Quitting smoking: 10 ways to resist tobacco cravings

Quitting smoking: 10 ways to resist tobacco cravings

Tobacco cravings can wear you down when you're trying to quit smoking or chewing tobacco. Delaying, avoiding triggers, yoga and nicotine replacement are among the ways to resist cravings.By Mayo Clinic Staff

For most tobacco users, tobacco cravings or urges to smoke can be powerful. But you're not at the mercy of these tobacco cravings. When an urge to use tobacco strikes, remember that although it may be intense, it will be short-lived, and it probably will pass within a few minutes whether or not you smoke a cigarette or take a dip of chewing tobacco. Each time you resist a tobacco craving, you're one step closer to stopping smoking or other tobacco use for good. But it can be difficult.

So here are 10 ways to help you resist the urge to smoke or use tobacco when a tobacco craving strikes, no matter where you are:

1. Delay. If you feel like you're going to give in to your tobacco craving, tell yourself that you must first wait 10 more minutes and then do something to distract yourself for that period of time. This simple trick may be enough to derail your tobacco craving. Repeat as often as needed.
2. Don't have 'just one.' You might be tempted to have just one cigarette to satisfy a tobacco craving. But don't fool yourself into believing that you can stop at just one. More often than not, having just one leads to another, then another — and you may wind up using tobacco again.
3. Avoid triggers. Urges for tobacco are likely to be strongest in the situations where you smoked or chewed tobacco most often, such as at parties or bars, in the car or while watching television. Identify your trigger situations and have a plan in place so that you can avoid them entirely or get through them without using tobacco. Don't set yourself up for a smoking relapse. If you usually smoked while you talked on the phone, for instance, keep a pen and paper nearby to occupy yourself with doodling rather than smoking.
4. Get physical. Physical activity can help distract you from tobacco cravings and reduce the intensity of cravings. Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity can make a tobacco craving go away. Get out for a walk or jog. If you're stuck at home or the office, try squats, deep knee bends, push-ups, running in place, or walking up and down a set of stairs a few times. If physical activity doesn't interest you, try prayer, needlework, woodwork or journaling. Or do chores for distraction, such as vacuuming or filing paperwork.
5. Practice relaxation techniques. In the past, smoking may have been your way to deal with stress. Trying to resist a tobacco craving can itself be stressful. Take the edge off stress by practicing relaxation techniques. These include deep-breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, yoga, visualization, hypnosis and massage.
6. Call reinforcements. Touch base with a family member, friend or support group member for moral support as you struggle to resist a tobacco craving. Chat on the phone, go for a walk together or simply share a few laughs — or get together to commiserate about your cravings.
7. Remember the benefits of quitting. Write down or say out loud the reasons you want to stop smoking and resist tobacco cravings. These might include feeling better, getting healthier, sparing your loved ones from secondhand smoke or saving money. And if you're a closet smoker, you may save hours of time since you no longer have to spend time trying to conceal your habit.
8. Go online. Join an online stop-smoking program. Or read a quitter's blog and post encouraging thoughts for someone else who might be struggling with tobacco cravings. Learn from how others have handled their tobacco cravings.
9. Try nicotine replacements. Try a nicotine replacement product instead of a cigarette. Some types of nicotine replacement therapy, including patches, gums and lozenges, are available over-the-counter. Nicotine nasal spray and the nicotine inhaler are available by prescription, as are the stop-smoking medications bupropion (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix).
10. Chew on it. Give your mouth something to do to fight a tobacco craving. Chew on sugarless gum or hard candy. Or munch on raw carrots, celery, nuts or sunflower seeds — something crunchy and satisfying.

Remember, trying something to beat the urge is always better than doing nothing. And each time you resist a tobacco craving, you're one step closer to being totally tobacco-free.

Source: mayoclinic.org/nicotine-craving/art-20045454

How You Can Quit Smoking For Good

You must be properly motivated if you are not motivated. You will reap countless rewards from giving up this habit. One or more of them will surely be enough to spur you when it gets difficult. You can improve the health of you and your loved ones, spend far less money, lower your chances of getting lung cancer, and feel and look young again. So read on to find tips that will help you in quitting smoking.

