Stop Smoking Cold Turkey
How Hard Is It to Go Cold Turkey?
When people say cold turkey, they mean you throw away the last cigarette and just stop - without any support or nicotine replacement. That sounds like a good idea, but it might be a bit simplistic to overlook the nicotine addiction and its physical and emotional hold on your body.
Does it work? Yes, for some people, it does. Before you try it, you might want to ask a cold turkey survivor what it was like. You can bet it was a painful experience - both physically and emotionally.
You might be surprised to know that the cold turkey is the most common method tried and tried again, because it tends to have a low success rate on a long-term scale. If you’re a determined person who doesn’t want to spend the time or money on nicotine replacement therapies, you may want to choose this drastic approach.
Some people fear that they’ll get hooked on the nicotine replacements and just trade one expensive addiction for another. Other people want to get the withdrawal period over as quick as possible and would rather tough it out for a week than to take longer.
The worst withdrawal symptoms are usually over in the first week. After that time, the positive impact of the nicotine leaving your system is noticeable. If you can hold out for a month, you’ll know what it’s like to be virtually free of the hold nicotine has over you.
Researchers found that the typical cigarette craving lasts about five minutes. Granted, it’s an intense five minutes - but if you can hold out until it passes or find a way to distract yourself, then you can get past those cravings without nicotine replacements.
You can also choose to be part of a major event like the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke-Out. And you don’t have to wait for the actual event. The American Cancer Society has a Smoke-Out plan that you can use to start anytime here: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/Smokeout.asp.
Going cold turkey may be one of those times when being stubborn can work well for you. Just understanding and preparing for what you’re going to feel will help you get through this phase of smoking cessation.
Drinking water, exercising, and reaching out to a friend for support are other ways to help make the cold turkey process go smoother. You can also practice some deep breathing exercising so that you learn how to hold steady through the most intense cravings you feel at this time.
When you commit, you accept the reality that smoking is an addiction and you’re ready to be free. Your desire to break nicotine’s hold over your life is what’s going to make it possible to go cold turkey and win.
Get Endorphins From Another Source
There’s no finer contentment than what the body provides naturally with endorphins. For years as a smoker, you turned to nicotine as one of your primary sources of pleasure.
Now you want to eliminate smoking, so you have to find another way for your body and brain to experience pleasure. Even if you successfully went cold turkey from smoking, you never want to be deprived of endorphins.
As a smoker, your lungs were compromised - and so was your heart rate. You were out of breath if you had to climb a flight of stairs. Exercise for you was driving to the convenience store to buy more cigarettes.
Needless to say, this didn’t do anything good for your body. Now that your lungs are enjoying smoke-free living, you can actually find out some wonderful new ways to get those endorphins to kick in.
It’s all about movement - running, walking, bicycling, swimming and playing in the park with your children. Your body is better able to do more physical activity once you’re smoke-free and you get the added benefit of improved fitness.
A huge fear is that smoking cessation causes weight gain. That’s not completely true. Nicotine does speed up your system - and you might have spent more time going out to smoke than enjoying a healthy lunch, so you maintained your weight more easily.
Also, nicotine blunts your tastebuds, so when you’re smoke-free, you may find that food tastes better – and you want to eat more! The easy way to balance this equation is to speed up your metabolism the natural way – through regular exercise.
Even before you’re totally smoke-free, add in some light exercise like walking, swimming or yoga. Exercise is a natural stress reliever, mood lifter and confidence builder.
When you get a craving that’s really haunting you, tell yourself that you’re going to take a ten minute walk (around the block or around the office building) and afterward, you’ll decide if you want to smoke.
More likely than not, the endorphins that release during even a short period of exercise will overtake that craving. Building up your exercise regimen as you cease smoking also does a lot to get your body in shape after years of damage from smoking.
Regular, moderate exercise strengthens your heart and clears your lungs. As for the brain, movement sends more oxygen to it - so after exercise, you’re more alert and attentive and your brain functions at a higher level of efficiency.
If you aren’t sure how to begin a regular exercise program, consider hiring a personal trainer for just a few sessions to evaluate your fitness and to recommend an exercise plan.
Before you balk at paying the trainer’s hourly rate, do the math on what you use each month to spend on cigarettes. The money that went up in smoke every week can easily be spent on a personal trainer - with some left over to buy fine workout wear or a day at the spa as a reward!
