do it, good luck! - Xiphias.
I quit smoking a couple years ago, when I got back from Iraq. It was actually surprisingly easy for me, despite how terrible people told me quitting was. I guess once I got in my head that I simply did not want to smoke ever again, ignoring any cravings was not that difficult. Hopefully you've got this same strength of conviction, because that's all it takes imo.
Just make sure you exercise a lot as well and watch your eating pattern, especially if you are prone to being overweight, because you are likely to gain weight when you stop smoking. Try to avoid eating just a few "big" meals but instead eat regularly small bits. Lollipops (sugarfree ofc) and toothpicks also helped me out a lot when I had the urge to have a cigaret.
This may saound crazy but there is a quick (and horrible) way to quit smoking in a heartbeat: 1. Open two sigarettes and take the tobacco in a casarole. 2. Add one cup of water. 3. Boil it. 4. Drink the "tobacco tea". After a big gulp you will probably vomit. 5. (this is imporant) Then smoke a sigarette right after you vomitet and you will vomit again. Now, all you can think of when you want to have another sigaret is the aweful tobacco tea and the vomiting.
This is not a joke, this actually works, but few people have the guts to do it, good luck! - Xiphias.
This is actually really dangerous to do, no one should do that without medical assistance. Nicotine is a poison and in this described form highly intoxicatin!!
Ah i remembver the interview from back when you were in Korea and playing GSL, You looked in great shape and health, best of luck with your effort to gain it back, i have faith in you !
Good luck man, never give up, even once. The moment you let yourself go you won't turn back and you'll turn your resolutions in wishful thinking.
As an ex smoker (more than a year now) who tried to stop two times before now: don't ever give up. If by any chance you try to smoke you won't enjoy your first one out of shame and then you'll have an excuse to smoke again since "Well... I already gave up once".
Whenever you are angry because of the lack of nicotine turn your frustration against marines.
Good for you Ret! What helped me through the cravings was thinking of not having nicotine as having a broken leg. It sucks, but there is nothing you can do about it, it just has to heal.
You just happen to be suffering from the illness of not being able to smoke - it will pass.
honestly though, quitting is not nearly as hard as not starting again. don't fall into the 'i made it through 5 days, I deserve a reward"-trap.
Hey Ret, Dunno if you remember me, but I was the guy during mlg anaheim mafia earlier this year that was the only one who believed you in the game after that trick you pulled w/ audrey the game before...sleepy my ass... -_-. (we talked afterwards about enduring long flights around the globe ) I remembered that we had to wait for a couple of you guys to do a smoke break before the next game. Looking forward to playing next time with you w/o that smoke break (or at least one you don't join!). Looking forward to seeing you again! Good luck, stay strong, gg!
holy crap! there was a couch in there? Really hope you achieve your goal. When I got healthy a while back my energy was through the roof and a lot of general day to day problems were gone. I'm sure the first week will be tough and whenever you pass by a smoker and some greasy food, but you can do it! Starcraft is great for those that are disciplined and having that type of self control to quit smoking and get healthy will just make you play better in the long run.
Goodluck with this, I managed to quit for around 2 weeks a few months ago but went on holiday and ended up smoking again, try get some gum or an ecig as I hear they really help to quit for good.
I quit smoking almost 4 months ago and believe me, it gets MUCH better with time. Only start was rough, like i stopped when i finished my last exam at uni, so i would have least stress possible and i just played starcraft for a week/watched Dexter, so i would not do things, that made me smoke normally, like going on drink with friends, going out drinking, walking/waiting etc. After that i just made sure i never buy cigarettes and it turned out, that i'm so used to smoking only my cigarettes that even tho i still had desire to smoke when i was drunk, i didn't ask for a cigarette (but i did buy a few more beer as usual, cause of being used to have sth in my hand :D). After that, it started to become A LOT better, i don't even feel the need to smoke anymore, i don't even know why i did it anymore, so i guess nicotine is a bitch, cause i haven't felt better in years, i have more focus, i can breathe so much easier, i can do sports so much easier, i feel i'm blowing up with motivation.
