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Hello all, my name is Tess and I'm on day 1. Patch in place, a bit scared, but praying that this time I'll be the winner in this battle.
I've been reading everything I could on this site and am so grateful this exists. I
42 years and 2-3 packs a day.
I will join you not smoking today 
Hi and Welcome to Ex’s tessieb ... Congratulations on Day 1, make it Day Won...Keep close to us and we will help...keep busy...or rest whatever your body is calling for, except to smoke...You got this...”one step at a time”....Gotcha in my Thoughts ~ Colleen 450 DOF
Welcome to the Ex an congrats on your first day. You've made a great decision. Fear is normal, so just remind yourself it's one day at a time. Don't try to look to far into the future. As you move through your journey, your strength and confidence will grow. Reading on this site is a great way to begin. Understanding nicotine addiction and creating a quit plan leads to success. We're here to support you, so stay close.
Barb
Welcome to the community!
Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your first day! I don't know if you have come across my welcome message, but here it is in case you haven't.
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 easy and entertaining read provided a world of good information about nicotine addiction, most of which I was not aware. I credit it in large part with my success at quitting. You can search for it online or at your local library.
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.
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-instead-of-smoke
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
you have come to the right place for support. stay close
Welcome Tess! It sounds like you have been preparing for this quit and are ready to win! You are unburdening yourself from an addiction that takes significant physical, emotional, and financial toll on a person. Lots of advice and support on this community, so you are in the right place! Look forward to seeing you on here!
Val
14 DOF
welcome tess 
Welcome to EX, you have found the most supportive site that I have ever seen, I would not be smoke free if it was not for them and their support and love and advice. We have all been where you are and you will find that you can always relate to someone on here.
Best.
Ellen
Hey Tess, how's it going? Don't you give up now. Keep at it. That's how we all did. If we failed, we picked ourselves up and started again. Charge on.
Welcome Tess and Congratulations on your quit. All of us were a bit scared when we quit. Stay close to the site Post when you crave ask questions. Lots of information and great people here willing to help. Quitting isn't complicated It takes work and being prepared for when the craves hit
You can do this
Carl