Smoking?

To each their own, I suppose......
I trained for a few marathons with several people who smoked and they were able to complete all the training.

Not a smoker... My wife quit six months ago and has been doing more working out and feels alot better.

Nope. Quit 8 months ago. Doing this is an extension of the lessons I learned in quitting.

If you want to give up then first you really have to want to stop – not just try.
Then you could do worse than checking out www.Quitnet.com
Quitting has helped me no end and I just can’t say enough about the benefits of stopping.


I’ll stop now before I get into one

I used to smoke, but did significantly less cardio work. When I played soccer and smoked, I got winded much faster. I pretty much dropped off on cardio while I smoked, but I found that workouts were easier when I had not smoked in the 2-4 hours prior to the workout.

Your stamina problems have a lot to do with smoking, but you knew that already. ;-) I can tell you, though, that if you could quit, you'd see a dramatic improvement in about 2 weeks.

Quitting was the hardest thing I ever did and I couldn't have done it if my boyfriend (now husband) hadn't quit with me at the same time. We devised a system of penalties and rewards to help us. If we smoked a ciggie we'd have to put $5 in a box. There was a $10 fine for buying a pack plus a $5 fee for each cig smoked -- potentially $110 fine for buying and smoking a pack. Additionally, we put in $15 each every week in lieu of spending it on cigs. At the end of 3 smoke-free months, we took the money out and had a great time. As you can see, we're very motivated by money, but that's different for everyone. If you can find a reward that really works for you, you may find it helpful if/when you decide to quit.

In the meantime, my friend is supposed to be training for a 10k with me and she smokes. I think she can do it, but it'll hurt her a lot more than me.

Best of luck.

occasional cigar on the weekend. My advice, acquire expensive tastes and you will either quit or do it so seldom it probably won't make a big difference. I know I know, all smoking is bad. I guess cigarettes probably aren't nearly as pricey as a GOOD cigar. :-)

I quit in the eighties because my running suffered terribly from it. I had a spell in the nineties when I returned to smoking and did not run but in 1998, I had to quit altogether because my breathing was too laboured. You've heard it before and will hear it again and again and again....you have to quit smoking! Go see your doctor and ask for Zyban....it works!

If your insurance won't pay for Zyban., ask for Wellbutrin. Same thing only it is for Depression and most insurances will pay for it.

Zyban and Wellbutrin are ways to quit smoking – also consider NRT’s such as the patch or gum etc. or even Cold Turkey. Exercise instead

Whats really important is not how you quit but that you do quit.

Thank all of you for your responces. Sometimes i feel like I smoke because im bored or because i just have nothing to do. I would love to quit, but i am worried that im not ready yet, or that i will blow up in weight in doing so. I need to look into a more balanced diet. I eat alot healthier now, but i know there is always room for improvement.


thanks again

I was worried that I would get fat when I quit. I did gain a little bit of weight (5-10 lbs) but I also turned 21 (started drinking a lot more) and got on the pill at the same time, so it was a triple whammy. The upside is that I felt like exercising more, which eventually took the weight off.

As for quitting, just remember that you have to substitute one addiction for another, especially something that indulges oral fixation. Hubby and I started off with hard candy and then went to gum. My step-dad and mother like gum, but he is never without a bag of Jolly Ranchers.

I don't know if you ever really get ready to quit. Hubby and I planned on quitting a week in advance of the q-date and came up with the fore-mentioned penalty/rewards system. We also wrote up a bunch of reasons to quit and posted them on the fridge. The morning we quit, however, it was uncomfortable and we both felt like reneging. It really was a case of leaning on each other to hold us both up. But 1 hour turns into 1 day, then 1 week and then 1 month and pretty soon you lose track of how long it's been and you know you're finished! Good luck.

Maybe i will try something. Not too big on candy, but having fresh breath is definitly a positive.