WTG! Zoney!
You're doing GREAT! Take it one day at at time and before long you'll wonder why you ever smoked to begin with!
I quit smoking about 23 years ago and have never craved a cigarette since. Here are a few things my Doctor told me:
1) You're going to gain some weight; start changing your diet now before you gain too much.
2) You're going to gain some weight; start a reasonable exercise program now.
3) Diet and exercise help to stave off the cravings of nicotine and takes your mind off of smoking.
4) If you follow items 1-3 you stand a good chance of not gaining weight.
5) You're going to cough up a lot of junk while your lungs clear and food is going to taste much better.
And the last thing he shared with me was a really neat trick that still works wonders for me!
6) Remember that during all of the years you have smoked, you have trained your lungs and chest muscles to inhale somewhat sharply through your lips, hold smoke, and then exhale slowly. A nicotine craving lasts about 20 seconds, so when you get a craving, inhale sharply through your lips, fill your lungs fully, hold the air just as you would when smoking, and then exhale slowly, just as you would when smoking. This mimics all of the movements you do when you smoke and gives you some nice side effects: you get a sudden burst of oxygen to the brain which sharpens awareness and eyesight, your lungs and chest muscles get the same exercise as they did when you smoked, and slowly exhaling gives you a relaxing feeling. Try it! And more than once! If it works, great! If it doesn't...trust me, it will work.
Zoney, I may not have related exactly what my Doctor told me (he was a crotchety old coot), but it's pretty close, especially item# 6. To this very day I use item# 6 when I feel anger coming on, or am stressed, or just want a bit of an oxygen high!
Keep it up, Mate!
