Suggestions for new quitters.....

[nsd_user663_1825]

Hi All

I know there are 10,000 books and articles out there telling you how to quit....I'm not in a position to tell you which way is best for you but I can tell you from experience what worked for me (I'll be 13 weeks clear on Wednesday this week).

1. Get rid of all the nicotine in your house/car/garage etc....for the first week the temptation of having it to hand makes quitting that much harder.

2. Plan to not drink any booze and avoid places where others are smoking or drinking. Drinking reduces your inhibitions and makes it more likely you'll smoke.

3. Make sure you eat and drink well - do NOT worry about putting on a bit of weight....it's far easier to lose that later. Try to stick to 'clean' foods, fruit juices and lots and lots and lots of room water.

4. When you go out to do your shopping try to avoid the queues that also sell cigarettes.

5. It takes 72 hours for the nicotine to flush out of your system and you'll feel bad for the first week (chemical withdrawal). After this it gets a lot easier.

6. Even taking a single drag of a single cigarette starts the withdrawal in the worst way from the start again.

7. What I did was every time I got an urge to smoke I drank lots of room temperature water (too much chilled water gives you stomach cramps) and got on my rowing machine for 30 minutes and 'worked it through'.

I've now been totally nicotine free for almost 13 weeks and don't get cravings anymore. I feel a lot better and have noticed I can smell things again.

I think the best recent moment was when the 5 year old daughter of a family friend (who's blond and quite cherubic) said the other day I don't smell 'ickie' anymore....made my day.

If you REALLY want to quit it's quite simple and up to you, some very simple things will make your quitting much easier.

Regards and good luck.

[nsd_user663_1981]

Good positive suggestions here.

The adverts for NRT all say "will power required", and they are right.

The mind set you have can be crucial.

One problem with being an ex-smoker is, just when are you a non smoker? If you give up today, when do you pat yourself on the back and say "well done"

6 months, 1 year, 2 years? That's a long way off.

So, when you wake up, don't think about tomorrow, or the next ciggie. Just tell yourself that you're not going to smoke today. It's a decision you have made.

When you get to bed tonight, congratulate yourself on not smoking today.

When you wake up, make the decision again whether you are going to smoke today or not.

People always ask "how's it going" which makes you think about smoking, a negative.

A had a stock answer: "I didn't smoke yesterday, i'm not going to smoke today and i'll let you know about tomorrow when it gets here"

People soon stopped asking.

Good luck to all.