That darn morning cigarette

[doxiemama]

Can you all please tell me how you got passed  the first morning cigarette.  This cigarette is going to be the hardest for me. Since I have been tracking,  this cigarette seems to be the only, real must have. Any one after that seems just automatic. This is the first morning I tried to hold out, didn't do it (sad) I  have until Feb 6 th to beat this, 19 mornings to practice. Please tell me how you did it

[JonesCarpeDiem]

You hop in the shower 1st thing. Running water on yourself is a great distraction.

or

you put on your sweats and tennis shoes and go for a walk or a jog.

if coffee triggers you, drink your coffee with your other hand

[hampton]

Hi. Well What helped me is that I changed my entire house around.Especially where I had my first cigs of the day. I also changed the flavor in my coffee. I took my dog for a walk instead of just opening up the door for him.:) I kept telling myself that I can do this,I don't smoke anymore!!! I had,and still have to change my whole entire routine around.I still catch myself reaching for the nastie's. I suggest you read as much as you can on the addiction part of this. Keep asking question's. Maybe when you do finally quit it will be a little easier.now you are still smoking so yoour brain along with your addiction is still in control.Good luck to you. Peace,Deborah.

[david67-2]

The first morning smoke was never a big one for me, but it is the same for all the "important" cigarettes, change your routine.

[mae-mae]

yes, thats a tough one-i do anything that will totally distract me!!!  i guess to trick my mind lol also tell myself... i dont smoke anymore!!! i'm on my 2nd day!!! yes,... its kinda rough going... reading here and talking w/ real life non-smokers has been helping too!!!!  good luck to you!!!!!  oh, i pray a lot too!!!

[Thomas3.20.2010]

Great advice above! I would also try brushing your teeth right off! You wouldn't want to stick a stinky sickerette in your clean mouth! But a refreshing delicious cup of coffe might taste even better if you let those taste buds come back to life! The success comes from changing up your routine! One other thing I did was to have my morning pledge right next to my bed and even before putting my feet on the ground I would say it out loud:

I, Thomas, pledge not to smoke even so much as one little puff for the next 24 hours. I will respect myself enough to honor this pledge under all circumstances NO MATTER WHAT!

If I feel tempted, I will remind myself that I don't do that anymore and ask myself - What might I do instead?

Having that instead list handy really helps when your Addictive Brain is going bonkers on you! WRITE IT DOWN! You'll be surprised how fuzzy your thinking can get in the moment of a crave! 

[Summer-Rain]

I immediately put 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in my mouth and swish it around for 5 to 10 minutes (google oil pulling to find out the benefits) then I brush my teeth and then I drink a full bottle of water.  I stop drinking coffee since it is a big trigger for me.  So far this has been working great for me...today is my 11th day of being smokefree.

[bethso]

I had to totally change my morning routine.  Still completed the same tasks, just did it in a different order.  When the crave for a smoke hit, I took a deep breath and drank water.  If it got really strong, I took a walk.  I totally gave up coffee for a few weeks and drank only tea. The coffee was a huge trigger for me!

[annb]

I changed where I drank my coffee! I didn't smoke upstairs in my house. So instead of taking my coffee down to rec room to smoke, I came back upstairs with it to snuggle in bed and read blogs!!! Still do! Lol. Lazy lazy lazy!!!!

[candylance]

I, also, changed places. NOW and back when I had 10+ months, I moved into the office but decided to NOT give up the coffee. No problems. Getting in and out of the car........ throwing them away was the answer. YOU CAN DO THIS.......... TOGETHER IF YOU LIKE!!

Candylance

6    DOF

[elvan]

I have heard of  a lot of people who put off their first cigarette by a little longer each day. I got sick so the choice was taken from me.  If you can get past the other craves, you can get past the morning one.  I like the shower and brushing teeth first thing, also giving up coffee for a while.  I did that after I started to feel a little better, I had tea in the morning (I am not a fan of tea) and I did things in a different order.  I always went outside and fed the feral cat who lived on our deck...along with the rest of the indoor cats and I would smoke a cigarette out there while he ate.  Once I quit, I still had to feed the cats, obviously, but I would not go sit outside anymore.  It helped that there was a polar vortex thing happening and it was so cold I did not want to be outside.  After a while, I could go out and sit and pet the cat and not feel the craves.  I had gotten rid of anything that might remind me of cigarettes, ashtrays, the butt can, etc.

You can do this!

[Mrs.Rum]

I said "I'm going to make breakfast now."  And I went and did it. 

And I did that for weeks.

Until the day I simply went and made breakfast (without it being a replacement exercise) becuase it was just what I did.

[doxiemama]

Thanks so much for all the great advice, going to try again tomorrow morning. Thank you 

[bonniebee]

Doxie mama that is cute ! love those doggies ! I have the same problem with that darn morning cigarette I have gotten down to giving up all in the past week or so except the first thing in the morning cigarette I am smoking a half a cig today I put off smoking it as long as possible and i plan on doing that everyday (waiting longer and longer and then stopping it  altogether ) I was given this advice by an ex smoker who went to some classes to quit