I would like to refer you to an article in Science NOW the online Science Magazine. It's title is "Why Smokers Are Skinny" and it reports on recent research that Behavioial neuroscientist Marina Picciotto of Yale University and her associate Yann Mineur have done. They were stuying one particular nicotine reeptor and Yann Mineur noticed that a side effect of this receptor was the mice were eating less. This article explains more about this interesting research. Anyone that has struggled with their weight while quitting will be interested in their findings I think. The article in Science NOW was by Sarah C.P. Williams on June 9, 2011.
Sometimes when quitting tobacco, it helps to understand what is happening in your body as you live with the down side of cravings, head aches, weight gain, and feeling unwell. These happen along side the good things that immediately happen which are food tastes and smells better, you breath easier, and immediately have improved lung and heart health with a growing confidence in yourself. I hope you will find and read this article and that it will help you to understand what is happening to you and allow you to use the information to work on appetite control.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Planning to Quit as your New Years Resolution?
Planning to Quit in the New Year
Many people are taking the opportunity that a new year brings of changing something in their lives, they are even now considering New Year Resolutions. Are you contemplating what you resolve to change in the new year to improve your life, and your families' life. Are you thinking of quitting smoking as your new year resolution? If so now is the time to plan, people that make a plan to quit are more successful than people that just decide to quit without thinking about what will help them be successful. There isn't a better time to quit than 2010!
The first thing to think about is medications. If you aren't pregnant or nursing there are medications that are FDA approved that can be very helpful. Now is the time to call or make an appointment to see your health provider and visit with them about which medications will work best for you.
Questions to Think About
These are some questions to ponder as you prepare to quit in the new year.
1. Why do you want to quit?
2. When you tried to quit in the past, what helped and what didn't?
3. What will be the most difficult situations for you after you quit? How will you plan to handle them?
4. Who can help you through the tough times? Your family? Friends? Health care provider?
5. What pleasures do you get from smoking? What ways can you still get pleasure if you quit?
Every day until New Years I will blog about things that will help you be successful. Return to the blog each day and be ready to think through some of the reasons you smoke and how to be successful when you quit. I am looking forward to each day.
Many people are taking the opportunity that a new year brings of changing something in their lives, they are even now considering New Year Resolutions. Are you contemplating what you resolve to change in the new year to improve your life, and your families' life. Are you thinking of quitting smoking as your new year resolution? If so now is the time to plan, people that make a plan to quit are more successful than people that just decide to quit without thinking about what will help them be successful. There isn't a better time to quit than 2010!
The first thing to think about is medications. If you aren't pregnant or nursing there are medications that are FDA approved that can be very helpful. Now is the time to call or make an appointment to see your health provider and visit with them about which medications will work best for you.
Questions to Think About
These are some questions to ponder as you prepare to quit in the new year.
1. Why do you want to quit?
2. When you tried to quit in the past, what helped and what didn't?
3. What will be the most difficult situations for you after you quit? How will you plan to handle them?
4. Who can help you through the tough times? Your family? Friends? Health care provider?
5. What pleasures do you get from smoking? What ways can you still get pleasure if you quit?
Every day until New Years I will blog about things that will help you be successful. Return to the blog each day and be ready to think through some of the reasons you smoke and how to be successful when you quit. I am looking forward to each day.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Great American SMOKE OUT
Every year The Cancer Society sponsors The Great American Smoke Out. It is a fun event that brings to the mind of every smoker if it isn't a good time to quit. It is also a challenge to smokers that asks them to quit for one day. I would like to use this event to make a personal challenge to use this day to Practice Quitting. This is an ideal time when you are thinking of your smoking because of this event to just try it.
What are the merits of quitting for only one day you might ask yourself. Well I believe that a practice day can teach you alot and will help your eventual quit effort by bringing to that effort some knowledge about "smoking and you" that will give you an edge that you would not have had without it.
You can learn alot about your triggers, and about cravings on this practice day. You have a practice day so since you have a desire to make your eventual quitting effective 100% then how best to learn. I suggest a diary. This might come in the form of a small index card that has the following headings. TRIGGER TIME EMOTION IMPORTANCE WHAT DID YOU DO?
