The Secret Smoker | How this mom quit smoking

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Here’s something not talked about frequently: Moms quitting smoking. I was a secret smoker, quitting smoking was even more of a shock to my mom community. 

On September 13, 2013, I had my last cigarette.  

The Secret Smoker | How this mom quit smoking

I smoked for roughly 18 years. I quit once in college for about a year and then again for another year when I was pregnant and nursing. Not many people know that I was a smoker. If anyone, including some of my closest friends, asked, then I would usually say that I only smoked occasionally and socially.

“Just when I have a couple of drinks,” was my standard reply and it was an outright lie.  I don’t “look like” a smoker. I am a well-educated, middle class, minivan driving, mom of kindergarteners and many people were shocked by my smoking admission.  Moms quitting smoking isn’t something talked about at play dates and at the park. 

I found myself saying the following quite frequently this week: “Not many people know I smoked, but everybody is going to know I quit.” (here’s support and tips for quitting)

On the day I quit smoking, I was up to a pack a day, the most I had EVER smoked in my many years of lung pollution.

Quitting cold turkey

Saturday morning, September 14, 2013, I woke up and felt terrible.  

My lungs were tight.  

I couldn’t take a deep breath without collapsing in a fit of coughs.  

I decided I was done.  

Just like that.  No patch, no e-cigs, no gum.  Cold Turkey.

Moms Quitting Smoking | How I busied myself 

Also, for fun, I decided to stop drinking alcohol and soda. Booze is a serious trigger for the smokes and soda, well, if I’m gonna get healthy, then I might as well cut that crap out too, right?

It sucked. The cravings were super intense.  To muscle through them, here’s what worked for me. Being a mom was helpful in quitting, because I had so much to keep me busy.

  1. I cleaned – -a lot.
  2. I drank ridiculous amounts of coffee and water.
  3. I did like 35 loads of laundry.  Washed, dried, and put away – – that is a miracle in and of itself, my friends.
  4. Turned youtube on the TV and had a serious dance party with the boys – – in which I realized late 90’s and early 2000’s hip hop/rap may not be the most appropriate music for me to share with them.
  5. I joined a gym and waited impatiently at the foot of the driveway for my husband to arrive home so I could sweat out the cravings.

That’s what I have been doing for 11 days.  I have consistently been hitting the gym and I know that within about 4-5 months, these extra pesky 20 lbs will be gone.  

I actually ran on the treadmill for 10 straight minutes yesterday without gasping for breath.  I could have gone longer, except my shins felt like they were going to break in half.  

As a matter of fact, all wheezing seems to have disappeared, which I never thought would happen.

This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.  

One of the reasons this is so difficult, is because I actually enjoy smoking.  I was never one that hated it.  

I didn’t want to quit, but I knew I had to and God provided me with the strength and support to do so.  As my daddy so accurately stated, “You have a steel will when you want to; I know you can do this.”  

Those words have reverberated through my brain for the past 11 days and every time I begin to feel weak, I repeat those words to myself, step outside, fill my lungs with air and make a mental note about how amazing it feels to just breathe.

As moms, we can do hard things!

Here’s a few more inspiring stories of local moms doing really hard things.

The Type A Type 2: Starting My Type 2 Diabetes Journey 

Hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim

No One Else’s Problem: Becoming My Own Advocate in a Health Crisis

10 COMMENTS

  1. Congrats that is incredible! I quit a few years ago now. A friend bet me $300 per cigarette I smoked and I did pay up and that hurt. I occasionally have a craving but those are super rare now and quickly pass. I now cannot stand the smell of cigarettes, and it’s hard to be around someone smoking. You can do this, take it one day at a time!

    • Ahhhh…my fellow Sig Kap smoker. Love you girl. $300!!! That would definitely hurt 🙂 And I take it about 1 hour at a time. xoxo

  2. I’m so so proud of you, sister!!! That is an amazingly difficult feat. All of it. But you’ve DONE it! I have so much love for you, girl.

    • Thank you Rene! How’s this for irony? I was so nervous about publishing and publicizing this post that I desperately wanted a cigarette this morning. HA! I didn’t cave and am on my way to the gym 🙂 xoxo

  3. Great work Andrea! Your story should inspire many! You should be so proud of what you’re doing. I hope you’re putting aside the money you were spending on cigarettes and saving up for a big splurge for yourself when you hit 3 months, 6 months, and so on! You deserve it! Actually, if it will help….if you’re motivated by shopping at all, and to show my support for what you’re doing, I will give you a $100 gift card to shop at my store at the 6 month mark! You’ll need new clothes for your new more fit self!

    • Oh. My. Gosh. Kim! I don’t even know what to say, so I will start with THANK YOU! I will definitely need some new clothes after I get skinny and healthy! You are amazing. Thank you again. xoxo

  4. that is fabulous…. you are right it is so hard! I quit 9 years ago; oh, how I loved the smokes. I quit when I was pregnant with my daughter, I thought just need to make it through the pregnancy and nursing –breeze i’d be. But, then she was born micro preemie, and I had it in my head that the thought of her smelling it on my skin or whatever, even if I showered, so the thought freaked me out, so I stayed quit, with the thought of making it through the NICU experience…. but then we brought her home on oxygen and she was still sick, and not to mention, with all that oxygen, I kind of feared blowing us up. 🙂 And, then before I knew it I was pregnant again…… finally one day I just wanted to quit and stay quit –more than I wanted to smoke, so I consider myself a ‘quitter’ too. Best of luck to you, sounds like you are doing some really healthy stuff to help –good for you!

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