To quit smoking is not easy, it is a very complex behaviour. But if you you deal with certain aspects, you can make stopping easy, comfortable and permanent. According to research, 20% of the problem is addiction, habit, weight control and brain function. And the remainder 80% of the problem is, your attitude, your social behaviour, emotional and psychological problems.
Think about it, if you can get yourself to quit smoking, you can then control your brain, it is a mindset.
So lets get started with the stop smoking program. 😉
Quit Smoking – Week one
- Set your own goal for the week, reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke by no more than 25%.
- Delay your smoking by 15 minutes, so after a meal or coffee, or when you wake up or go to bed. So in other words, if you had a meal wait 15 minutes before you take a smoke.
- Try to stay away from alcohol, this is a very powerful trigger or test yourself and try to break the connection between the two. If you feel like drinking apply the 15 minute delay.
- Change your cigarette brand, switch to a different brand. You will need to see what the nicotine level is for your own brand and then go slightly lower. So if your nicotine level is 1,5mg change to something lower like 1,4mg.
- Record your cigarettes, every time you smoke write it down somewhere and also see why you smoked.
- Drink a lot of water, fresh fruit juice and take vitamins (like vitamin C and B complex)
- Keep your mouth clean, after a smoke take a breath freshener or rinse your mouth.
- Make a list for your own sake of why you want to quit, and keep this as a motivation.
Good luck for your first week, and remember to stay positive. Tell yourself you are happy that you took this step. Keep on giving yourself a pat on the back, because you made a decision to take control over your life.
Best of luck… BabyRUs
I have successfully stopped smoking now for over eight months. Many of my colleagues ask what or how I did it and I have always insisted on the following. Smoking is a habit and the worst thing one can do is replace one habit with another. So NO change of habit, just stop one. Cutting down does not mean you are not smoking so even that is just an excuse which, from experience, smokers will always hide behind a drink or stress to smoke more during the cut down stage. Changing brands is another big joke, one i must mention I indulged myself in. The worst though is “what will i do” and that has kept many people smoking on even though they may want to quit. My advise to smokers is very simple. Set a date and on that date JUST STOP. Trust me for I smoked 30 to 40 a day and one weekend I told myself that on Sunday I would call it quits at midnight and the rest is history now. Your mind is saying we all going to die anyway, thought I had forgotten that one huh. Yes we will but why add pain and suffering to it. Like relationships this habit has no formula to stop. Just will yourself to and you will make it. Good luck all