Day 1: Yesterday. I started strong. Only had 3 Cigs till after work. But last night at home I must have had 4. So far today I have had 2 since 8:30. I have asked my brother to remove the cigs and lighters from access before I get home tonight. I pray I learn from my mistakes last night as I am doing really well. Better than I ever have 
The ideas of starting a project to help keep my mind occupied particularly stuck out. I am just starting a new and wonderful Long Distance Relationship. There are many wonderful things I can research and do to help feel closer to him and keep my mind occupied that would help make it the distance
Welcome to our community!
One of our members has a saying: "If you quit smoking and you are still smoking, you are doing it wrong!" By smoking just a few a day, you are keeping yourself in constant withdrawal - and not progressing to a place where that starts to fade. You might smoke after work tonight - but make up your mind that it will be the last ones you will smoke NO MATTER WHAT starting tomorrow.
The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else, please do give this a read.
You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract. I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another. You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them.. For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum. For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
Since you know your most difficult time is after work, make a plan AHEAD OF TIME how you can change things up. Maybe go for a walk, or play a computer game, or do a crossword or jigsaw, or come here on the site and read. The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced. Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit. If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
You need to distract yourself through any craves. You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game. Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time. You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits. Get busy! Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?" Then DO it. You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.
Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!
Nancy
Yesterday I did really well. I made it with 2 before 8:30am and 1/2 one before bed. This morning I had 1 and 1/2 but each day gives me more confidence. Tomorrow is my official quit date but I am more confident I can do this. My goal is always to just be done. I keep telling myself NO over the course of the day and I was proud I made it home in the car without caving in. Today will be even better This site helps me when I start thinking about cigs to just read over everything everyone has written and keep my mind in the right place