The Trigger might be a harsh word spoken to you, or phone call, coffee, alcohol, or anything that made you think of smoking. Many times there are places or situations that can trigger a craving or a need to smoke.
The time element of this small diary can tell you if there are times during the day that you usually smoke. Perhaps you subconsiously know what these are but the diary will clarify the times during the day your body physically expects you to smoke.
The Emotion will bring to your attention what emotions seem to suggest to your mind that a cigarette would "feel good" or make the situations less stressful. Many times people believe that smoking calms them. In hind sight after quitting they examine this belief and think that in todays world smoking causes more stress more than it calms it.
How Important a cigarette varies. Are you smoking because you ran into a friend that you usually smoke with so you are sharing the time together smoking or are the kids really getting to you and you are using a cigarette break to get a way from them for a bit? Just have a 1 to 10 series to show how important the cigarette is to you with 1 being didn't really need to smoke to 10 being I NEED A SMOKE.
With your practice day you can look at strategies that you used to not smoke. Is it concentrating on your breath, taking a mini vacation to in your mind Hawaii or taking a break from what you are doing to a more active activity. These can get you thinking of strategies and allow you to try them out to see how effective they were for you.
The next suggestion is for you to remember on your practice day that cravings only last a few minutes. You can make it through 2 - 5 minutes can't you. This practice reminds you that you are a strong woman, you have overcome many hard times and you can get through the next few minutes of a craving too. It is a powerful tool to remind yourself that You Can Overcome.
So on this Great American Smoke Out have a practice day of Quitting and learn about when you might find it a difficult time, what your triggers are, and what works to get through those cravings. Remember to be kind to yourself during this day. It might not be an easy day but you are learning a lot about yourself and with Practice comes Perfection.
What are the merits of quitting for only one day you might ask yourself. Well I believe that a practice day can teach you alot and will help your eventual quit effort by bringing to that effort some knowledge about "smoking and you" that will give you an edge that you would not have had without it.
You can learn alot about your triggers, and about cravings on this practice day. You have a practice day so since you have a desire to make your eventual quitting effective 100% then how best to learn. I suggest a diary. This might come in the form of a small index card that has the following headings. TRIGGER TIME EMOTION IMPORTANCE WHAT DID YOU DO?
The Trigger might be a harsh word spoken to you, or phone call, coffee, alcohol, or anything that made you think of smoking. Many times there are places or situations that can trigger a craving or a need to smoke.
The time element of this small diary can tell you if there are times during the day that you usually smoke. Perhaps you subconsiously know what these are but the diary will clarify the times during the day your body physically expects you to smoke.
The Emotion will bring to your attention what emotions seem to suggest to your mind that a cigarette would "feel good" or make the situations less stressful. Many times people believe that smoking calms them. In hind sight after quitting they examine this belief and think that in todays world smoking causes more stress more than it calms it.
How Important a cigarette varies. Are you smoking because you ran into a friend that you usually smoke with so you are sharing the time together smoking or are the kids really getting to you and you are using a cigarette break to get a way from them for a bit? Just have a 1 to 10 series to show how important the cigarette is to you with 1 being didn't really need to smoke to 10 being I NEED A SMOKE.
With your practice day you can look at strategies that you used to not smoke. Is it concentrating on your breath, taking a mini vacation to in your mind Hawaii or taking a break from what you are doing to a more active activity. These can get you thinking of strategies and allow you to try them out to see how effective they were for you.
The next suggestion is for you to remember on your practice day that cravings only last a few minutes. You can make it through 2 - 5 minutes can't you. This practice reminds you that you are a strong woman, you have overcome many hard times and you can get through the next few minutes of a craving too. It is a powerful tool to remind yourself that You Can Overcome.
So on this Great American Smoke Out have a practice day of Quitting and learn about when you might find it a difficult time, what your triggers are, and what works to get through those cravings. Remember to be kind to yourself during this day. It might not be an easy day but you are learning a lot about yourself and with Practice comes Perfection.
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