Beyond meditation, breathing exercises and emotional balancing, there are more physical activities that can help reduce your discomfort when you quit smoking.
Here are a few more ideas:
- Exercise
Since most people don’t smoke while they exercise, getting active is a great way to distract yourself from your desire to smoke.
How to do it: First speak to your doctor to be sure physical activity is safe for you. Once you’ve gotten the green light, consider the types of exercise that would be most appealing to you. For the first few weeks of being a non-smoker, you may want to avoid very intense exercise unless you are already in great shape, because overdoing it will only make you more miserable. Instead, consider lighter forms of exercise that will get you moving but not tax your body too much, like walking, swimming, golfing, or dancing.
Exercise helps in several ways. First, it helps you burn off feelings of irritability and tension through physical movement, plus induces feelings of peacefulness and well-being when those endorphins start to flow. Plus it helps you expand your lung capacity again, which is likely diminished if you have been smoking for a long time.
- Rest
Quitting smoking is draining to say the least, on physical, emotional and mental levels. One of the best ways to help yourself get through it is to allow plenty of time to rest. Avoid quitting smoking during an extremely hectic or stressful time in your life. If you can, set your quit date for a time when you’ll be on vacation, or at least have a lighter schedule than normal.
Don’t be surprised if during the first several days of your quit, you feel very tired and have trouble concentrating. Nicotine is a stimulant that your body has become dependent upon and when you stop ingesting it, you’ll probably feel like someone has “pulled the plug” and most of your energy has drained away. If this happens, simply allow yourself to rest as much as possible. Treat your fatigue just like you would the flu or a bad cold. Drink plenty of fluids and take it easy until it passes.
- Distraction
Another helpful technique is to keep your mind focused on other things while you’re in the early stages of quitting. It’s best to choose activities that would make it difficult to smoke while you do them, like spending time in public places that do not allow smoking, or cleaning out and organizing your attic. It may also help if you keep something similar in size or shape to a cigarette in your hands during idle moments, like a pen or straw.
More than any other coping method, however, your own attitude and determination will have a lot to do with your success or failure in becoming a non-smoker. If you want it badly enough, you’ll be willing to deal with unpleasant side effects as they come up. Just keep reminding yourself that the symptoms are temporary. In as little as a few weeks, you’ll be feeling much stronger physically, mentally and emotionally.
Filed under Quit Smoking by on Feb 10th, 2010. Comment. 
One of the most common excuses smokers use to avoid quitting is the fear of gaining weight. This is a valid fear, because it does seem like many people who quit smoking put on a few pounds (and some put on a lot more than a few!). Why is that? And does it have to happen to everyone who quits smoking?
First, understand that nicotine is a stimulant, and as such it does increase your metabolism a wee bit. Naturally, when you quit smoking and no longer ingest nicotine on a regular basis, your metabolism will slow down slightly. However, when I say “slightly,” I really mean SLIGHTLY. Not enough to make you balloon up to the size of a blimp.
Even better, the effect is temporary and there are simple steps you can take to help keep your weight in balance.
- Drink plenty of water.
Smokers are often dehydrated as it is, which makes your body hold tighter to the water it does have. One good way to get your body to release excess water is to drink plenty of water! As contradictory as it may sound, your body will easily let go of retained water when you keep yourself well-hydrated. The general recommendation is 64 ounces per day, and more if you are overweight already.
- Clean up your diet.
The temptation to snack on sweet and salty foods when you quit smoking may be strong, but try to avoid doing so. Instead lean more toward plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats. Instead of chips, try snacking on small amounts of nuts and seeds (because they are so packed with protein and fat, you don’t need more than an ounce or two at a time – way less than the entire bag of chips you would have gobbled). Rather than candy, try some fresh or dried fruit. Also avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugary soda pops.
- Start an exercise regimen.
Check with your doctor first to be sure you can safely withstand physical activity, and then get moving! You’ll probably want to keep it moderate to begin with, like brisk walking or swimming. Don’t be surprised if your lung capacity has greatly diminished if you’ve been smoking for a long time – but it will usually come back the longer you remain a non-smoker and continue to exercise regularly. As you get stronger, gravitate toward more strenuous forms of exercise, like weight training, dancing, or running. The better you feel physically, the less tempted you’ll be to abuse your body with junk food or cigarettes.
- Don’t replace one addiction with another.
Sometimes when people quit smoking they pick up another bad habit to replace it, like eating pounds of chocolate or gulping down those mega-double-whipped-chocolate-caramel-1000-calorie lattes. Your primary objective in quitting smoking is to look and feel better while adopting more healthful habits. Replace cigarettes with carrot or celery sticks, salads, fresh water, and deep breathing. You’ll feel much better than you would by giving in to the temporary buzz lattes and chocolate provide.
- Don’t sweat a few pounds.
If you DO see the scale go up a few notches, don’t let it get you down! Remember that it’s temporary. The more you focus on getting your body healthy and strong, the more quickly those pounds are going to drop back off again. Better yet, don’t even step on the scale while you’re working through the withdrawal from quitting smoking. Who needs the pressure? Instead, keep affirming that you are doing something wonderful for yourself, and you’ll be in much better health in the long run.
Filed under Quit Smoking by on Feb 1st, 2010. Comment.
Hi, my name is Karen and I am a non-smoker. Having kicked my addiction to nicotine and cigarettes I am living a healthier no smoking lifestyle. If you would like to be a non-smoker, too, join me on your quest to find the best solution to help you stop smoking.
