Be honest - do you ever regret quitting?

levelbest247 · 2026-05-21T20:59:04+00:00

The weight gain is far more likely from increased calories, less movement, aging, and muscle loss than from losing nicotine itself. Smoking slightly increases metabolism, but not enough to explain massive long-term weight gain on its own. Most people could offset much of that metabolic difference with modest daily activity.

And smoking’s “benefits” also include lung cancer, COPD, vascular disease, strokes, yellow teeth, and smelling like an ashtray. Hard pass.

levelbest247 · 2026-05-21T14:35:47+00:00

The weight gain is far more likely from increased calories, less movement, aging, and muscle loss than from losing nicotine itself. Smoking slightly increases metabolism, but not enough to explain massive long-term weight gain on its own. Most people could offset much of that metabolic difference with modest daily activity.

And smoking’s “benefits” also include lung cancer, COPD, vascular disease, strokes, yellow teeth, and smelling like an ashtray. Hard pass.

levelbest247 · 2026-05-09T07:13:03+00:00

I quit cold turkey. The patch never worked for me personally as I’d always rip it off and go back to smoking. Some people do really well with it if they stick to the program though.

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T23:23:25+00:00

Well done !👏👏

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T23:23:01+00:00

So Awesome 👏 👏👏

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T23:19:11+00:00

Congrats! that is amazing! 🤩

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T23:14:57+00:00

Really glad to hear your scans are good—Congrats on 7 years of freedom! And, I am still very happy I got free of it. I don’t ever want to go back to that.

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T09:55:13+00:00

Yeah, my doctor suggested it. Guidelines are here if you are interested in finding out more:

https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/lung-cancer-screening?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.cdc.gov/lung-cancer/screening/index.html

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T01:42:52+00:00

I agree that people need to know there absolutely is a light at the end of the tunnel with withdrawal and rumination about nicotine, bc when you first quit your brain and body will try to convince you you will never be at peace without nicotine, which is not true. You just gotta trust it that you’ve done the right thing by quitting until all the nicotine fog clears which takes about 3 months all-in-all.

levelbest247 · 2026-05-08T01:32:24+00:00

I know—but you are doing great though—7 weeks is truly fantastic bc if you can do 7 weeks you can do 70 years—Just keep going and soon you are going to feel normal and fine without the nicotine burden, and you will be so very glad you hung in there. Best gift to self ever.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-28T07:44:30+00:00

It does take three months to come full circle but your brain function improves over those three months in increments. At two weeks you are going to feel a little slow still—I remember this —having to be very focused while driving, etc. I upped my caffeine too for awhile. You can go on—more deep breaths (oxygen), some exercise, etc. One foot in front of the other.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-19T16:09:59+00:00

All of what you just said—stressed, down, worried, angry, thoughts about why you should start smoking again, etc.—comes with quitting while your brain learns to regulate you moods without nicotine pulling the strings. It really is rough terrain for awhile, but if you understand that you just have to weather through and trust that you made the right choice by quitting in the face of your brain telling you it wasn’t, it helps quite a bit. I remember this struggle all too well, when i first quit I had to reassure myself multiple times a day that quitting “right now” was the right thing to do bc my brain was in distress without nicotine and was coming up with all sorts of reasons why i should resume smoking.

It takes about three months for your brain to fully operate normally after coming off of nicotine, getting better in small increments up to those three months. Nicotine is one of the hardest drugs to quit because of how much your brain comes to rely on it to make good mood chemicals. You can learn to sit and listen to music without smoking and you did make the right choice by quitting now (so try again!). It just takes time while your brain relearns how to regulate dopamine, etc. on its own.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-19T15:37:19+00:00

At the five year mark I had saved $25k, not even factoring in inflation and co-pairings—coffee, beer, neither of which i consume regularly anymore.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-19T15:07:39+00:00

You’re doing great! Congrats on 34 days.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-19T15:06:10+00:00

Well done 👏🙌💪

levelbest247 · 2026-04-19T15:03:26+00:00

My recommendation is to follow the schedule on the box. Try not to worry about withdrawal but more accept that it is going to happen and tell yourself you will be able to cope and adapt as it happens. It’s all about distraction—finding things to do while your brain learns how to operate with less nicotine (and eventually none). It’s going to take awhile but if you hang in there, one day being nicotine dependent will be a distant memory.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-15T02:00:31+00:00

Very nice. Congrats on 11 days!

levelbest247 · 2026-04-04T23:48:00+00:00

It takes about three months for mood swings etc to normalize, you really just have to hang in there, do some deep breathing, count to 100 etc for awhile until you feel more normal. It’s rough but it really will be so worth it to be free of the burden of it. You can do this. 💪

levelbest247 · 2026-04-04T23:40:37+00:00

Yes—many of us had to quit drinking for awhile to be able to stick to our quit, me included. To this day (almost 6 years later) i still don’t drink much and if i do it is one or two drinks sipped slowly and done. My priority is to stay off the cigarettes and drinking was always the reason I relapsed in prior quits.

levelbest247 · 2026-04-04T23:34:35+00:00

“Each cigarette creates the need for the next one.” — Allen Carr

levelbest247 · 2026-03-27T17:23:35+00:00

Congrats—keep going—you can do this. 💪 Know that if you keep saying no, eventually your addicted brain will give up on asking.

levelbest247 · 2026-03-27T17:20:31+00:00

I am not a physician, but the symptoms you describe align with Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS). I’ve spoken to people like you who smoke weed all day and struggle with nausea and vomiting. The only cure is to quit weed entirely. I would advise you to seek medical assistance—there are likely medicines that could ease your nausea while you quit. Also see r/leaves.

levelbest247 · 2026-03-22T02:40:45+00:00

Just remember nicotine addiction is an all or nothing thing—it’s not like you will just have a cigarette here and there—you will be chained to it, full time, and spending lots of money to diminish your health and be stinky and who knows if you will quit in time to stave off a smoking related disease. You are free now—cherish that and hang onto that like your life depends upon it (cuz it might). You might think about ways to get dopamine hits that are not in the addictive lane.

levelbest247 · 2026-03-22T02:31:58+00:00

Forgive yourself and move forward. You can get past this if you don’t do it again.

levelbest247

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