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There is much more to the benefits of stopping smoking than merely quitting an unhealthy habit. 

In putting away the old, you are free to begin the new.  In fact, by adopting new healthy habits you can greatly increase your odds of success in stopping your old unhealthy habits.   

Your 30 day “trial”.

It is generally accepted that to break an old habit or to “lock in” a new habit takes just about 30 days.  Let’s put that into perspective , all it will take for you to stop smoking and start living a healthy lifestyle is just one month!  It is important to recognize that such a radical change in your lifestyle seems difficult …but you don’t need to look at it as “forever”.  Just give yourself one month, a 30 day trial, to go all out in changing yourself for the better.  The magic of it is that after the month has passed everything will seem different to you.  You will feel so much better, and be so proud of yourself, that the next few months (or years!) will look easy.

Beginning day #1.

Consider the hundreds of ways in which you can change your daily routine .  Think about your most common triggers: do you normally smoke after dinner?  Plan to take a walk instead.  If you always kick off the day with coffee and a cigarette, switch to green tea and begin a morning stretching routine.  How you change and what you change isn’t that important .  What is important is that you don’t just stop your old behaviours…you need to replace your old behaviours.  Practice being a healthy, active, non-smoker and after a while you will become one!

Here are three “tools” that will help you in achieving this.

1) – The first thing you need is an anti-smoking aid .  Right now you still have a strong hand-to-mouth pattern that you will need to be eased out of.  I like anti-smoking aids that give you something to physically do…any kind of distraction (chewing gum, peppermint sticks, toothpicks, mouth sprays) that you can use when you have a strong craving will help satisfy the urge.

2) – Nutritional supplements.  Your health has been greatly compromised from years of smoking .  It is remarkable how your body can heal itself after you make the commit to quit smoking, but you could still use all the help you can get.  Look for immune system boosters and anti-inflammatory products.  Multi-vitamins, resveratrol supplements, green tea, and fish oil capsules are all great examples. 

3) – Diet and exercise.  Anti-smoking aids and nutritional supplements can only take you so far…there are no “magic pills”.  Diet and exercise are the most invaluable tools available to help make your life better.  They are the ultimate “good habits” that will help you quit your bad habits. 

This is a classic example of a time when you need to keep it simple: choose an easy to follow, complete fitness program that motivates you!   You need to be able to just follow a predefined set of workouts and meals plans without having to do much planning yourself.  This isn’t the time for a crash diet or to start training for a marathon!  The program you choose should have healthy, balanced meals and brief (20-30 mins) workouts 3-5 days a week.  Just do a little research and you will find that there are many quality fitness programs available. 

Remember the goal: replacing bad habits with good.  I’m not asking you to get into peak physical condition right away.  What’s important is that you lay the groundwork that will shape the new you.  Learning to cook new healthy foods and seeing even a tiny improvement in your workouts will focus you on the good things that are happening to you.

Don’t count on willpower.

Rare is the person that has the sheer willpower to stop smoking without following these guidelines.  Even if you believe you could, why not make it easier on yourself?  At the end of a month you will have achieved so much, and you will be able to look at the months ahead with confidence.