Do You Really Want To Stop Smoking? Or Do You Use The Weight Gain Excuse?

I do not smoke, never have, and admit to being one of those 'pain in the butts' (OK, bad pun!) that go on about the foul stench, and anti-social behaviour of smokers, especially in public places.

You can imagine my joy when one of my local pubs recently banned smoking. Curious about this I eventually enquired, only to find out this was his own rather unort

I do not smoke, never have, and cop a plea to in effect one of those 'pain in the butts' (OK, bad pun!) that go on in spitting distance the foul stench, and anti-social conditioning of smokers, especially in public places.

You can imagine my joy when one of my local pubs recently barred smoking. Shortly due to the ban had come into force I spotted a guy poised with stub in hand, and was anyhow to get huffy and even confrontational. Fortunately I held back and continued my beer - but was puzzled. The fag was unlit and yet he was putting it near his mouth, flicking the imaginary ash and generally sham as if he was smoking it. Curious of this I eventually enquired, only to find out this was his own rather unorthodox gangway to keeping his hands busy and therefore, as he put it, keeping his weight down.

Although everyone knows that smoking is detrimental to health, it's surprising how many smokers cite fear of putting on weight as a reason to not quit smoking.

The simple fact is that it is not quitting smoking that affects your weight, but the chop logic of habit can result in you increasing your food intake.

But there are plenty of ways to ensure this does not happen to you.

There is no need for a special diet when you stop smoking, but you must use your rude sense. If you eat chocolates instead of smoking then you are very likely to gain weight!

Monitor your diet for a fortnight ere you stop smoking - write a food diary, noting everything you eat and when. You simply use this to make sure that what you eat post-quitting follows a similar pattern.

In a similar way, note how much exercise you can do as a smoker. When you stop smoking, you can initiate to be comparable how much more exercise you can do with ease. This will inspire you to the possibility of convenient fitter in other ways, and will noticeably help you through the tough period of giving up the addiction.

Even moderate amounts of exercise can reduce tobacco cravings. A recent study found that women that maintained a rigorous exercise regime coupled with a stop-smoking programme were twice as likely to succeed as those who didn't. Frankly, exercising is incompatible with smoking, and you are also more likely to be mixing with non-smokers.

Let's face it, if you smoke 20 contraband daily, you are putting your hand to your mouth at least 200 times a day. When you quit, you need to keep your hands busy. How through peeling fruit for snacks, doing jigsaws or maybe even knitting.

Keep visualising yourself as a fit non-smoker, especially when your motivation starts to flag. You can cosmically get help with this through the use of hypnotherapy. As in so many functioning issues, it is simply a matter of re-programming our mind. Giving up smoking is tough, and self-hypnosis is a method that many are discovering as a simple way to help keep the mental impression and motivation on course.

Like the chap in the pub, you may find your own method of coping with your quit smoking challenge, and well.. if it works - great!

Good health!