repost about smoking

First thing is I started smoking outside and not associate smoking with anything ,I did not smoke and drink coffe or visit with friends, or while on the phone, or watching tv, or anything else.  I chose a tree in my backyard.   I would stand there under an umbrella if it was raining, in the heat and even in the dark.  You have to stop using cigarettes as something that you enjoy,  you have to start making it less pleasant.

You are going to want to smoke, admit it, and just go on from there. I had a pack of those little straws with the coolade stuff in them and those helped with the hand mouth movement. I was told that the hand to mouth habit was just as hard to break as the actual smoking.

Drink lots of water and lots of orange juice, the water flushes toxins from your body and so does the orange juice and the orange juice starts replacing vitamin c that smoking leeches from the body.

When you want a cigarette then you have to do something else to get your mind off of it. The craving does not last but about 3 minutes then it leave. It will come back but again it does not last but about 3 minutes. And the cravings get farther and farther apart.

Find something to do with your hands, like crochet, needlepoint, gameboy, anything that is different from what you have been doing. Try to pinpoint your trigger points and then try to change them.  If you want a cigarette after eating then go for a walk, or water your plants, or play ball with your children or dog.  Anything that you can do to get you past the crave point, just do something else.

My worst time was after eating . So after meals I would get a bottle of water and go for a short walk around my house . Then I started coming to the computer and playing at pogo. Just anything to break the habits.

When I told my dh I was quitting he never smoked in the house again. And it is only in the last couple of weeks that he will smoke in the truck if we are going somewhere. Then he puts the window down a bit, but it no longer entices me, I don't pay it any attention. Then he quit after a few months of me not smoking,

When I want a cigarette, I tell myself sharply NO-I DON'T SMOKE ANY MORE. I know that sounds sounds like it would not work but the sound of my voice out loud kinda reinforces me.

More about the hand to mouth, hand movement is a hard habit to break and the person I talked to said to make your smoking hand into a fist. And at the place where your thumb curls around place your mouth and inhale , hold the breath and then exhale. And that would relieve some of the urge. I thought the only thing this would do would be to make me look stupid, but I was willing to give it a chance so, I did it and it does help a little.

When I quit smoking I had already cut back a little and had already started to drink water and Orange juice, and had started smoking outside,then I got up on May 7 and never smoked at all.

Oh another thing that helped for about 3 months I put my cigaretter money in a clear glass and put that where I could see it. And I kept it and I would look at it when the urge would get bad. That is a visual item that encouraged me to continue on. I finally took the money and dh and I went out celebrate.

I know this is long but one more thing, I have read that people that exercise have a higer chance of quitting smoking than those that do not exercise.

I think 3 to 6 days is all it takes for the nicotine to get out of your body, and after that it is just habit that makes you want a cigarette. So you need to figure out what you can do to break the habits.

I am sure glad we quit.  With the economy as bad as it is  we would really be financially suffering if we still bought cigarettes.  I hope this helps someone.  While these tips are not a magic spell that takes the urge away it does help. 

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