Hi Ex-Slave,
'Looking forward' to what exactly? When I smoked, I would go out to a restaurant for a meal, and did I enjoy it? No. While I ate, I was 'looking forward' to the cigarette at the end.
This is the nature of the beast. You are not 'looking forward' to anything. If anything, you are looking back - back to the last cig you had and the Nicodemon is yelling in your ear 'hey, hurry up with that food' we have some serious smoking to do!'
As a nicotine junkie, I was prepared to go out and spend 30-40 US dollars per head for a meal that I could not taste properly and the best bit of the occasion was the smoke at the end.
I understand what you mean by an 'empty feeling'. Your body and brain are adjusting to a change in routine. I had a 30+ year routine, my body and brain will not forget it overnight.
I am now discovering a new me, and slowly but surely, I am understanding that it's not a case of life can be OK without cigarettes, but life is better without them.
It's the 21st century and we're all too used to getting everything we want yesterday.
There is no magic pill, no silver bullet with the quit; it just takes time.
Every day, you can choose not to smoke. So what if it takes a year or 18 months to adjust to a new way of living? I think it's worth it. If you don't think so, smoke.
Stick with this - I feel so much better now and you can too!
all the best
Mr Ed :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/13/2006
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 138
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,145
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �1035
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 23 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 57 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3