Daunting is it? Difficult is it? Impossible is it?

Why is quitting smoking so difficult?

Medically, the reason behind this is that the chemicals present in tobacco, chiefly nicotine, stimulate brain cells into producing more dopamine. This dopamine is another chemical under the influence of which one feels pleasure, a temporary calmness and a good sense of well being. Anger is suppressed and minor qualities, suc as a person’s concentration are improved. In fact, narcotic drugs such as nicotine and cocaine have a similar sort of affect on the mind and hence the rate of addiction is high.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being lowest),  what would you rate as the difficulty of quitting smoking? In a popular health survey, 76% of the smoking survey participants rated above 8 and only 43% of the non-smoking populace rated it near or less than 5. If you have been trying to quit smoking, then you probably know difficult and consuming it is. However, as the adage goes, no good things in life come easily. Therefore, if you want to live in a pain free, sensible and healthy world for the rest of your remaining years, it is best you though about quitting smoking, seriously.

So far, we have mostly approached the problem keeping the artificial and man-made route in mind. In other words, we have discussed nicotine replacement therapies, products and devices such as nicotine inhalers and patches or stop smoking aids such as Chantix or Zyban. This time, we have a totally fresh and practical view on the subject. Quitting smoking naturally is highly beneficial as it tries to give a much needed healthy change to a smoker’s lifestyle instead if simply stuffing more chemicals in the body.

Tips to quitting smoking absolutely naturally

Quitting smoking naturally is perhaps more difficult than quitting via various stop smoking aids. However, the various challenges and exercises which are involved are far more fun and frivolous that the whole idea will seem a visit to mother nature. Here is some practical advice which can help you to quit smoking naturally and effectively, making it fun at the same time.

Outline - This quit smoking plan will help to quit smoking by breaking up the habit into small components and then changing the factors which affect the overall lifestyle of a person and which leads to a person ending up as a smoker. If we accomplish in removing the reason due to which the person initially started smoking, then this smoking cessation plan will be highly useful and successful.

STEP 1: Divide and Rule

This step is the fundamental step which must be implemented before moving on to anything else. If you can break up your problem of quitting smoking into small, manageable components, then the problem will suddenly seem solvable. For example,

• If its your stressful lifestyle which is making you reach for that cigarette every time you lose your nerve, it’s time to kill the stress before it kills you.
• If its your peer group or social circle which influences you to smoke, then you must reconsider your company, no matter how difficult it is.
• If you smoke, simply because you think it is cool, time to kick the butt buddy. Get your lungs scanned and if you see a pair of black, toxified and eaten bags, you will change this mindset.

Think and you will come up with several reasons which lead you to smoking and if you make small adjustments to these reasons, then you will surely experience major positive differences within no time.

STEP 2: Diet Plan

After tweaking your lifestyle, it is time to change your eating habits. Eating foods and mineral which act against the forces of nicotine is a good idea to combat the problem of nicotine addiction. Logically, dependency on nicotine, which leds to cravings and withdrawals can be done away with if you free your body of these toxins and nicotine. Here’s how you can flush away the toxins:

1. lots of water - Drinking lots of water if usually the first option and we don’t need to explain why.
2. lots of fruits and vegetables - Eating a mixed variety of fruits and vegetables ensures that your body gets all the required and minerals needed as part of a balanced diet. Also, the fiber and juice of these foods helps to cleanse the internal organs of poisonous toxins.
3. eating proteins - Eating a high protein diet is a highly effective way of countering tobacco risks and burning extra calories. Eggs, fish, chicken and other lean meats are a good option. Avoid fatty foods as they have a tendency of absorbing nicotine.
4. Have important vitamins and supplements - Vitamin A and vitamin E help to quickly rebuild damaged cells and protect against cancer risks. Also, these two groups contain beta-carotene which helps in reducing risks of several types of cancers including lung cancer. Vitamin C helps to throw away nicotine particles instead of absorbing them. Selenium and zinc supplements helps in supporting these vitamins to act more efficiently. Magnesium and Calcium help to calm nerve endings, thus reducing dependency on nicotine. (NOTE: Having so many supplements can be irritating so it’s better to have fruits and vegetables which are rich in them.)

STEP 3: Exercise Routines

Bringing variety and variations to your exercise routine can be a part of your quit smoking program which can add dollops of fun. Go in for a mix of exercises, switching every month or doing everything once on a fixed day. You can choose from a whole plethora of different exercises to include in your plan. Some of them are:

1. Swimming
   
2. Yoga
3. Hiking and Camping
4. Adventure Sports
   
5. Aerobics
6. Heavy and light weight training
7. Contact/general Sports
8. Massage/Acupuncture
9. Running

All these exercises have a lot of health and physical benefits. If you can manage to do some of them, consistently, then the day of quitting smoking completely is not far way. It takes a lot of dedication and motivation to take part in so many exercises but think how refreshing the whole experience will be. If you do these exercises in a group or with someone else who is trying to quit smoking, so much more better. In most cases, it takes money also but think of how much you will be saving up when you quit.

These are some tips and suggestions which can surely help you to quit smoking naturally and effectively.