It has been noted that some people had managed to quit smoking for a few days and after realizing a weight gain or about 2 to 3 pounds, have started to smoke again just to avoid further weight gain. Before we talk about how to quit smoking, it is essential to note why one gains weight after putting off the last butt.

Smoking tobacco sticks consumes calories. The act of smoking, depending upon the number of cigarettes you consume in a day, can get anyone to burn anywhere between 150 to 400 calories. The moment one stops smoking, these calories are not used, or burnt, hence one tends to gain weight. Also, smoking is an appetite suppressant. Whoever quits smoking is likely to feel hungrier than before. This leads to incessant snacking and eating larger meals. Coupled with the unused energy that used to be burnt during smoking, the additional cravings for food aid your weight gain. There are two categories of solutions to how to quit smoking and not gain weight.

1. The moment one starts to quit smoking, there is a need to include a casual walk in the evening or some physical activity to get engrossed in on a daily basis. This not only helps in keeping one away from the urge of smoking but also helps in burning those calories that are not being used due to the absence of cigarettes. Additionally, one must always opt for healthy snacking. The urge of snacking is bound to increase after you quit smoking hence eating a few healthy fruits and veggies are much better than those chips and cookies. One would have an increased appetite after quitting smoking hence there has to be an imposed restriction on the amount of food consumed across meals.

2. Some people find it very hard to let go off the urge to smoke a cigarette and the entire psychological state leads one to eat more despite all efforts and restrictions. In such a case one can steadily decrease the number of cigarettes one consumes or get into electronic cigarettes for a while to get rid of the tar of conventional cigarettes and the likes but get access to nicotine hence steadily cutting down on the urges.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

There’s no doubt about the harm that smoking can do to someone, even on a short term basis, so the benefits to being able to stop smoking are quite clear. From clearer lungs to the reduction of the risk of lung cancer to just a cleaner, fresher home, the decision to stop smoking can be a tough, but beneficial one. These are the products that are available on the market today that can help you to quit smoking like a pro.

You Can Quit Smoking with Nicotine Gums

One of the more popular ways that people have used to stop smoking is through the use of nicotine gum. These chewing gums will give you the dosage of nicotine that your body is craving, but you get it without the harmful side effects that smoking can provide. You take the nicotine gum in place of a cigarette when you would normally feel like a smoke and that relieves the cravings that you are having. The idea of the nicotine gum is that you take specific walk down periods where you start taking less of a dosage of nicotine. This walk down helps your body regulate to a lower dosage and the withdrawal symptoms are much less severe, as are the cravings when you can finally get off of the nicotine products.

Chantix Can Help To Swing Around Those Who Just Can’t Quit Smoking

If you are having trouble with your decision to quit smoking and you have exhausted everything that you can think of, then Chantix might be right for you. Chantix is available by prescription only and it can have some serious side effects, such as nightmares and suicidal thoughts, so make sure that you are around others while you are on this drug. When taken with other supports in place, including counseling and behavioral supports, Chantix has shown to help about half of the users who take it to quit smoking without another relapse.

Anti-Craving Lozenges Can Help To Reduce Cravings As Well

Designed like a cough drop, anti-craving lozenges are nicotine free and can help reduce the symptoms of a craving that you just don’t feel like you can get past. You can take them periodically throughout the day to proactively defeat craving symptoms, or you can take them when you feel a craving that is coming on so that you can get past it. These don’t necessarily work for everyone, so be sure to have a backup plan in place, but science has shown that has long as you are doing something productive when you feel a craving coming on, you can defeat it. When combined with diet changes and some extra exercises, however, there have been many stories of success. If you want to be nicotine free and quit the all natural way, this could be the perfect way to go.

