I have quit smoking, can anyone give any good pointers on fighting cravings? -
I am trying to contiue being smoke free. I quite two weeks ago on the patch. Does anyone have any good ideas on how I can fight cravings better? Also I would like to wing off the patch earlier what do you think and whats the best way if you think its a good idea?
I smoked two packs a day for 20 yrs. I had tried to quit several times and always went back. Out of nowhere, I just decided to quit. I placed 2 full packs of cigs on top of my fridge, and started walking. The hardest part was the hand to mouth thing. I then went to drinking lots of water. I always had a bottle of water in my hand for the hand to mouth thing...not a large bottle, just a small one so its not annoying. I then started getting a new sense of smell. My hair smelt good along with everything else. I never turned back, as I gained so much by quitting smoking. I-m not talkin bout weight here either. I lost 20 lbs, was running 5 miles a day, and was healthier than ever. I don-t have time to exercise now, but the smell makes me sick to my stomache. I never thought at the time, there would ever be a day that I didn-t have my cigs. Anyway, you don-t need a patch, just good ole water and keeping busy. Good Luck to which ever way you decide works for you though!!
First off, good for you! YAY!
Anyways, my mom bought low cal sugar free hard candies, so she could suck on one when she felt like she wanted to smoke.
I bought a lot of Certs, the fruit ones, and ate one of those whenever I had a craving.
It not only worked, it-s making me crave a Certs right now!
Seriously, it helped a lot.
Remember the four D-s
?delay acting on the urge to smoke. Don-t open a pack or light a cigarette. After five minutes, the urge to smoke weakens and your determination to quit will come back
?deep breathe. Take a long slow breath in, breathe slowly out again. Repeat three times
?drink water. Sip slowly, holding it in your mouth a little longer to savor the taste
?do something else. Take your mind off smoking by taking action; keep your hands busy, put on some music, go for a walk or ring a friend.
Good luck
This page talks about why you have cravings. I-m surprised if the patch worked for you cause it didn-t help at all when I was quitting. This worked pretty well - I-ve been smoke free for a few months now.
http://www.expert-advice-online.com/quit…
Hope this helps,
ID
Chew gum, or eat mints.
Do not drink alcohol.
Keep yourself active.
Put yourself in places where smoking is prohibited.
Stay away from smokers (if possible) until the craving subsides.
Research what the lungs look like in a smoker ~yuck~
Good luck - be healthy and well !!
When you get the craving pray and ask God to remove the craving and also get mind on something else like doing a hobby or take a walk. I think prob it would not be good to try and wean off the patch too soon or you risk the chance of being unsuccessful in your quiting.
Hang out with friends that are encouraging you to hang in there. That is the best bet. Also, pray to God to give you the courage and strength during this time of temptation.
Yeah my dad smoked for 38 years 2 1/2 packs a day. He did the patch and it didn-t work and then he did it again and it worked. First of all try to stay away from stressful things, and yes buy candy, I-d go with sugar-free also. I-m sorry to tell you this but you will gain weight... So unless your happily married I-d hit up the gym! =)
EDIT: My dad took candies with him to suck on, so he can get his mind off cigarette-s for about a year or two after he did smoke like 2 cigarette-s a month but then when he went out he just didn-t care anymore. He could go to the casino and everyone could be smoking and he don-t care. Also don-t you feel more like you can breathe now, and you don-t wake up all clammy?
remember what cancer looks like, in the mouth, or in the lungs or your breasts removed.