Quit Smoking: Tips for Success in Week One

I have been an off and on smoker for over 10 years now. I've always hated everything about the habit: the smell, the cost, and the effects. I suppose I began smoking in high school because it seemed cool and rebellious at the time, now 10 years later I am a full-blown addict. I've tried to quit about six times now; I've done well once or twice, managing to quit for a year and a half once, but something always pulls me back. This time I hope it will be different; it does indeed feel different already because I am bound and determined to drop this habit once and for all.

No matter how determined you are though, quitting smoking will never be easy; it is an addiction after all. And because smoking is an addiction, if you are to have success in quitting, you have to be ready to replace certain elements of the smoking addiction with more positive and healthy ones.

Here are a few easy tips for success in your first week of quitting smoking:

Eat

Food, food, food! This will be about all you'll think about in that first week of withdrawal; and that's good, you just want to be careful to keep it as healthy as you can. Be forewarned, you will likely gain a few pounds while quitting, but just know that in advance and be prepared with an exercise routine to shed the extra weight.

Texture for some reason, really figures highly in post nicotine food cravings. I find that crunchy, hard, and chewy things appeal most to me in the initial first two weeks of withdrawal. Chips, raw carrots, nuts, Slim Jims or jerky, Twizzlers, Dum-Dums, and sugarless gum are all wonderful choices.

Exercise

Exercising is a great way to keep yourself busy, boost endorphins, and shed the few extra pounds accumulated during the quitting process. Plus, the added bonus is, exercising will help to expand the lungs which shrink so badly from prolonged daily nicotine use; not to mention that it will also remind you how important your health is and how sorely it had been overlooked while smoking.

Walking, hiking, running, aerobics, dancing, etc are all great ways to get your daily does of endorphins and / or enjoy the outdoors.

Sleep

Sleep, especially in the first week, is a great asset. Slumber time is a built in period of several hours where your mind and body will not be craving nicotine, so use the first 48 hours to really catch up on sleep.

As your body detoxes off the nicotine, you'll realize just how much your sleep was affected by it. Nasal passages get blocked causing fitful sleep and snoring; tension is continually manifested in the body by the ebb and flow of intake and lack of nicotine (an inherent element in nicotine which keeps the body craving it). You'll sleep nice and sound once you take the nicotine out of the equation.

Keep Busy

This is very important to success; keep your mind and hands moving. Reading, writing, cleaning, handiwork, or art projects are all options that make use of the body (the hands, in particular) and mind.

Drink Lots of Water

Smoking deprives your body of all kinds of moisture, so drink lots of water; your skin will thank you and it keeps the hands and mouth busy.

Those are my best tips for success in the first week of quitting smoking; as a matter of fact, as I write this I've got a two pound bag of Twizzlers, 3 bottles of water, and 4 packs of gum handy. I will be continuing on with my no smoking plan and hope that you are doing the same.