Electronic Cigarettes Can Help You Defeat the Addiction So You Can Quit Smoking

An option that is starting to become more popular are electronic cigarettes. These are electronic versions of cigarettes that look and taste just like the real thing so that you can still enjoy the social aspects of smoking, but do not contain the harmful additives and carcinogens that make smoking so dangerous. You can even get nicotine free electronic cigarettes that will help you fool your body into thinking that it is getting nicotine and this can help you to be able to get through one of the tougher cravings that you can experience during the early days of quitting.

Nicotine Patches Can Also Be Effective To Help You Quit Smoking

For some people, the idea of chewing a gum every time a craving comes along just seems repulsive. They might forget, they might fall to a sudden craving and not have access to the gum, and it might even just be because they don’t like the flavor of the gum. For people who don’t want the gum but do want to have the nicotine supplements to help them through the day, then a great option for them are nicotine patches. These patches work the same way the gum does: in a step down method so that you can slowly withdrawal from the nicotine cravings and have manageable symptoms while you work to quit smoking.

Nicotine Nasal Sprays Can Help You To Quit Smoking As Well

Also in the category of nicotine replacement therapy, for some people a patch can irritate the skin and the nicotine gums can be quite expensive and taste horrendous. For the folks who need some extra nicotine to help them quit smoking, then the invention of the nicotine nasal spray might be for them. The benefit of the nicotine nasal spray is that the results are almost instantaneous – the body absorbs the nicotine through the thin skin walls of the nasal passages and deposits them directly into the blood stream. This can defeat the worst cravings right away because of the instant nature of the product, and a nasal spray simply needs to be taken when a craving hits instead of throughout the day. That means overall, to quit smoking, many people end up using less nicotine and can quit faster through this replacement method.

If you have decided to quit smoking and you need a little extra help, then these products can help you defeat the addiction once and for all. Affordable and easy to use, these products, when combined with therapies, counseling, and support, can help you be smoke free sooner than you could have ever imagined.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

If you have decided to try to stop smoking, there are some things that you can do to try to make this difficult task easier.

Break the Addiction Cycle

One reason that smoking is a challenging habit to break is that it is not just a physical addiction. Your body is addicted to the act of smoking both physically and psychologically. In order to stop smoking, you will need to break both of these addiction cycles. To stop the physical addiction, you will need to overcome the challenges of nicotine addiction, and in order to stop the psychological addiction you will need to change your behavior so that you are no longer repeating something that has become an important step in your daily routine.

To quit the physical addiction, you will need to address the effects of nicotine in your body while you are going through withdrawal. One of the things that nicotine does to your body is release sugar into your bloodstream. If you are used to having this sugar release on a regular basis, suddenly not having it anymore can be a real shock to your body. One method of overcoming this is to replace that urge to have a cigarette with drinking a glass of juice. In fact, you may want to drink juice throughout the day in order to keep your body’s sugar level at a higher rate than usual. Your body should re-regulate itself to the sugar cravings a few days after you quit smoking.

Since this is a psychological addiction as well, you can also replace the act of smoking with something that you put into your mouth at the time of day that you might have smoked before. For many smokers, they would light up a cigarette after finishing a meal. You might want to try a variety of methods to replace this act, such as drinking a glass of juice, having a piece of fruit, or chewing a piece of gum.
If you know that you smoke whenever you drink alcohol, you may want to consider not drinking alcohol for a period of time as well. Some people find success by drinking non-alcoholic drinks when they go out to bars, while other people would prefer not to have the temptation of a bar at all. Only going to bars where smoking is prohibited is one way to address this problem.

Self-Accountability

In the end, the real person you are trying to quit smoking for is yourself. Because of this, you have to hold yourself accountable for your actions while you are trying to stop smoking. Keeping a personal journal of anytime you slip up and have a cigarette or even when you have a craving is a good way to keep track of your successes, and yes, your failures. Stopping smoking is not easy, and you will have to keep trying until you succeed.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

There are going to be times when you think that you can’t hold out much longer and times when you want to run as fast as possible to your local convenience store to just pick up one pack and smoke one last cigarette. Do your best to resist this urge. Find something else to fill your time or change your routine so that smoking doesn’t factor in anymore. Get used to a life without cigarettes because the benefits to life without smoking far outweigh those of a life with smoking.

