Quit smoking, you’ve heard it from your family and friends for many years but you neglect to truly listen to them. If you have family and friends that you love then you should take the advice from this article seriously so that you can stay on this planet for years to come.
When you decide to quit smoking, make sure to add plenty of fresh fruit to your diet. Your body will likely undergo some chemical changes when you stop smoking, often including a lowered blood glucose level. Healthy fruits can help to raise your blood glucose level to normal levels, keeping you healthy while you’re working toward quitting.
Before you begin the process of quitting your nicotine habit for good, take the time to make a specific plan of action. Merely thinking that you can muster up the willpower when needed is a poor way to approach this very addictive habit. Write down a list of things that you will do instead of reaching for that cigarette. This can include going for a walk, calling a friend, making a fresh fruit smoothie, or any number of diversions.
Remember that smoking cessation is really all about replacing one behavior with another. For most people, it is primarily the physical act of smoking that is the major draw. It signifies “me time” and a break from a hectic schedule or a boring job. Choose ahead of time exactly what behavior you will replace those smoking minutes with, and then do it!
When you feel like you need to smoke, try the delay tactic. With the delay tactic, you tell yourself that you will have a smoke in just ten minutes and go do something else. After those ten minutes are up, distract yourself with something else. Generally, a 10 minute delay will be all you need to get over the urge to smoke. If this does not happen right away, keep repeating this technique.
Try to avoid alcohol if you’re trying to quit smoking. Alcohol and cigarettes are naturally complimentary to each other. In addition, alcohol lowers your mental focus, meaning you are more likely to give in to temptation or peer pressure. If you avoid alcohol, you’re more likely to stay clear of mind. This might just mean that quitting becomes a bit easier.
Improve your chances of successfully quitting by sharing your plan to quit with supportive loved ones and friends. The encouragement you receive can provide extra motivation during rough patches, and telling people about quitting will help you stay more accountable. Have a few people on stand-by whom you can call for distraction whenever you get a craving.
Take the money that you would usually throw away on your cigarettes and spend it on yourself on something that you really want. This is sort of like a reward for your hard work. Treat yourself to an expensive coat, a nice jacket or even that pair of shoes that you have been eying.
If you have very strong associations between smoking and drinking coffee or smoking while you’re drinking, you may need to avoid these triggers for a while. Once you feel comfortable enough in your ability to stay away from cigarettes, you can slowly bring back that morning cup of joe or happy hour with your friends.
Once you commit to quitting smoking, give your home, car and other personal spaces and effects a thorough cleaning. Smelling smoke will only make you want to smoke. Likewise, your sense of smell will improve the longer you go without smoking, and cleaning will give you a chance to appreciate just how bad the smoke made your items smell.
You should definitely tell your family and friends that you are going to quit smoking. The people who care about you will remind you of your need to quit. Having a support system is the best way to quit. Setting up your support system helps you be much more likely to achieve goals related to quitting.
To improve your odds of quitting smoking for good, don’t combine your effort to quit with another goal, particularly weight loss. You already have enough stress and cravings to deal with just trying to quit smoking. If you try to wean yourself from something else at the same time, you are likely to fail at both.
If smoking is your reaction to stress, replace it with a positive one. Consider getting a massage when you are stressed or participating in an exercise class. Even doing something simple like taking a bath or enjoying a light snack is a better reaction to stress than smoking is. Doing these things will help you to quit, while still keeping your stress level in check.
Using all of the advice from this article you now have a great idea of what it takes to quit smoking. So go ahead and read through this article again if you need to or share it with someone else that you know that could benefit from learning how to quit smoking once and for all.
