How to quit smoking over the weekend

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The daily routine for those who have decided to give up a bad habit.

Monday is an already difficult day, so it is better to schedule parting with cigarettes for another time. However, closing in at home and being alone with boredom and apathy is also not the best solution. Here is a list of things to do that will help you not only take a day without a cigarette, but also make sure you want to quit smoking.

Give up cigarettes before bed the night before

After 8 hours without smoking, the level of nicotine in the blood drops by half - at this time, there is a strong craving for its replenishment. She makes people grab a cigarette even before breakfast. This is often why the strategy “I wake up tomorrow and I don’t smoke” does not work.

If you still haven't quit, set your last cigarette time an hour or two before bed. So the peak of nicotine starvation will occur while you are still sleeping, and it will be easier not to smoke in the morning.

Prepare a light breakfast

The more useful and interesting it is, the better. In order not to provoke the desire to smoke, do not fill your stomach and replace coffee with plain water or weak tea. Help your body cope with breakdowns by adding the following foods to your breakfast:

• Banana or a couple of slices of chocolate. They stimulate the production of happiness hormones that you clearly will not have enough.
• Citrus. Nicotine interferes with the absorption of vitamin C in the body. If you quit smoking, you will clearly feel the consequences of a lack of it, so stock up on it now.
• Eggplant, green peppers and tomatoes contain nicotine in small doses. Coping with the psychological urge to smoke is unlikely to help, but it will ease the withdrawal symptoms.
• Milk. After a glass of this drink, you simply will not want to smoke if you remember how dairy products spoil the taste of cigarettes.

Refresh your apartment

Open all windows and do a wet cleaning. You will already notice that it has become easier to breathe.

Wash your curtains. If you've smoked at home, it's best to do it with your hands. The color the water will turn into should make you think.

Clean up where you used to smoke. Wash ashtray, remove lighters, wipe surfaces.

Get yourself in order

Take a shower and cleanse your body thoroughly. Use a scented gel and loofah or scrub. After washing, moisturize your entire body with a cream. Smokers tend to have dry skin and often become more dehydrated after smoking cessation.

Put on clean clothes, and send what you have worn off to the wash. Bed linen and towels are also there.

Go to the park

Firstly, the closeness to nature and the abundance of fresh air will help the process of cleansing the lungs. With a short smoking history behind you, you will already feel many new smells that you have forgotten about.

Secondly, on weekends, the parks are quite crowded and there are many families with children. This should keep you from the temptation to smoke. You didn't smoke in front of your children, did you?

When you feel a strong urge to smoke, play for time: drink water, check your smartphone, chew gum. The sudden impulse will recede after 5-10 minutes, and will be repeated less and less.

By the way, do not avoid the company of smoking friends. If you don't feel like talking about your plans just yet, use your poor health as an excuse. At the same time, notice how your buddies will periodically look for a place to take a drag on a cigarette.

Relax actively

Rent a bike or ski when it comes to winter. Join the ball players. When your muscles and thoughts are busy, craving for nicotine will not remind you of itself. And the release of endorphins from physical activity will replace the imaginary pleasure of a smoked cigarette.

Use public transport

Select the next destination further away from where you are. Observe people: now you can easily distinguish smokers in a crowd of passengers. And most likely, the smell emanating from them will be unpleasant to you.

Have dinner at a cafe

Again, choose family-friendly locations. Although the law prohibits smoking in all establishments, in restaurants and bars you may be confused by a group of smokers at the entrance.

Try something new to yourself. By this time, your taste buds will begin to gradually recover their functions. You will begin to feel the tastes more vividly - it's time to pamper yourself.

Go to the cinema for an evening show

Evening is another obstacle for those who quit smoking. The desire to relax and be alone with your thoughts makes you again reach for a cigarette. Therefore, your goal is to occupy this evening. And all subsequent ones too.

Pick an interesting movie, stock up on popcorn and head to the cinema. Don't use cola: the caffeine in it can increase nicotine cravings. Give preference to juice or plain water.

Analyze your day

Back home, write down all the thoughts and feelings that have visited you during the day. Indicate at what moments you wanted to smoke, and when you did not even remember about it. Answer honestly, is this weekend any less bright without a cigarette? Are you proud to have resisted temptation?

Save these notes and re-read immediately upon awakening. Keep them handy throughout the next day to keep you motivated.

Keep finding interesting things to do over the next few days. And make sure that life without smoke is much more colorful than it seemed before.