The great thing about quitting smoking is that the results are almost instantaneous. Within twenty minutes your blood pressure and your pulse drop to normal levels. Smoking reduces blood flow, which can affect the temperature of your extremities. After twenty minutes without cigarettes the temperature of your hands and free return to normal. These benefits are more helpful than you may initially think but even hardened smokers have a tendency to go twenty minutes without a cigarette.

It’s going to take a little bit more willpower to get through more time without cigarettes. It might help you to remember that, unless you smoke in your sleep, your body is perfectly okay with going about eight hours without smoking. When you don’t smoke for eight hours the oxygen level in your blood returns to normal levels. Eight hours after you quit smoking things start to get a little more difficult. You might be irritable. A cigarette might be the only thing that you can think about. Think of your desire to quit smoking as a promise that you’ve made to yourself. You wouldn’t want to break your promise so power through the difficult periods. Two days after you quit smoking you’re nerve endings start repairing themselves and your sense of smell and taste start coming back. It will be so amazing to taste properly all the things that you have been missing in your years as a smoker.

As time goes on you’ll find there are much more benefits attached to your decision to quit smoking. Your risk of stroke and lung cancer will even decrease with time. In addition to the health benefits, your clothing and hair will start to smell better and people will probably want to spend more time with you now that you’ve separated from your cloud of smoke. Put down those cigarettes and start living a better life today.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

Though some people are able to forge the trail by themselves and they need zero help in order to facilitate their decision to quit smoking, for many people they simply need a little extra help. If you feel that you could benefit from having some help available that will allow you to kick the habit and stop smoking for good, then these are some of the common ways that smokers seek out help to become non-smokers.

A Weekly or Twice a Week Support Group Can Help You To Quit Smoking

One of the most common ways people find support to quit smoking is through a weekly therapy session, though some folks find that attending these sessions twice a week is better to keep themselves on track. At these support groups, people share about the challenges they face when it comes to their decision to quit smoking. Because many people actually started smoking because of the enticing social aspects of it, the withdrawal symptoms from their decision to quit are actually based on their lessened social interactions more than not picking up a cigarette. These support groups help solve some of that problem, and they also allow for advice and tips to avoid the cravings that always come when you have decided to quit smoking without nicotine supplements.

But it is just not support groups that most people need. They also need people within their family structure to support their decision to quit smoking. Most people pick one trusted advisor with whom they can share everything they are feeling, but the more people who know about and can encourage your decision to quit smoking, the better off you are going to be.

Nicotine Supplements Can Help Some Folks To Quit Smoking

If you aren’t the social smoker and support groups don’t seem like they’d be your cup of tea, but you need help to quit smoking because you just can’t get past the cravings, the nicotine supplements might be for you. When you chew nicotine gum or take other nicotine products, you still get the drug your body is craving, but get it in a much safer manner. Nicotine therapy works for some because you start out at the same levels of nicotine that you get while you were smoking, and then you slowly ween yourself off of the drug until you aren’t needing to take any nicotine supplements.

For Some People, a Prescription Can Help As Well

For some folks, a little extra help beyond all this is necessary, and that’s why there is Chantix. Now Chantix is only successful in less than half of patients and it can have some pretty serious side effects, so be sure to consult with your local medical professionals before deciding to start taking this drug. Yet with Chantix, some education in regards to what will happen to your body if you refuse to stop smoking, and support available for when you feel like you’re just not going to make it, you might very well be able to find some success in your quest to quit smoking.

