We said it before, and we’ll say it again: the top two resolutions will almost always be to quit smoking and to lose weight. Both are huge steps, and can be a real struggle. Here’s a fitperezcious reader who is finding it hard to do the former:
NYE Resolution to quit smoking. Yes, made it a week or so. But struggling, really struggling. I cant go out, I sit at home, I cant drink otherwise I will smoke – should I use a patch?
And here’s Craig Nabat, who happens to be an expert on that very subject:
Glad to hear you haven’t smoked. I am not a fan what-so-ever of using nicotine replacement products like the patch to quit smoking. The usage of nicotine in any form will retrigger the smoking addiction again and you’ll desire the same amount of daily nicotine that you were used to. The quit rate with the nicotine patch is not very high.
It is a good idea to avoid social places where smoking occurs or hanging around friends that still smoke. Following in the same patterns you did as a smoker will make it more difficult to quit. Quitting smoking is a lifestyle change as well. Give yourself time to gain more strength before you are around smokers again.
Use this time for focusing on being healthy and detoxifying your body. Workout every day, get massages, do yoga, organize your home or apartment, spent time with family, take a vacation, call old friends, start a new project, conceptualize a new business, or donate your time to help others. The bottom line is you must keep busy, so you are not thinking non-stop about smoking. Eventually the thought of smoking will fade out of your memory as if you never smoked.
You can do it, reader!
Craig’s advice is solid — distract yourself. Do those things you keep putting off, or take all that money you’re saving from not smoking and take a vacation!
Good luck and happy new year!!
For more tips to quit smoking, feel free to tweet Craig questions @freedomlaser or write to [email protected]!
[Image via AP Images.]