So Ret, just don't stress urself out too much for the first few weeks, don't buy a new pack NEVER again, if u are drinking, buy another long drink instead so u have something in ur hand, occupy ur mind with music whenever u are walking somewhere alone or waiting and just DON'T give up and use the motivation for esports !
Oh yeah that book is like god. I mean really. Just read it, do everything it says (which is not much) and you will stop it. It´s really the easy way^^ I quit smoking 5 months ago using it.
good luck ret big inspiration for me to stay on my healthy track, just quit smoking and eating badly 6 weeks ago. its been getting tough but this will help me stay disciplined forsure!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't think that you should stop smoking all of a sudden. You should gradually diminish the amount of cigs you consume everyday so your body can gets used to having less nicotine in it. For example: first week -> only half a pack everyda, second week -> only a couple of cigs everyday -> third week: stop completely. At least that is what most non-smoking programs recommend.
Im like that with everything, i either do something all the way or i don't do it at all, so its the only thing that would work for me...so far it has! 4th day is about to end when i get off this computer and we'll be in the 5th day
On October 28 2012 04:52 Psi0nic wrote: I don't think that you should stop smoking all of a sudden. You should gradually diminish the amount of cigs you consume everyday so your body can gets used to having less nicotine in it. For example: first week -> only half a pack everyda, second week -> only a couple of cigs everyday -> third week: stop completely. At least that is what most non-smoking programs recommend.
Good luck man! Keep us posted
As a previous smoker, this didn't help me. Thing is, you still carry cigarettes with you: once you light one, you could light another. Then you get nervous for some reason and light another. Then you go out with friends and why not, let's smoke another and so on. Also, despite the quantity, you are still smoking so your mind isn't really focusing on the thought of quitting.
That's my personal experience and now I've been clear since more than a year, never been on a program however.
On October 28 2012 04:52 Psi0nic wrote: I don't think that you should stop smoking all of a sudden. You should gradually diminish the amount of cigs you consume everyday so your body can gets used to having less nicotine in it. For example: first week -> only half a pack everyda, second week -> only a couple of cigs everyday -> third week: stop completely. At least that is what most non-smoking programs recommend.
Good luck man! Keep us posted
As a previous smoker, this didn't help me. Thing is, you still carry cigarettes with you: once you light one, you could light another. Then you get nervous for some reason and light another. Then you go out with friends and why not, let's smoke another and so on. Also, despite the quantity, you are still smoking so your mind isn't really focusing on the thought of quitting.
That's my personal experience and now I've been clear since more than a year, never been on a program however.
On October 28 2012 10:32 Liquid`Ret wrote: cold turkey or go home imo.
Im like that with everything, i either do something all the way or i don't do it at all, so its the only thing that would work for me...so far it has! 4th day is about to end when i get off this computer and we'll be in the 5th day
On October 29 2012 01:05 GhandiEAGLE wrote: How hard has it been so far? Is it going to get harder? How long does it take, typically?
Somewhat different for every person (and different each time they try to quit). Generally, everyone always talks about the first 3 days as they're the toughest from moment to moment, but they have the obvious advantage of lasting 3 days while the rest lasts the rest of your life. :/
The difficulty also shifts, in that at first the difficulty is ignoring the constant cravings while later on the cravings are rare and somewhat less strong, but it's hard to constantly keep in mind why you wanted to quit in the first place and to resist the urge of 'just one cigarette since I'm not addicted anymore'.
Fan-tastic! From a fellow smoker (should I be using past tense by now, for you?) I earnestly hope the best for you on your challenge. It is no small mountain to quit from a pack a day. My Aunt (may she rest in peace) had emphysema from smoking nearly her whole life and she did 'stop' smoking because of it, but she always said the only thing she wanted was a cigarette on her death bed. For some it appears to always be a gremlin in the room, that you have to be strong enough to just say no to, over and over and over.