To Be Successful, You’re Going to Have to Stay Away From the Temptations

Chances are there were specific events that caused you to want to have a cigarette. It could be as simple as taking a break outside with a few people, or it could be more complicated coping with the stresses of the day. Whatever the case it is with you, you’re going to want to avoid the stimuli that makes you want to have a cigarette, and that could even include a television show or movie that shows someone smoking. Try something new instead – if you smoked in the car to and from work, then try listening to different radio stations. If you used to smoke after a meal, substitute a new, positive behavior instead like brushing your teeth.

Most of All, Just Stay Busy

If you need help to quit smoking, maybe the best advice to just stay as busy as you can over the next few weeks as you work on fighting your cravings. Though the average person only experiences 18 total minutes of craving time per day during their quest to quit smoking, those can be a terrible 18 minutes. Do things that you love to do and it will keep your mind off of what it is you want to do… namely pick up a cigarette. This is also effective when you have family supports in place and people can continuously encourage you to avoid the cigarettes.

The ability to follow through with your decision to quit smoking may be one of the most difficult ones of your life, but it can be easier with the right supports. By attending support groups, having family support around you, and the specific tools that you need in your unique case to quit smoking, you’ll find that you can kick the habit easier and quicker than you could have ever thought possible.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

After all, with a lifetime of smoking, lungs can get black, cancer can start, emphysema can start, and overall health can just decline. As part of the settlement agreement that the tobacco companies had with the United States Government, they agreed to fund public service announcements that educated people about the dangers of smoking and many have purported how effective these advertisements have been, especially with preventing children from picking up the habit.

Yet in their quest to educate people about why they should quit smoking, an opposite effect in society has also occurred: people who normally wouldn’t have started smoking are now smoking cigarettes and it is specifically because of these anti-smoking ads. How could this be? Why would an anti-smoking campaign actually be able to lead people to start what medical experts describe as a destructive habit?

It All Starts with the Visual Components of Anti Smoking Ads

Humans are visually orientated creatures that react to visual stimuli in a unique way – we all tend to emulate what we see. If we see a group of people drinking and we’re left out, we start drinking to fit in. If we see people smoking and we’re left out, we start smoking to fit in. But if we don’t see things and we’re not exposed to things, then we don’t even thing about doing those things. For instance, someone who lives in a family who doesn’t drink coffee and isn’t exposed to coffee in society will not have the urge to drink coffee.

In the quest to get people to quit smoking, the prevalence of advertising that talks about smoking as exposed a group of people who would normally never think about smoking to start thinking about it. They start wondering why everyone is encouraging them to quit smoking when they have never started. They start wondering what it would be like to start smoking, so they purchase their first pack of cigarettes. And then the habit begins.

Anti Smoking Psychological Components

For some people, it is not the fact they they are exposed to it that causes them to start smoking – it is the fact that someone is telling them that they should quit smoking that causes them to start. Not only are humans visual creatures, but quite a few of us really don’t like being told what we can or cannot do. When we are told that we simply should do something, we do the opposite to prove that we are individuals instead of lemmings. So when we are told to quit smoking, we start smoking because “nobody can control us or our actions,” as many like to say.

Now some people might point out that the fact that so many people have made the choice to quit smoking shows that the anti-smoking advertisements that have flooded the airways over the past decade have shown immense benefits, and quite frankly I would say that if even one person quit smoking because of those advertisements, then it was money well spent.

So What Is the Issue Here?

The issue with anti-smoking ads is that they substitute one class of people for another class of people. Certainly it is better to help a majority of the people with a campaign rather than a minority of the people… but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t help the minority just because they are in the minority. An effective anti-smoking campaign should include ads that affect the most people possible – not just the ones that have the most money or the most influence or even the ones that utilized smoking as a means to become popular. When you want to get a society to quit smoking, you need a series of advertisements that will affect the entire society instead of just a segment.

