Sometimes, the thought of quitting a comfortable behavior like smoking is a daunting thought that can foil your ultimate goal for good health. If you don’t think about ‘quitting’ your smoking habit and simply consider stopping, one day at a time, you can be well on your way to a healthier lifestyle without additional pain or stress.
Few people need to be told that cigarette smoking is bad for you. According to the American Cancer Society, just one cigarette per day increases the chances of high blood pressure, stroke, cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus and promotes coronary heart disease. For women, they experience a greater likelihood of a miscarriage or stillbirth. For men, greater risk of erectile dysfunction and for everyone, increased harm to children and grandchildren from second-hand smoke.
STOP SMOKING OPTIONS
- Decrease cigarette consumption by 1 per day. Cut down gradually as you replace smoking with other, more positive behaviors.
- Stop carrying cigarettes with you. Make smoking inconvenient.
- Use NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) in the form of gums, pills, patches or other medically sound options.
- Participate in a supervised program. Many smoking cessation programs and support groups exist to help.
- Create replacement behaviors. When the desire to smoke comes upon you, replace the behavior with another option like drinking water or calling a friend. For many, it is the habitual action of smoking that needs to be changed rather than the taste/desire for the cigarette itself.
- Find other positive outlets. If you use smoking to help you relax or deal with stressful situations, find other options that can ultimately be more effective. Listening to relaxing music, reading, exercise and other such activities can replace smoking when you want to improve mood or stress levels.
- Tell everyone. When you tell everyone of your intention to stop smoking, they can become your partner and support your cessation efforts.
- Stop with a buddy. Find another smoker who wants to quit and quit together.
When you stop smoking, your body will begin positive changes within 20 minutes of your last cigarette!
Oxygen and carbon monoxide levels in blood drop to normal, as does blood pressure, pulse rate and body temperatures. The ability to smell and taste is enhanced and nerve endings start to re-grow. Even the chance of heart attack decreases.
A physical dependency on cigarettes often eliminates the willpower to sustain the psychological commitment. The possibility of weight gain can also be a deterrent, but one that is easily controlled.
According to the NIDDK (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases):
“Physical activity and a healthy eating plan may help you control your weight while trying to stop smoking. In addition, being physically active may ease withdrawal symptoms during smoking cessation and help reduce the chances of relapsing after quitting.
While it is a good idea to be physically active and eat healthy foods as you quit smoking, try not to worry about your weight. It may be easier to quit first and focus on controlling your weight when you are smoke-free.
To lower your chances of gaining weight when you stop smoking:
- Accept yourself.
- Get regular, moderate-intensity physical activity.
- Limit snacking and alcohol.
- Consider using medication to help you quit.
- Consider getting professional advice about weight control.
If weight gain is a concern that stops you from eliminating your smoking habit, you can keep your metabolism elevated by using a metabolic-boosting weight loss aid like MetaboFit or Corti-Control. Nicotine does have metabolically stimulating properties that can be replaced with the right metabolically enhancing weight loss supplement.
Why Quitting Is So Hard – From the American Diabetes Association
People keep smoking for two reasons. First, nicotine is highly addictive. Often, a person who quits smoking goes through withdrawal. Symptoms of withdrawal include: being irritable, sweating, having headaches, diarrhea, or constipation, as well as feeling restless, tired, or dizzy. Withdrawal is usually the worst on the second day after quitting, and it gradually lessens with time.
Second, many people become psychologically tied to smoking. It is part of their daily ritual. It helps them wake up in the morning, comforts them when they are upset, and rewards them for a job well done. Smoking also has pleasurable physical effects. It relaxes people and perks them up.
These factors make it easy to smoke and hard to quit. The pleasures of smoking start within seconds of lighting up; the bad effects can take years to make themselves known. On the other hand, when you try to quit, your first experience is the bad feeling of withdrawal. Only later do you begin to enjoy the benefits of quitting, such as having more energy, improved taste sensations and overall better health.
Preparing to Quit – From the American Diabetes Association
The first step to quitting is to study your own smoking habits. What events or activities make you light up? How often do you smoke?
Once you have an idea of when and why you smoke, you can look for replacements for smoking. For example, smoking may relax you. If so, learn and practice another way to relax, such as deep breathing and relaxation exercises. If smoking gives you energy; try standing and stretching or taking a walk when you start to feel the urge to smoke. Exercise can make you more alert.
Perhaps you enjoy the feeling of holding the cigarette, lighting it, gesturing with it, and tapping off the ashes. To keep your hands busy without a cigarette, try a strand of beads, a polished stone, or a pen.
Before you quit, it's also a good idea to plan rewards for sticking to your goal. For example, you might go to a movie to reward yourself for each week you don't smoke. Or you might put your cigarette money into a jar and use it to buy books or CDs or clothes - or save it for a trip.
Also, set up a cheerleading squad - family or friends who will give you support. Former smokers understand what you're going through and may be especially supportive. The more people you tell you are quitting, the more your pride will help you resist lighting up.
Finally, set a date to quit. Choose a time when you expect your life to be fairly calm. That way, stress won't tempt you to smoke. And if you do have withdrawal symptoms, they won't interfere with your life as much.
Once You've Quit – From the American Diabetes Association
Once you've quit, the next step is to stay off. The first three months or so after quitting are the hardest time. Most people who return to smoking do so then. During those first three months, they've broken the physical addiction but not yet shaken their psychological dependence on cigarettes.
It often takes just one cigarette to put you back on the smoking treadmill. Have some ideas up your sleeve to fight temptation. For example, plan to take a bath, chew sugarless gum, sip some water, find something to do with your hands, or step outside for some fresh air when the urge to smoke hits you.
If you know you are going to be around smokers, be prepared. Practice an answer for when you're offered a cigarette. Seek out nonsmokers in the group. Don't apologize for not smoking.
If you do smoke a cigarette, then you need to renew your decision to quit. Focus on learning from your slip, not on berating yourself for it. Figure out why you slipped up and how you might avoid doing so again.
Once your body's metabolism returns to normal, you may put on a little weight. The average is about 7 pounds. If you are worried about gaining weight, talk to your dietitian about changing your meal and exercise plans.
You also need to stay in touch with your health care provider after you quit. Your diabetes control will probably improve. If so, your health care provider may want to change your insulin dose or diabetes pill schedule. Similarly, if you are being treated for high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels, your condition may improve so much that your health care provider may want to change your treatment.
Remember - quitting smoking is probably the most important thing you can do for your health and for those around you.
According to the National Institutes of Health: Fewer than 5% of the US adult smokers kick the habit in any given year, even though there are quitting strategies that work. 70% of the 44.5 million adult smokers want to quit smoking and 40% of those make a serious quit attempt each year.