Go Ret! I used to smoke a lot (about a pack and a half every day since I was 14 until I was 26). I'm now 27, I've been clean for 1 year and it feels GREAT! You can do it,we'll be rooting for you! :D
On October 28 2012 04:52 Psi0nic wrote: I don't think that you should stop smoking all of a sudden. You should gradually diminish the amount of cigs you consume everyday so your body can gets used to having less nicotine in it. For example: first week -> only half a pack everyda, second week -> only a couple of cigs everyday -> third week: stop completely. At least that is what most non-smoking programs recommend.
Good luck man! Keep us posted
As a previous smoker, this didn't help me. Thing is, you still carry cigarettes with you: once you light one, you could light another. Then you get nervous for some reason and light another. Then you go out with friends and why not, let's smoke another and so on. Also, despite the quantity, you are still smoking so your mind isn't really focusing on the thought of quitting.
That's my personal experience and now I've been clear since more than a year, never been on a program however.
don't start don't have to quit!~
How does this help anyone? These are smokers discussing how to quit smoking. Unless you're some psychologist or expert on brain chemistry, you have no way of contributing to this discussion as a non-smoker.
That's the most useless comment you could possibly make on the matter.
On October 28 2012 04:52 Psi0nic wrote: I don't think that you should stop smoking all of a sudden. You should gradually diminish the amount of cigs you consume everyday so your body can gets used to having less nicotine in it. For example: first week -> only half a pack everyda, second week -> only a couple of cigs everyday -> third week: stop completely. At least that is what most non-smoking programs recommend.
My method of quiting smoking works like a charm (at least to me). You have to get a big hangover On that day you don't smoke at all. It was always sufficient to me to not smoke for a day and the rest was easy (problems appear after 1/2 weeks)
I read the book and I think it is great. Not just for cigarette additions, but for any addictions (even though it is focussed around smoking). My personal highlights: - Your body will be rid of all addictions after 5-10 days. After that it is purely mental (your body is clean, except for your lungs this takes a bit longer ) - Cold turkey is by far the best way to stop. - It is not a sacrifice to stop. Therefore it is not a challenge not to smoke. It is a relief not having to smoke anymore. Not feeling guilty about it. Not worrying. Life is just so much better this way. - There is no such thing as "just one cigarette" or "just one puff". Do not fall in this trap. It totally kills everything you have been working for. Think about how miserable it was to have to smoke and be addicted. Is one puff really worth going back to that?
I quit smoking 3 years ago. It was a sunday and I told myself: "Last cigarette, dude, and you're free." The explanation of the quitting is quite simple.
1.Next day I went to the gym and signed a 2 years contract. Means, whether I go there or not, they still get my money. 2. A good friend of mine is a cardiologist. He told me, that, if I go on smoking and attend to the gym at the same time, my heart will get 4 times the stress, as it grows exponentially. And I wanted to smoke before AND after the gym. (sic!) 3. Budget. I spent 40 Euro a week easy as 1 pack costs approx. 5 Euro in Gemany. So I got a bit greedy (-: . 4. I counted: smoking AND gym would cost me too much. So I gave up on the worst one.
Ergo:
- Ive saved up over 6k Euro - yes, SAVED, as I put every week 40 Euro aside as if I was smoking (just some € more and I buy myself a car without loans or credits); - got healthier (earlier I got short breath after I went upstairs to the 2nd floor); - lost 12 kg in 12 weeks and still hold my weight; - neither my fingers, nor my clothes stink of smoke now (no detergent helped against and I tested everything); - my teeth got more white without any chemical crap; - I got self confident while talking to people again, without necessity of chewing gum because of SHITTY breath; - ...... and so on, and so forth...
I cant think of any negative side of quitting smoking. Besides the things I have discribed above, I haven't been ill for these 3 years. The only negative I have on my mind: why the PHUK have I started smoking?! -.-
PS: oh, and btw, I quit smoking in an instant. No gradually deminish bla bla bla. Its BS. You say yourself: "you quit smoking right NOW. Period." No "ifs" and "buts".