Like I said earlier… if just one person is able to make the decision to quit smoking because of the anti-smoking ads that are out there today, then it is money that is well spent. That is not the issue here. What is the issue is that these advertisements could be much more effective. We don’t need to substitute one societal group for another one when it comes to smoking just because our health care expenses will be less and the group that is affected is considered to be more on the fringes of society. What we do need is a well tested and effective anti-smoking campaign that will get the most people possible off the habit so they can quit smoking for good, and right now, looking at the numbers of people who are still smoking, it just isn’t being as successful as it could be.

There’s no real easy answer, but one thing is for certain: when it comes to anti-smoking ads, we still need to do more to get more people to quit smoking, plain and simple.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

Experts have agreed over decades that smoking tobacco is harmful for the overall health of the smoker, causing a wide number of illnesses including cancer, stroke, heart attacks and overall life threatening conditions. The key of the problem lies that smoking tobacco is pleasurable and relaxing for the smoker, the chemicals within the main component of tobacco which is nicotine cause a pleasurable sensation in the smoker whenever the smoke is inhaled. It is for this reason why quitting tobacco smoking is very challenging for smokers causing it to become an addiction and thereby the existence of many quitting aids and guides have gained a market share within the industry. Within this article, we will explore the harmful effects of smoking tobacco and why you should give up the habit as soon as possible.

The most common side effect that is seen while smoking tobacco is bad breath. The more you smoke, the nastier your breath will be. The chemicals within nicotine alter the natural taste buds of your mouth and create mucus that is largely contaminated by the smoke odor. This causes the creation of more mucus in the nasal passages, the irritation of your throat and bad breath will be more common and frequent as you keep smoking. Your voice can largely diminish in tone and intensity due to the constant irritation of your throat and vocal chords. Another effect very common after several weeks of smoking is the yellow coloring of your teeth. This effect is caused by the components within nicotine that alter the enamel of your teeth, thereby causing them to become yellow in color and lose their natural whitening agents or natural color.

Apart from these issues that are almost imminent after a few weeks of smoking, the overall impression of you as a smoker can lead to a bad reputation, especially to non-smokers. There are a lot of people that cannot handle the odor of tobacco smoke, are allergic to it or somehow cannot be close to smokers for other number of health related reasons. The fact that you are a smoker can disappoint many people that would be willing to form friendships with you, work with you in your career or any other valuable social relationship. Being a smoker can sometimes work to your own disadvantage and may prevent you from achieving some goals in your personal life. The impregnated odor in your clothes and skin will always be present as you continue to smoke, thereby causing you to experience the rejection of many people around you that cannot tolerate the smoke’s odor at a minimal level.

With the first symptoms and social disadvantages already placed, the other main factor that smoking causes is the deterioration of your health in many ways. During the 20th century, a group of German scientists were able to identify the possible linking of tobacco smoking and the emergence of cancer. Many people in the early 1920’s and 1930’s saw tobacco smoking as a harmless recreational activity that had no negative effects whatsoever in human health. Despite this misconception, it wasn’t until the early 1940’s when many people who smoked started to die and medical researchers could not seem to find the answer and reason for their deaths. With profound investigations and studies it was concluded that tobacco smoking was directly linked to the development of cancer, that is tobacco smoking intensified this process and was caused a wide variety of cancers in the human body. The most commonly diagnosed form of cancer to smokers is lung cancer. Due to the lungs absorbing tobacco smoke for many years, the alveoli of the lungs becomes clogged so that no more air can come inside, therefore causing the inflammation of the surrounding tissue and ending up in lung cancer or pulmonary emphysema.

Lung cancer is fatal if not treated on time and smokers are the most commonly diagnosed patients that receive lung cancer more than any other type of individual. If treated on time and with the proper treatments, the person can be saved and the cancer will continuously be eliminated as more treatments are processed in the patient. Therefore, it is a wise choice to give up smoking in order to avoid the potential development of lung cancer and not suffer the consequences, especially since health care costs are high in the developed world.

