Stop Smoking Plan: The Solution
The following plan is designed to last about five weeks - the length of time it takes for withdrawal to stop. There are two main parts: the diet, which you carry out for a fortnight (or more depending on the method you choose to give up); and the controlling cravings plan, which you should carry out for the whole five weeks. But, first, you need to start preparing yourself.
Preparation
Getting into the right mind-set to stop smoking is very important. You have to be focused on what you are doing, why you're doing it and how you're doing it. Having all this sorted out will make sticking to the programme much easier. The good news is all this takes just two steps.
Step l
Decide why you want to quit smoking and write those reasons down - all of them. If you get stuck, think about headings like Health, Looks, Finances, Family, Things I'll be able to do. Now copy these reasons onto another piece of paper headed 'What Will Happen When I've Stopped Smoking', but change the wording of any negative statements into something positive. For example, if you've written 'I won't have to spend money on cigarettes', change that to 'I will have extra money to spend on anything I like'. Or, if one of your reasons is 'I won't cough every morning', change that to 'My lungs will feel healthier and less congested'. It may sound strange, but, psychologically, positive thinking is usually much more effective than negative. Every morning, read that piece of paper and focus on each of the statements.
Step 2
Now you need to decide how you are going to stop smoking. There are a few methods that you can use, but three work best with the Stop Smoking Plan. Cold turkey'. This means just stopping without any aids. It's a good approach, but it's also the most intense because you will probably suffer strong nicotine withdrawal for 24-48 hours and milder symptoms for a week to ten days. Using the diet detailed on page 85 will help reduce these, which will make things easier. You should start the diet the day before you decide to stop, then stick to it for at least a fortnight. Also use the controlling cravings tips to help you tackle any urges to smoke that you may develop and keep this up for the next five weeks.
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Nicotine replacement (in the form of patches or gum, for example) supplies a dose of nicotine to the body without you having to ingest smoke. This helps prevent the withdrawal symptoms while you work on stopping the habit.of smoking. It's okay to use such a replacement treatment on this detox plan, since nicotine is one of the least harmful ingredients in cigarettes. If you are using NRT, the controlling cravings section is the most important part of the plan for you. Use NRT for as long as you need; then, as you start to come off it, you should begin to use the diet to help you beat the withdrawal symptoms that will occur.
Cutting down. Many experts say this is one of the hardest ways to give up smoking because it just prolongs your addiction. However, if you're afraid of withdrawal, it can give you a safety net. If you're going to use this method, you'll be on the diet for five weeks. While you do this, you should aim to reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke progressively by one-fifth per week. For a 20-a-day smoker, this means either reducing your intake by four cigarettes a day for the whole week (that is, reduce to 16 per day for the first week, 12 per day for the second week, and so on), or cutting down progressively by one cigarette a day on the first four days of the week (that is, 19 on Monday, 18 on Tuesday, 17 on Wednesday, 16 on Thursday, stay at that level for Friday to Sunday, then start reducing again on Monday).
Start with the cigarettes you feel you need most first because if you can break the habit of these, while you have the safety net of being able to smoke if you want one, it's going to be much easier when you get to the last week. Also use the controlling cravings tips to keep you from lighting up when you shouldn't.