And sorry about choice of word. English is not my native language.
Ret, thank you so much for this post. You have really inspired me a lot and it couldn't have come at a better time. I also suffer from the banes of Junk food(pop/soda being my worst achilles heel) and smoke a fair amount of cigarettes. Not quite a pack a day like you but not exactly far off. Lately, I seem to be thinking about it more than ever. I wake up and just feel not quite right, and I start to remember a time when I was playing premiere league soccer and tell myself constantly I would love to get back to that state, and then never do anything about it. I can honestly say reading this has pushed me even further in the direction I'm aiming for.
I wish you the best of luck in your journey through quitting and know that I soon will join you. I really can't thank you enough for this post, your wording and just flat out blunt honestly left me saying the same things to myself and not being able to come up with a good excuse. It's time to quit this horrible habit once and for all. Cheers!
If you feel miserable some day because you'd like to smoke, i'd also like to recommend (as several people already did on this thread) Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. This book helped me to stop after smoking one pack a day for fifteen years.
I had already tried to quit several times before reading the book, and my attempts all failed miserably. Because i thought i was making a sacrifice. Because i thought i was denying myself a pleasure. Because i thought it was sad that i'd never be able to enjoy a good cigarette after a meal. A good cigarette during a break at work. A good cigarette after sex.
The interesting point presented by Allen Carr, the one that helped me quit, is that these "good" cigarettes are only so enjoyable because they follow a time when you cannot smoke. Obviously, you can't smoke when you're eating, at work or having sex. So the truth is that these cigarettes don't taste better (they taste terrible, like every cigarette) or give real pleasure whatsoever, they're just relieving you from the frustration of not being able to smoke. They're just a fix for your craving of nicotine, a reinforcement of your addiction.
Conclusion : quitting smoking is not a sacrifice, because smoking is not a pleasure. You're not going to deprive yourself of anything, you're just going to free yourself from a destructive, expensive and smelly drug addiction. You do not need willpower, or substitutes like gum, or e-cigs, or patches. You just need to know the truth : smoking is not a pleasure, it's a drug addiction.
Once you know this, being a non-smoker becomes way easier, because you don't have anything to miss or regret or wish secretly you could do anymore. You can just be happy to be free from this nasty drug.
Hope this helps you, it helped me a lot. Good luck !
Def started doing so a couple days ago aswell. Tired of being out of breath walking and all. Worst part imo is hacking the nasty shit up for a week or two after you quit (yay) but congrats!
On October 31 2012 11:19 kedA wrote: If you feel miserable some day because you'd like to smoke, i'd also like to recommend (as several people already did on this thread) Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking. This book helped me to stop after smoking one pack a day for fifteen years.
I had already tried to quit several times before reading the book, and my attempts all failed miserably. Because i thought i was making a sacrifice. Because i thought i was denying myself a pleasure. Because i thought it was sad that i'd never be able to enjoy a good cigarette after a meal. A good cigarette during a break at work. A good cigarette after sex.
The interesting point presented by Allen Carr, the one that helped me quit, is that these "good" cigarettes are only so enjoyable because they follow a time when you cannot smoke. Obviously, you can't smoke when you're eating, at work or having sex. So the truth is that these cigarettes don't taste better (they taste terrible, like every cigarette) or give real pleasure whatsoever, they're just relieving you from the frustration of not being able to smoke. They're just a fix for your craving of nicotine, a reinforcement of your addiction.
Conclusion : quitting smoking is not a sacrifice, because smoking is not a pleasure. You're not going to deprive yourself of anything, you're just going to free yourself from a destructive, expensive and smelly drug addiction. You do not need willpower, or substitutes like gum, or e-cigs, or patches. You just need to know the truth : smoking is not a pleasure, it's a drug addiction.
Once you know this, being a non-smoker becomes way easier, because you don't have anything to miss or regret or wish secretly you could do anymore. You can just be happy to be free from this nasty drug.
Hope this helps you, it helped me a lot. Good luck !