Other forms of health related effects such as the development of cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis and stroke are intensified with the frequent use of tobacco. These negative effects come mainly from the byproducts of tobacco smoke that affect the regulation of the bloodstream causing a higher chance to develop coronary heart disease, cholesterol clogged-up arteries and a higher chance to develop and suffer a stroke or heart attack. Together with lung cancer, the combos of the negative health impacts that come from smoking are deadly if not treated on time and if the habit is not gave up in a specific time frame.

In summary, smoking tobacco may seem a very harmless activity but its detrimental health effects in the long run are highly devastating. It is a wise choice to give up smoking as soon as possible if you are a smoker; with just a few days of withdrawal your body will experience vitalizing effects and will improve in overall condition. It takes a great deal of discipline and commitment to quit smoking and be optimal in health condition. You only have one life in this planet, therefore live it well by being happy, worry-free and tobacco free, always remembering that the benefits or being tobacco free far outweigh the costs of smoking tobacco.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

What is Hypnosis?
How does hypnosis work? Hypnosis in itself is pretty simple and is not what you may find being depicted on TV. It is also not voodoo or any kind of magic. What it is, is basically a shift within your subconscious mind. In the case of stop smoking hypnosis the shift will be geared towards smoking and stopping smoking. You may be wondering what your subconscious has to do with smoking but you may be surprised to learn just how much your smoking is dependent on your belief about smoking. Many people believe that it puts them in a better mood and so if they don’t have it they will be cranky and that is just one example. What about those who think they need it to cope with life’s punches.

Stop Smoking Hypnosis At its Best
The bottom line is that if you don’t want to stop smoking then stop smoking hypnosis will not work for you. Remember it is a shift of the mind not a total reversal or change so something about ceasing the habit of smoking must be present in the individual’s subconscious in the first place. The hypnosis will put you into a trance of sorts allowing you to enter your subconscious mind more readily. When you get there you will be able to suggest to your subconscious what you want to be there for the most part.

How Stop Smoking Hypnosis Works
Once you get into the trance you will be able to properly shift your subconscious into a state or frame of mind that will be kinder to quitting. Since you will be out at this point you want to have the stimuli or the message for the shift to be playing prior to your gong out especially if you are the only one in the room. A great way to do this is one of those Mp3’s that was mentioned earlier.

This won’t happen after one session though, and you should bear this in mind. One hypnosis session won’t change your mind totally or help you to stop quitting smoking form the first day as it takes time for you to get rid of the negatives and replace it with positives.
If that doesn’t sound like an easy and effective way to stop smoking and you are looking for reasons to try this method; remember that this is a noninvasive procedure that will not require you to recuperate. You could simply do it yourself even – take half an hour out of your lunchtime each day and devote it to listening to stop smoking hypnosis Mp3’s and in no time you will be on the road to no more cigarettes or whatever it is that you were smoking in the first place.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

Are you looking for some reasons to quit smoking to help motivate you to kick the habit? While you may need a little help to get yourself through the cravings or help with your nicotine therapy that you are currently undergoing or simply need that little bit of a shove to help you start the decision to quit for the first time or the next time, the reasons to quit smoking today are very straightforward, very beneficial, and though it may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, when you quit smoking, you’ll find yourself living better in less time than you might have imagined.

Reason #1: Reduce Your Risk For Cancers Like Lung Cancer Cigarettes and cigars, even if you don’t inhale the smoke, are miniature death traps just waiting to ensnare you. Though some people never develop the cancers that are common with smoking these products, the fact remains that you are making yourself more vulnerable to mouth, throat, lung, and other cancers with every single cigarette or cigar that you smoke. If you need reasons to quit smoking, the ability to live a longer and fuller life without the addiction to the nicotine in these products is definitely at the top of the list. Every cigarette or cigar that you don’t smoke, every bit of tobacco that you don’t chew, is that much better of a percentage of you not developing a deadly cancer that could prematurely terminate you from being with your loved ones.

