For thirty years I subjected myself to the same routine… I woke up, reached for the little box that was never more than an arms length away, lit up and began my day. Understand, by this point there was no thought to this process, it was literally second nature.
Now, I am not going to sit here and preach about how bad smoking is for you. Yes, it causes cancer (along with a plethora of other things), makes your teeth yellow, skin dull, you stink, blah, blah, blah… It’s 2016, if you don’t already know these tid-bits of information, you’re a moron. 
I was, I knew it and still proceeded to light up every chance I got. Was I suicidal? No. Then why was I killing myself? In my twisted mind, I wasn’t. Hell, when I have to worry about whether or not the vegetables I am buying from the grocery store are full of GMO’s and if some cancerous boil was going to form on the side of my head due to a bell pepper I may have eaten in my quest to become “healthy”, taking a drag felt justified.
Understand, this was not my first time at the rodeo, I had failed miserably in the past to kick the habit. I tried everything from hypnosis, Chantix, e-cigs and acupuncture, to cold turkey. Bottom line, I wasn’t ready to stop.
This time I made a plan….
- I chose a date that I wanted to be completely smoke free and kept it to myself. Why did I keep it to myself? Well, I learned from my past experiences when you inform everyone of this change the constant barrage of “How ya doin?”, “Have you lit up yet?”, etc… gets old real fast. You are cutting back and trying to get the urges OUT of your mind, so when others bring it up they easily trigger a craving.
- I then stopped smoking in my home. If I wanted a cigarette, I would have to take my butt (pun intended) outside.
- After a while, I stopped smoking in my car. For me, this was the hardest aspect of my plan. Even though I had given myself time to accept these changes, for some reason this one took the longest to grasp. Waiting at stoplights, idiot drivers, traffic, etc… all triggered the “crave-wave”(*the overwhelming desire to light up. Your body literally tenses up and tingles at the same time and depending on the intensity, it can be hard to speak). Fun times!!
When the moment came that I realized I had gone 3 full days without smoking in my car, it truly was a great feeling. To celebrate this little milestone, I went and had the former moving ashtray detailed. Yes, every aspect of my life was becoming cleaner – Go Me!
My “plan” was working and there was only one thing left to do… quit completely. I had now cut down immensely when it came to my nicotine intake and knew what my triggers were. 
No caffeine, no soda, no booze and I also knew that (for a while) I would have to keep my distance from many of my dear friends who also smoked if I was ever going to truly stop.
And so it began…
I stocked up on fruit, bottled water, veggies and lavender essential oil. I hunkered down and didn’t leave my house for 4 days except to walk my dog and go to the gym. Granted, there are those of us that have to go to an office daily and do not have the luxury of hiding out for 4 days. That being said, set your “plan” to begin on a Thursday. Smoke your last cig on Wednesday night with a good meal and a nice glass of wine or you favorite alcoholic beverage. Wake up on Thursday morning and do not approach the coffee pot (automatic trigger). Start drinking your water, if you want to infuse it with your favorite fruit that is even better! But, steer clear of sugar and caffeine. Head to work and keep reminding yourself that you can do this! Around mid afternoon is when you will start to feel the detox kick in; this is mild compared to what is in store for you over the next few days so, ride it out and stay positive! Take Friday off and cancel your weekend plans… You will thank me.
I am not gonna lie, once the actual detox began I was in hell… I take that back, the first day was purgatory. I still had a significant amount of nicotine in my system, so there was just some mild irritability. I thought to myself, “I got this! Piece of cake” – ha! I walked the treadmill for a while to get the blood flowing and drank more water than I ever have in my life to get the toxins moving. I was doing ok…
Then, day 2 arrived like a 2×4 to the head. My mouth would not stop watering and the withdrawal was real. Everything set me off, from having to speak to someone on the phone, to the way the wind blew…it was all bad.
Day 3 was even harder… I cried, yelled, had full on conversations with myself and at times it was literally hard for my eyes to focus. How I did not cave at this point is beyond me?? I will admit, I popped a few Premysn (one every 3 hours!) and they did help with the mood swings. I guess to sum it up, the first week is pretty much PMS on crack.
My biggest waves came after I ate. UGH… For many people, when they quit smoking it’s like pulling the cord on an inflatable raft. They may have greatly reduced their chances of lung cancer, but obesity is no picnic either… WATCH WHAT YOU EAT. At the beginning, I did my best to wait as long as I could to have my first meal of the day because once you open that door, it cannot be closed. If I ate breakfast, I would snack all day. Get all the junk out of the house. Understand, nicotine is a natural diuretic so no matter what you will gain some water weight considering you are removing that toxin from your body. Relax, you will balance it out once your body gets through the initial shock and back to reality.
For the first few weeks your energy level will be through the roof, so get to sweatin! 
Exercise as much as possible and if you can, hit the steam room or sauna at your local gym or spa. Be sure to steer clear of salty foods, they will only add to the bloat and if you have a sugar craving, grab some blueberries. They are good for you, help with the “hand to mouth” distraction and are a natural anti-inflammatory.
Now, whether this works for you is not something I can guarantee, I do not have a crystal ball. But, if you can get through the first week, the rest is gravy. Where I screwed up in the past was thinking, “I got through the roughest patch, just one won’t hurt”… Remember, we are addicts. The next thing you know your standing in line at 7-11 with lighter in hand waiting for your next fix. Don’t do it…
A few other tips for the first week:
- Stay off social media. Something is bound to aggravate you…
- Brush your teeth after every meal
- Drink white grapefruit juice when a craving hits. A nutritionist at Great Earth Vitamins told me this and it actually helped.
Well…This is what I went through and it was no walk in the park, it still isn’t but I have remained 90% smoke free. I have slipped when I had a few drinks and picked one up socially here and there, but the pack-a-day addiction is behind me. Either way, if I can help even one person with my “plan”, that is good enough for me.
Best of luck to us all!
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