You say that, but for instance my brother would never quit because he really enjoys smoking as a social activity with his friends.
Just like alcohol, smoking is so popular because it's an activity as well as a drug, something that many people essentially base their social lives around. If you quit smoking, then in many cases you'd almost have to give up your friends.
If you quit smoking, then in many cases you'd almost have to give up your friends.
I don't understand your logic. I quit, and i didn't have to "give up my friends". I don't pick my friends based on whether they're smokers or not.
And if people don't wanna hang out with you because you don't smoke anymore, they're probably not very good friends.
Yes that is a pretty silly notion. There is no inherent requirement to smoke in order to socialize with smokers. I go outside and chat all the time with friends who need a smoke even though I don't personally smoke. It may be harder to quit smoking while being around smokers.. but that is only really an issue with your own willpower.
On October 30 2012 22:34 S3ph wrote: Desided to add my 2 Cents as well.
I quit smoking 3 years ago. It was a sunday and I told myself: "Last cigarette, dude, and you're free." The explanation of the quitting is quite simple.
1.Next day I went to the gym and signed a 2 years contract. Means, whether I go there or not, they still get my money. 2. A good friend of mine is a cardiologist. He told me, that, if I go on smoking and attend to the gym at the same time, my heart will get 4 times the stress, as it grows exponentially. And I wanted to smoke before AND after the gym. (sic!) 3. Budget. I spent 40 Euro a week easy as 1 pack costs approx. 5 Euro in Gemany. So I got a bit greedy (-: . 4. I counted: smoking AND gym would cost me too much. So I gave up on the worst one.
Ergo:
- Ive saved up over 6k Euro - yes, SAVED, as I put every week 40 Euro aside as if I was smoking (just some € more and I buy myself a car without loans or credits); - got healthier (earlier I got short breath after I went upstairs to the 2nd floor); - lost 12 kg in 12 weeks and still hold my weight; - neither my fingers, nor my clothes stink of smoke now (no detergent helped against and I tested everything); - my teeth got more white without any chemical crap; - I got self confident while talking to people again, without necessity of chewing gum because of SHITTY breath; - ...... and so on, and so forth...
I cant think of any negative side of quitting smoking. Besides the things I have discribed above, I haven't been ill for these 3 years. The only negative I have on my mind: why the PHUK have I started smoking?! -.-
PS: oh, and btw, I quit smoking in an instant. No gradually deminish bla bla bla. Its BS. You say yourself: "you quit smoking right NOW. Period." No "ifs" and "buts".
And sorry about choice of word. English is not my native language.
GO RET!!! B)
This is an awesome story, that is amazing you have almost saved enough to buy a car in just 3 years!
On November 01 2012 03:58 YouGotNothin wrote: This is an awesome story, that is amazing you have almost saved enough to buy a car in just 3 years!
Just imagine how many cars I have "smoked" in 14 years! Now Im waiting for 8k € to be there and I'll buy myself a car. Without any help. (Wont be a bugatti or a ferrari - no need this bullcrap. Not sure what exactly it will be though. Id like some nice BMW, but then I have to save up more than 8k.)
Jesus Christ, just think about it: you ruin your own health and you even PAY FOR IT! You pay for your own decay, illness, stinkyness, etc...
On November 01 2012 04:44 S3ph wrote: Jesus Christ, just think about it: you ruin your own health and you even PAY FOR IT! You pay for your own decay, illness, stinkyness, etc...
The same goes for McDonald's food, alcohol, anything with sugar, sitting in front of a pc..
On November 01 2012 06:22 Evangelist wrote: You lost 120lbs. That's far harder than quitting smoking, Ret. It should be no problem.
Logic please. This is an extremely inaccurate statement although I can appreciate that it is being said as a form of enthusiasm and reinforcement to Ret's willpower. I'm not gonna say losing 120 pounds is easier but no way is it far harder than quitting smoking as you stated. I just don't want anyone to get the false impression that somehow quitting smoking will be way easier than losing weight.
