So the other day I read this faaah-bulous article on “The Real Reasons You Should Quit Smoking” (click!). The article discussed health reasons why one should quit, and I’ll admit that even though the risk of all types of cancer scare me (considering how much its affected my life (my own brush with cancer), and with loved ones getting sick with varying degrees of cancers), my reasons aren’t the same listed in the article. By the time I was done reading it i felt like i was being scared into quitting. No one should be scared to do anything. it should be a choice one makes because they want to. Not because they have to. Now, either I’m a unique person in my thinking, or I’m just stating the utterly obvious reasons to quit. I went as far as coming up with just a few reasons.I want to add really quick that now, if you’re a regular smoker, you know that standing outside in the elements gives you a sense of comraderie with other rebel smokers. There’s friendships, random conversations, cute girls asking for a light! It rocks! But at what point do you say enough is enough? So, okay…Some may sound like repeats, and may even sound like a commercial but whatever. This is what I’ve learned from the process. Without further delay, I present to you
Nikki’s List of Obvious Reasons to Quit Smoking
1. Quitting is for Losers! Okay so you’re a loser for not smoking. Congratu-friggen-lations. What do you lose? Bad breath. Smelly hair. Stinky fingers (you ever smell your hands after you get done? Enough to make you want to vomit) Yellow teeth. Countless hours of being looked at like a leper for standing out in the cold puffing on a stick. But what do you gain? See #2
2. Quitting smoking will gain you what? Not a whole lot if you ask the average smoker. But if you think about it, imagine all the spare change you’ll have. (don’t put it in a jar on top of your fridge, you might be tempted to spend it on beer or lattes. But then again, maybe that’s not so bad. Or worse, your kids will take it!!)Can you imagine what it would be like to walk into a room and NOT smell like an overly used ashtray from some cheap motel?? Breath. Breath? Yes, Breath. You won’t believe how much better you can actually breathe when you quit. You notice is within the first few days. It’s pretty amazing. You may not be able to run a marathon, but at least you will be able to do a flight of stairs or run to catch that bus! Praises. Tell people you’ve quit smoking and watch what happens. If you are running low on feeling good, strike a conversation and tell them how long you’ve been free. You’ll see what I’m talking about.
3. Weight loss. Okay so we’ve all heard the stero-typical rumour that has been around for ages: if you quit smoking, you’ll get fat because you’ll have nothing better to do and want to eat. They say it’s an oral fixation. I’m sorry, but that’s a sorry excuse. Look at yourself in the mirror. Go ahead. Run to the bathroom. I’ll wait…………..what did you see? A human. A body type that was made just for you. You are beautiful no matter WHAT your body type is. You think you’ll get fat if you quit? You may. But more than likely you won’t. Think about this. When do you smoke the most? On your ride to and from work? On Saturday evening at the bar? Or poker or “hen” night with your besties. Do you smoke at work? Not likely. (I’m sure some of you run down every so often to puff, but I’m going to tell you how to stop that after the list). It always amazed me how we can go for hours at work not smoking, or hours of sleep without craving a stick, but the minute we are coherent and slow down, we can’t stop thinking about it. One other point to ponder – remember when I said you’ll gain breath? Guess what! If you can breathe, you can exercise!! Okay, again, you don’t have to do a marathon or anything, but just those simple tasks can be very helpful. Put the remote on top of the TV and get up to change the channel. During commercial breaks do chair exercises, or walk up and down the stairs. Get an exercise ball and bounce on that during the Office. TRUST ME, you’ll feel better. And once you get into a routine of doing these things, you will NOT crave a stick.
4. Common sense…if you think about it, how easy, how much money, how much weight CAN you lose if you just stop? Let me ask you this: when you were a child, did you ever get scared of the monster under the bed or in the closet? Do you remember how you would wake up in the morning and realize just how silly you were to think that there was a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater lurking in the confined shadows of your room? If you take that very same mentality and apply it to smoking, you will wake up one morning and realize that you know what? You really WERE better off without those tobacco leaves coated in chemicals.
5. One final point – Do NOT, under ANY circumstances let guilt deter you from quitting. By guilt, I don’t beat yourself up if you have a smoke now and again. It’s okay, really. Don’t quit cold turkey if you have been smoking for a really long time, you’ll go batty and bug the hell out of your friends and family because your attitude will just suck.
So how do you not eat so much while quitting and how do you wean yourself off? It’s simpler than you think actually.
On food: Lemme guess, you’re the type that has been freaked out and think you will go crazy if you don’t eat just everything in site. You constantly have to have something in your mouth because your oral fixation is too much to handle? Replace the smoke with dum dums. They are compact enough to fit in your pocket, and are really tasty. AND you can actually suck on them in public facilities whereas you can’t with a cigarette.
Water. Lots and lots of water. Bet you didn’t know that the more you smoke the more dehydrated you get. I take a water bottle and just refill it. I drink way more water than the average “Joe” does, simply because it helps curb the craving for ciggies. When I’m tired of drinking water, I’ll grab one of those small packets of green tea or lemonaide and mix it with the water. Sometimes that’s more satisfying.
If you feel like you really can’t get by without SOME sort of snack…try snacking on homemade snack packs that include healthy things like, a cheese stick, carrots, apple slices and peanut butter and raisins. You’re getting what you need to be healthy and you’re NOT smoking. If you’re craving salty foods, try a bag of munchos. Or a small bag of chips. Personally I lOOOVE the taste of apples and baked lays. (but I can’t eat apples anymore).
On starting to quit: On the night before, have a cigarette to remember what it was like. Take note of everything, the good and the bad. The smell. The after-effect. Everything. Take one smoke out of the pack Get rid of the rest. You could toss it, but then if you fall off the wagon, you’ll just run right out and buy a fresh pack won’t you? The idea is to not throw them out, but make it harder to get to them. The staler the cig, the worst it tastes, and the easier it will be for you to quit. (I will hide it in the back of my car, so it’s too far to reach and since I’m too lazy to walk to it to get it, it’ll just sit there. I think I have a pack somewhere in there now! You could freeze it in a block of ice the same way you would a credit card, just be sure to seal the baggie up tight!! ) Instead of going to smoke at work, tell people you are quitting. They will compliment you and stop asking you (if you smoke alone, you should force yourself to just not go, resist the temptation and eat an apple instead), or they will glare at you and mutter things like traitor under their breathe because one more person has given it up. If you smoke in the car, just hold the cigarette between your fingers. Get rid of all flames, lighters, matches, even the cig lighter that’s in the dash. It will drive you crazy at first, but at least you wont have a way to light it. sometimes, for me, just holding the cigarette is enough. Sometimes not. Don’t hang out with people who never smoked who talk down about those who do. They will only undermine your progress. When you are at home and craving, get out the bouncy ball and bounce on it. the motion of going up and down and using the legs is an amazing feeling and will help you not only to quit but will improve your sex life as well.
Don’t give up. there is always hope out there. If none of these work, seek professional help. These words are just from one smoker to another. Remember that it’s all about little steps. Don’t ever try to do it all in one day, you didn’t learn to smoke comfortably within a day, so what makes you think you can quit comfortably within a day? I do have my moments of weakness, but I am still quitting. And I’m starting to feel physically, emotionally and financially better. This is my last attempt to quit. There have been several. But I am quitting because I want to, not because I have to. And I WILL stick with it this time. Good luck on your journey.
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