help me give up smoking for good

Many people tell me they smoke because of stress - predominantly work related stress. Interesting. At one stage I smoked cigarettes while I was at uni; yet when I was in between semesters, on vacation and during weekends I noticed that I would still smoke; despite being away from the environment that was supposedly causing me stress. Many people attribute smoking cigarettes to the office working environment, yet on weekends and vacation these individuals still smoke despite being away from work.

And secondly many individuals continue to smoke cigarettes because they think it relaxes them. This could not be further from the truth. Your body needs to pump twice as much blood to flush out the toxins and carcinogens which entered your bloodstream as a result; and your body also has to (as a result) use twice as much oxygen just to breathe. Nicotine, one of the main ingredients used in cigarettes is actually a stimulant which definitely does not allow your body to relax at all; and combined with extra stomach acid your body is far from relaxed - in fact your body under such circumstances is under a lot of stress. All it takes is one cigarette for these unpleasant side effects to occur. Relaxation is simply an illusion when you are a smoker.

Another major reason and excuse from many smokers who currently smoke cigarettes is that if they quit smoking they will put on weight. Many people who actually quit smoking may gain a little bit of weight; probably only around 2-3 kilos the most. Justine is continuing to be honest and authentic here. These extra 2-3 kilos actually comprise of water of which our bodies actually need to function effectively - our bodies are 80% water, and the reason why smokers have old looking skin and yellow nails and hands is because their bodies and their cells are dehydrated - crying out for more healthy fluids such as water. Smoking causes dehydration - just like looking at some beef jerky which looks very dry! Therefore it is preferable for you to be slightly heavier as a healthy non-smoker than to be slightly lighter and be an unhealthy smoker. If weight gain does occur in this instance it is barely noticeable because you are replenishing lost fluids.

The only major reason that many people who quit smoking cigarettes would gain weight is because they would be making unhealthy food and drink choices predominantly - consuming food and drinks that are high in fat, sugar and calories. All it takes is some simple re-programming to the unconscious mind to accept the new healthy food choices and other ways of living such as drinking water to take the place of cigarettes in order to avoid putting on weight after smoking cessation has occurred.

In saying this every cigarette contains 8-18% sugar in addition to other harmful substances such as nicotine and so on. When tobacco is cured it is soaked in sugar and then dehydrated, and can be the result of shaking hands and hypoglycemia. Exercising adequately will also ensure success in becoming and staying a non-smoker.