On November 01 2012 04:44 S3ph wrote: Jesus Christ, just think about it: you ruin your own health and you even PAY FOR IT! You pay for your own decay, illness, stinkyness, etc...
The same goes for McDonald's food, alcohol, anything with sugar, sitting in front of a pc..
Yeah but food, alcohol pc and sugar aren't as severe
also McDonalds food and sugar is tasty alcohol and pc are fun
All the best wishes on giving up smoking. It is not easy but so worth it. Stopping is only half the work, after you stopped you also should not start smoking again, (this is where i went wrong myself lol) Can recommand you one book wich i did find extremely good, it made me stop the one time i did manage to stop "stoppen met roken" by allen car wich was first published in the netherlands around 2000. http://www.allencarr.nl/ Not sure if you know it but i think you should realy read it if you have not so far, it seems to fit in perfectly with the motivation you mentioned in the op
Hmm i see that website is mostly about some course you can follow for 275 euro. Dont do this! i asume its a rip off, you should try find the book "stoppen met roken" by alen car wich at the time (2000) costed like 25 euro tops, can maybe get it 2nd hand or order at bookshop.
On November 01 2012 04:44 S3ph wrote: Jesus Christ, just think about it: you ruin your own health and you even PAY FOR IT! You pay for your own decay, illness, stinkyness, etc...
The same goes for McDonald's food, alcohol, anything with sugar, sitting in front of a pc..
mcdonalds is one of the worst food you can get lolX_X they use alot of mansanto food in it.
alcohol and sugar are nowhere near as bad as mcdonalds or smoking lol.
Im a heavy smoker because i love the taste if a good cig... *addicted to those korean coffee flavir cigs.. And im used to work in a fastfoodshop (frikadellen and croquets).
At that time i was about 85 kg (15kg too heavy). Everytime i go to asia i lose about 10kg. Just because of sleeping like 4-6 hours a day and only fueling on mc and starbucks. And everything i go back to holland i just get my weight back to 85jg.
Losing weight is just eat bad, lots of cafeine, dont sleep much and do a lot of things.
Quit smoking... Well im nit reakly addicted just live the flavour of cigs and cigars... The best thing is lower your amiunt of smoking. Or buy an electric cig. Try to lower your neeed of nicotine. Quitting smoking is kinda hard... Its just eating your favorite snack. Or quit playing sc2 xp. Thats called addiction just lower first dialy need and thrn its very easy to quit smoking.
Why im saying this? Because i dont smoke while im working(12-14 hours a day). And the weight thingy? Just burn morr thrn you eat.
Heya Ret, I mainly lurk and dont post much here so I wont mention my business name as its sort of unethical in a "he's plugging!" way. Im in Australia and sell electronic cigarettes, i'd be happy to send you a care package if you find that quitting cold turkey is too hard. My business is going through a reworking period (website is down) but we still have plenty of stock, i'd be happy to send you a kit much like the joye eGo along with the accessories needed to get started. Stay strong, cigarettes are downright horrible. For any who dont know, Electronic Cigarettes heat up a liquid, vapourizing it to cause a cloud of vapour. The liquid is called E-Juice and is usually a combination of Propylene-Glycol, Vegetable Glycerin, ECig or Food/Beverage/Candy Flavourings and Nicotine if that is desired. These are all completely safe to ingest, causing minor to insignificant damage compared to cigarettes. Nicotine itself will cause the negative effects of addiction, but that is its most significant damaging quality by far. Myth about "Anti-Freeze" comes from ignorance in the general public, ethylene-glycol is an older form of more potent anti-freeze where as propylene-glycol is mostly non toxic. -
From Wikipedia:
Ethylene Glycol:
Ethylene glycol solutions became available in 1926 and were marketed as "permanent antifreeze" since the higher boiling points provided advantages for summertime use as well as during cold weather. They are used today for a variety of applications, including automobiles, but gradually being replaced by propylene glycol due to its lower toxicity.
