Health and Fitness

Quitting smoking is important for your health and the health of your family. Although it is not easy to quit, quitting tobacco is something that must be done. Use the helpful tips in the article below to quit smoking so you can save money, live longer and smell better.

Talk to your doctor about quitting. Your personal physician has dealt with dozens if not hundreds of patients before you that tried quitting smoking. He or she likely knows exactly what treatment options work and which ones don’t. The difference between chain smoking and tobacco freedom is often a single prescription.

To keep your hands and mouth busy while trying to quit smoking, keep crunchy vegetables like carrots or celery on hand. These low-calorie snacks will not only keep your hands busy, but they will steady your blood sugar and keep you from reaching for higher-calorie foods that could lead to weight gain.

Make a detailed list of goals and rewards. Give yourself a finite date at which you want to be done smoking entirely, and split up the time between then and now with smaller goals. Attach a very specific and desirable (yet attainable) reward to each of these goals to keep yourself excited about quitting.

Write down a journal of every time you have a cigarette and what your reasons were for having one. This journal will help you to find out what your smoking triggers are. For some it may be the first morning cigarette, or the need to smoke after a meal. For others, it may be stress. Determining your triggers will help you to figure out a way to fight them.

Make sure your friends know that you’ve decided to quit. For many people, smoking is a social activity, so you might be tempted to smoke if your friends light up in front of you. If you talk to your friends about your desire to quit, they can support you instead of unintentionally sabotaging your plan.

It can be easier to quit smoking if you are able to articulate exactly why you want to quit. Try writing down a list of all of the reasons that you should quit smoking. This can include the benefits you will experience, people in your life, or any reasons at all that are important to you.

It can help to find another smoker to be your quitting partner. Having someone go through the quitting process with you can make it easier because it will no longer be a struggle that you are going through by yourself. In addition, when either of you have an urge to light a cigarette, the other can serve as a reliable source of motivation.

As you develop your quit plan, you will also want to develop a diet plan. Quitting smoking tends to lead to weight gain for a lot of former smokers. You can avoid this by paying close attention to your diet while you quit. Drink plenty of water and follow a meal plan. If you do gain weight though, remember that gaining a few pounds is worth it, if it leads to you dropping the smoking habit.

Enlist the help of those closest to you when you decide to stop smoking. This includes family members, friends and coworkers. Tell them. If they do not know that you are attempting this very important step in your life, they will not know how to help you. Tell them to expect grouchiness, trouble sleeping and impatience. Most importantly, they can help you plan activities in smoke-free environments.

Don’t give up if you slip up. Anytime someone tries to give something up that they have been doing for years, there will likely be a struggle. When that struggle exists, slip ups often happen. If you do slip up, get right back on track and try again. The worst thing you can do is turn a slip up into an excuse to keep smoking, so don’t do it.

If you wish to quit smoking cold turkey, get rid of all of the things in your house that remind you of smoking. This means, no more ash trays or cigarette lighters. If you hold onto this stuff, you’ll only be reminded of smoking and it might make you want to have a cigarette.

When you are trying to quit smoking and feel the urge for a cigarette, have a drink of water instead. Water is wonderful for removing toxins from your body. This includes the toxins that smoking puts in your body. Have a drink of water instead of a cigarette and know that you are rinsing your body of toxins, instead of adding more.

If you have friends or family that are also smokers, then have a sincere talk with them about your wanting to quit. Don’t patronize them or push them to quit, but explain how you need their cooperation and help to quit for good. Tell them specifically why you want to quit, and make fair but firm demands about how and when they smoke around you.

Make a note of why you are quitting. Sometimes it’s a good idea to write down exactly why you want to stop smoking. If you list the benefits, such as doing it for your family, health reasons, or money issues, it will make it easier to quit. Simply read the list every day to get encouragement.

Always keep in mind that there is only one outcome from taking another puff of a cigarette. That outcome is smoking again at the level that you were at, until the habit cripples you and you are in the hospital dying. This is a scary truth that will help you stay on track.

As stated in the beginning of this article, quitting smoking is very important and something that should not be put off any longer. If you want to live a long and healthy life, quitting smoking is imperative. Use the tips in this article for some helpful ideas to quit smoking.