What else has to change?

In order to actually accomplish my goal of being a non-smoker there are other things in my life that will need to change. Smoking is a crutch, and once I let it go there will be many things that come up that I'll have to find new ways to deal with.

After the initial 3 days the nicotine is basically out of your system. Three weeks into the process most of the other chemicals contained in cigarette smoke are gone as well. This is a very rough time physically, but honestly the hard work really starts about then. It becomes an emotional journey that requires strength of character and determination in order to get through.

So the immediate things that need to change are:
Eating breakfast and making sure I have healthy snacks available throughout the day. Gotta go grocery shopping.

• Drinking lots and lots of water. Just get your Sigg out and go to town.
• Keeping busy... HA! this is the hard one when my life can often just be about sitting around and smoking cigarettes all day! Some ideas include...
• Going to the gym and getting a good cardio work-out in
• Joining a dance class
• Volunteering
• Making dates with non-smoking friends
• Going for a bike ride
• Meditating or going to Yoga
• Taking a bath
• Shopping, getting a pedicure, watching the sunset, reading a great book...

All of these things will help, the trick is to do them consistently. It's really about finding a way to do the behaviours even if I don't yet feel the value of them. It's funny, for a woman who actually does love herself and thinks her life is of high value I honestly have no idea how to take care of myself!

That's what this blog is for.. good start!