Ethylene glycol is poisonous to humans and animals,[3] and should be handled carefully and disposed of properly. Its sweet taste can lead to accidental ingestion or allow its deliberate use as a murder weapon.[4][5][6] Ethylene glycol is difficult to detect in the body, and causes symptoms—including intoxication, severe diarrhea, and vomiting—that can be confused with other diseases.[7][4][5][6] Its metabolism produces calcium oxalate, which crystallizes in the brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys, damaging them. If untreated, death by acute kidney failure can result within 72 hours.[7] Some ethylene glycol antifreeze mixtures contain an embittering agent, such as denatonium, to discourage accidental or deliberate consumption.
Whereas on the other hand:
Propylene Glycol:
Propylene glycol, on the other hand, is considerably less toxic than ethylene glycol and may be labeled as "non-toxic antifreeze". It is used as antifreeze where ethylene glycol would be inappropriate, such as in food-processing systems or in water pipes in homes where incidental ingestion may be possible. As confirmation of its relative non-toxicity, the FDA allows propylene glycol to be added to a large number of processed foods, including ice cream, frozen custard, and baked goods.
And just incase anybody is skeptical, in the list of uses: + Show Spoiler +
- As a solvent in many pharmaceuticals, including oral, injectable and topical formulations (notably, diazepam, which is insoluble in water, uses propylene glycol as its solvent in its clinical, injectable form[8]) - As the main ingredient in deodorant sticks - As an ingredient in UV or blacklight tattoo ink - As a lubricant in air conditioning compressors - As a moisturizer in medicines, cosmetics, food, toothpaste, shampoo, mouth wash, hair care and tobacco products - As a carrier in fragrance oil - In hand sanitizers, antibacterial lotions, and saline solutions - In smoke machines to make artificial smoke for use in firefighters' training and theatrical productions - In electronic cigarettes, as a vaporizable base for diluting the nicotine liquid - As a solvent for food colors and flavorings
Glycerol is also called Vegetable Glycerin or VG:
Glycerol Once used for automotive antifreeze, glycerol has the advantage of being non-toxic, withstands relatively high temperatures, and is noncorrosive.
In foods and beverages, glycerol serves as a humectant, solvent, and sweetener, and may help preserve foods. It is also used as filler in commercially prepared low-fat foods (e.g., cookies), and as a thickening agent in liqueurs. Glycerol and water are used to preserve certain types of leaves.[7] As a sugar substitute, it has approximately 27 kilocalories per teaspoon (sugar has 20) and is 60% as sweet as sucrose. It does not feed the bacteria that form plaques and cause dental cavities. As a food additive, glycerol is labeled as E number E422.
Topical pure or nearly pure glycerol is an effective treatment for psoriasis, burns, bites, cuts, rashes, bedsores, and calluses. It can be used orally to eliminate halitosis, as it is a contact bacterial desiccant. Some studies have shown that it eliminates periodontal disease bacterial colonies.[8]
Glycerol is used in medical and pharmaceutical and personal care preparations, mainly as a means of improving smoothness, providing lubrication and as a humectant. It is found in allergen immunotherapies, cough syrups, elixirs and expectorants, toothpaste, mouthwashes, skin care products, shaving cream, hair care products, soaps and water-based personal lubricants.
Glycerol can be used as a laxative when introduced into the rectum in suppository or small-volume (2–10 ml)(enema) form; it irritates the anal mucosa and induces a hyperosmotic effect.
Glycerol, usually labelled as Vegetable Glycerin (VG), is often used in electronic cigarette liquids as a suspension for nicotine and flavorings.
Tomorrow morning I'm finally going back to the gym and will not smoke any more. I've quit for anywhere from a week to a few months here and there over the last ~5 years... this time will be for good!
Just came by to check if there were any updates. Ret inspired me with this, so I decided to quit smoking at the same time. As of now I have not had one cigarette since that day. I'm curious if you have had one again Ret or if you're sticking to your plan?
EPT
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When you are done with the cigarettes you will usually feel a lot better and thus want to eat better = free help. 
