Smoking cessation can be difficult, but once you overcome this obstacle, your health, wellness, and quality of life can skyrocket. While you’re probably familiar with some of the most common ways to quit smoking, these five lesser-known tips might be new tools you can try to help you reach your goals.
1. Don’t Skip Meals
Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, so when you were smoking regularly, you probably didn’t get the urge to eat as often as you might while trying to quit. However, skipping meals could make you more tempted to pick up a cigarette. Instead, try to eat smaller meals throughout the day and keep healthy snacks on hand.
2. Extinguish Cravings
Although you may experience cravings for days, weeks, or sometimes longer after giving up cigarettes, each craving usually only lasts for about three minutes. Don’t expect to avoid cravings altogether, but rather, know to expect them and be ready to spend the next few minutes occupying your mind with something else.
Keep a clock handy if it starts to feel like hours are going by, when it’s really only been seconds.
3. Reduce Caffeine Intake
Nicotine causes your body to metabolize caffeine faster, so once you quit smoking, you’ll need to drink less coffee to get the same effect. For example, if you’re used to drinking two cups of coffee in the morning while smoking, reduce it to one. Otherwise, the excess caffeine might leave you with heightened anxiety, which can make quitting harder.
4. Make New Friends
Not that you have to ditch your old ones, but when you’re trying to quit smoking, it’ll be difficult to be around other people who smoke. For the time being, try to hang out with non-smoking friends, or ask your smoking friends not to do so around you.
5. Try an App
If you’re trying to quit smoking, there’s an app for that! There are actually several good ones out there that can help you fight cravings, provide you with a support system, and help you make a quit-for-good plan.
Just some of the top-rated smoking cessation apps out there are:
- Quit Smoking: Cessation Nation
- LIVESTRONG MyQuit Coach
- QuitNow!
- Smoke Free
- Kwit