Reason #2: The Sheer Cost Involved in Smoking Cigarettes It was not that long ago that you could purchase a pack of cigarettes for about $1.50. These days, you’re lucky to get away with getting a pack for under $7. That means at that figure, if you smoke a pack a day every day, then you are spending $49 per week. That means you’re spending between $250 – $300 per month. If you need reasons to quit smoking, the sheer financial aspect of this addiction should be cause enough to make you want to do it. You could literally save yourself over $3,000 per year that could go to a vacation to reward yourself for quitting your habit instead of the products that are going to work toward eventually killing yourself.

Reason #3: Stop Harming Your Family Members If helping yourself isn’t enough, then taking a look at your family and friends for reasons to quit smoking might just be. Even if you don’t smoke around your children, your spouse, or your friends, you could still be exposing them to dangerous second hand smoke, and at the very least you’ll be smelling like smoke everywhere you go and making your significant other taste ash every time they kiss you. They might not say anything to you about your smoking, but you can bet your life that your habit is bothering them if they are nonsmokers. If you have a partner that is a smoker, then together you can find reasons to quit smoking together so that you can both kick the habit at the same time too.

Reason #4: Save Money on Your Health and Life Insurance Did you know that if you are an active smoker that it actually costs you more to obtain health and life insurance? That’s right – if you are living paycheck to paycheck, not only will you be able to save the $3,000 or more from not purchasing your cigarettes, but you can also end up saving up to $1,000 a year or more on your insurance costs as well. Now you won’t usually be able to get down to the nonsmoker rates, but if you need reasons to quit smoking, getting your insurance plans from “smoker” to “previous smoker” can save you a lot of money and help you be able to get even more bills paid.

Reason #5: You’ll Improve Your Dental Health Have you seen those advertisements that talk about “meth mouth” where people have rotting, broken teeth because of their drug addiction? Though smoking won’t give you the poor dental health that meth will, if you need reasons to quit smoking, another beneficial reason is that you won’t need to visit the dentist as often. The corrosives of the smoke and items in the smoke that you inhale with each and every puff will wear out the enamel of your teeth and make you susceptible to cavities, root decay, and an early need for dentures.

Reason #6: Have More Natural Energy When you are a cigarette smoker, you almost end up joking about “smoker’s lung.” Not only do you have decreased stamina because of your body’s inability to process oxygen thanks to the smoking addiction, but the energy that you do get is artificially created because of the nicotine you are pumping into your system on a consistent basis. If you need reasons to quit smoking, this falls into the area of becoming healthier and happier – not only will you start eliminating some of those coughing fits that you can experience as a smoker as your lungs start expelling the waste products you’ve been putting into them, but you’ll start feeling better and have more energy naturally as your body cleans itself out over the period of three or four days instead of artificially to the drug. Having the right reasons to quit smoking can really help someone who has been a long time smoker be able to successfully quit the first time around. The right reasons can also help the smoker who has been trying to quit and keeps finding them relapsing have the strength to be able to drop the cigarettes one more time. When you and quit the habit, not only are you reducing the risks of future health complications, but you’ll feel better, you’ll smell better, and you’ll be able to have more energy to do the things you love… not to mention have a lot more help in your tight budget.

The reasons to quit smoking can really help the hardcore smoker have the motivation to quit – find your reasons today and join the millions who are kicking the habit every day.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?

Yet with all of these supportive ways of being able to quit smoking, almost 20% of people are able to quit smoking without any help whatsoever. That’s right – almost 20% of people never use a prescription, never use nicotine therapy, and never attend a support group, and they have never picked the habit back up without one single relapse. Therapies can be just as expensive as cigarettes too, so if you are looking to quit smoking and want to go cold turkey, try these tricks that have helped others quit without any supports beyond themselves.

