Stop smoking remains the wisest decision to preserve your health. Last November, on the occasion of Tobacco Free Month, did you quit smoking? It’s a first victory, but the path to keep your good resolutions is sometimes strewn with pitfalls. Before saying to yourself that you will never hold out and that you are not far from having a little toast, it is imperative to settle down calmly and refresh your memory.
List the benefits observed on his body since stopping
When you have succeeded in stopping what can be considered an addiction, you must first show kindness to oneself and be happy with the result. It is normal to feel frustrated and deprived because the more time passes, the more we remember only the aspects of the cigarette that we considered positive. “We ask ourselves, and we take stock of what we have gained in terms of benefits on the body. In general, we see that we have recovered the taste, the smell, and the breath! So at the slightest desire, we remember this huge step we took to improve our health and well-being“, recommends Dr. Olivier Smadja.
During a sudden urge to smoke, one can also remember the motivations that led to quitting to restore energy. Why did I decide to quit? Remember tobacco smells that permeate clothesparts, hair, smoker’s breath… and which become problematic.
Give yourself a gift with the money saved by buying more cigarettes
Then we take a look at his wallet. We calculate the number of packs we haven’t bought since the shutdown. We multiply the price of a package by the number of days, months or weeks depending on the case and we obtain the figure of euros saved (as a reminder, Alliance Against Tobacco revealed the amount spent by smokers each year). “We can buy something with which we really enjoy to mark this victory. We can put this amount saved in a weekend in the sun, a garment, in short, what makes you happy. This quantified and concrete awareness will allow you to realize that it would be a shame to “plunge“. It’s important to reward yourself, because the process is not easy and we’ve been getting there since November!”, adds the tobacco specialist.
Anticipate relapses
Another important piece of advice: identify when cravings return. “Is it more in the morning? After eating? If the cigarette on waking is missing, it means that the addiction was very strong. So perhaps the doses of nicotine substitutes should be adjusted and the treatment modified. If the urge is triggered during an evening with friends, it is necessary to remind others that you have quit and explain to them that you are proud of it. cigarettes !”, advises the specialist.
- Read also How to avoid relapses
Move more and eat more!
If you haven’t taken up physical activity, you need to seriously think about it. “It is not a question of complicating life but of integrating movement into one’s daily life without feeling it as a constraint. We can just increase the duration of the daily walk at a good pace, climb more stairs, avoid escalators, if we have a dog, walk it regularly. And if you feel like it, you get into sport by choosing a discipline that gives you pleasure and not something that forces you or forces you to travel impossible…”suggests Dr. Smadja.
Finally, the problem often raised by ex-smokers is related to food. Sometimes, we compensate for a very addictive desire to smoke by snacking. Again, no unrealizable constraints or injunctions. We adopt common sense rules. During meals, we include a starch and a vegetable with proteins for their satiating effects. The more you have a full stomach, the less you will be tempted to snack.
- Also Read: Can You Quit Smoking Without Gaining Weight?
But sometimes, despite all this advice, it happens that the cravings are too strong and less and less manageable. “In this case, it is better to go back to your tobacco specialist because that means that the nicotine replacement may be underdosed. In any case, never be left alone with your difficulties because quitting smoking is the best decision to make. for your health!” concludes the doctor.
To help you hold on, there are also specific applications for quitting smoking which can be downloaded for free, in particular on Tabac info service. Ready-made dashboards can prevent you from cracking. See here Which applications to quit smoking?
Thanks to Dr Olivier Smadja, tobacco specialist for Tabac Info Service.