1. Stay Away From the Things That Tempt You To Smoke

Any time you have an addiction, you have a trigger that makes you want to continue the addiction. If you feel tired you drink a caffeinated soda. If you feel stressed you have a cigarette. Though eliminating stress from your lifestyle can be next to impossible, there are going to be other reminders about you loving a cigarette to death every now and again. Sometimes it might be the food you eat, sometimes it might be the scotch that you like to drink, or it might even be a friend with whom you share a break with at work. To quit cold turkey, you’ve got to figure out the things that make you want to have a smoke in your every day life and not necessarily eliminate them, but avoid them until you have the confidence and strength to put a cigarette down.

2. When You Feel Like Smoking, Do Something Else

The reason why a vast majority of people smoke is that it helps them be able to cope with something difficult. What gets defined as difficult varies from person to person – it might be a stubborn boss, it might be a stubborn spouse, or it might be the commute to and from work. Whatever it happens to be for you, do your best to be able to recognize it and then substitute a new coping skill in its place that is a bit healthier. Many smokers who quit cold turkey choose exercise, because even a little bit of exercise when you are feeling a craving or some withdrawal symptoms from the nicotine can help you immensely.

3. Don’t Skip Any Meals Any More

When you were smoking, you were able to skip some meals and still feel pretty good. You were also able to keep the weight off without much trouble and not feel too bad about yourself. The bad news is that the lifestyle that you were living was not a very good one. Now that you’ve decided to quit cold turkey, you’re body is going to want to take on calories and store some fat. If you maintain a healthy calorie count and can fight off the urge to snack, your weight gain will be minimal and if you can also regularly exercise, you’ll help yourself that much more.

4. Keep a Positive Attitude

The reason why so many people fail in their attempts to quit smoking isn’t because they don’t have the willpower – it’s that they get an ever present thought in their head that makes them think that they can’t successfully quit, and so they relapse. Your mind has surprising powers – it can make you feel sick when you’re not, it can make you feel well when you’re sick, and when it comes to smoking, it can help you quit through a positive attitude about being able to quit. When you are able to quit smoking cold turkey, you are reclaiming your life that you once had. Keep that in mind whenever you feel a negative thought start to creep in.

5. Start a Countdown Clock on Your Craving

Even though you can fixate on something for an eternity if you really want to have it, like going to the local dive to pick up a chocolate shake, when it comes to smoking the urges are more subconscious than conscious when you are attempting to quit smoking cold turkey. Because they are subconscious in origin, many studies have proven that the longest time they will last is three minutes. So set your clock for three minutes and have it next to you when you feel like you’ve got to have a smoke right now or you’ll die. You’ll have a visual reminder of how much time you’ve got to fight through the urge.

6. Make Sure to Reward Yourself For Good Behavior

You’re going to be saving a ton of money when you can quit smoking cold turkey. Not only are you not paying for cigarettes any more, but you’re also not spending any funds on prescription drugs or nicotine treatments either. For some people, that can mean an extra $200 per month or more going right back into the checkbook. Whatever amount you end up saving, take half of that money while you are working on quitting and spend it on yourself. Splurge. Do whatever you like to do, minus the smokes anyway. Then take the other half of the funds and either stick it into your savings account or pay down some debt with it. That way you get to experience a double benefit with your extra money.

7. Chart or Journal Your Progress

Humans are visual creatures by nature, so when we can visually see the value and progress of the things that we are doing, we tend to not only do better at what we’re trying to accomplish, but we can even get things done more quickly. The same thing applies when your are attempting to quit smoking cold turkey. Whether you use a journal, a sticker chart, a calendar, or your own preferred tracking method, by being able to trace your past successes when you are feeling vulnerable, you will be able to have greater strength in being able to get past that moment and any other weak moment you may have.

By following these tips and strategies, you too will be able to avoid all of the cheats and tools that so many people feel like they need to rely on to quit smoking, be able to quit smoking cold turkey, and be able to reap the health benefits from your decision – not to mention the boost in your budget.

READY TO QUIT SMOKING?