Tell yourself you need to go for a walk first, or even just finish a large glass of water before you smoke. If you do end up giving in anyway, the delay could cause you to smoke one less cigarette that day.

You might want to try nicotine replacements. Nicotine withdrawal can lead you feeling restless, restless, frustrated or irritable. Cravings for a cigarette can be very hard to deal with.Nicotine-replacement systems help with these feelings. It is not recommended that you use a nicotine replacement product and smoke at the same time, to protect yourself avoid smoking if you are using nicotine replacement therapies.

For instance, if you tend to smoke while driving or while drinking, it is important to adjust the way you do such things, so that you don't automatically pull out a cigarette out of habit. Try to find something to take your mind off of distraction that will serve as a substitute.

The first step of any program to stop smoking is making the endeavor before you figure out how you're going to go about doing it.Most people who quit do so because they give up or stay in a lack of willpower. You may stay committed through thinking of the reasons on why you wanted to stop smoking initially.

You should not attempt to shoulder the entire burden of smoking alone.You can also be interested in joining a support group for people that are trying to stop smoking.

For instance, when you haven't smoked for a week, treat yourself to a movie. Once you reach a month without smoking, go out to dinner at a new restaurant. Continue creating rewards to work towards until you don't think of smoking any more.

Secondhand smoke can lead to many grave health complications.By quitting, you are reducing your loved ones' exposure to this dangerous substance, and improving the quality of the air they breathe. Quitting smoking now will improve the health of yourself and everyone around you healthier.

One helpful way to start quitting is to switch cigarette brands.Consider smoking a brand of cigarettes that you don't care for. Do not smoke a greater number of them than usual or modify the way in which you have chosen to purchase light cigarettes. This can help you started on your way to stop smoking.

Most people who try to quit will fail on their first try. When you quit smoking, try to stick to abstinence for as long as possible. If you do experience a setback, establish a new quit date. Just keep at it and try to extend the amount of time you quit, and continue to learn along your journey.

You need to find ways to have your motivation to quit smoking high. This can be accomplished by posting motivational sayings in your office, or wearing a bracelet that symbolizes your intentions.

Find support by joining online forms and message boards. There are a lot of different websites that are devoted to help people stop smoking. You can find it useful to compare quitting techniques with others.

Even the plans that are most prepared to quit have a really difficult time succeeding at first. You may have an easier time overcoming the right coping mechanisms in the future.

If you find that your cravings are getting the best of you and are having trouble fighting the urge to smoke, pick up the phone a call somebody for support. The time you spend chatting can distract you until the craving passes, and it's also a great motivator knowing you have someone that you can confide and trust in.

Get your loved ones involved when you make the decision to kick the smoking habit. Let all your acquaintances know you have decided to quit. Their approval and assistance can be the key to your success.You may also think about joining a smoking cessation group and even check into behavioral therapy to aid your attempt to quit.

Replace your smoke breaks with a healthy one like exercise. As your body begins to heal itself from the damage you've inflicted through smoking, you will start to see the results as you begin to have more energy and greater workouts.As your body becomes stronger and more fit, you will be unlikely to want to ruin this by taking up smoking once more.

No matter the obstacles you will face, quitting smoking takes perseverance. Keep thinking about your prime motivators, so you don't want to give up. Keep the advice of this article in mind to fuel your efforts to quit smoking, and be able to resist future temptations to light up.

YOU & ME FOREVER trailer

Green Energy Ideas That You Could Put To Use

There are excellent reasons that using green is gaining in popularity. This article will illustrate simple and useful advice on switching to a greener way of living right away!

Simply lessening the amount of electricity you use on a daily energy consumption can save a lot of energy. Unplug your electrical appliances from outlets when they're not using them. Turn off all lights and the television when you are finished using them. This simple tip can save you money and it's simple.

There are numerous grants available to help people invest in green energy. Contact local government in order to see the different programs available in your area. You may qualify for installation of solar power at little to no cost.

Use window treatments to shade the inside of your home when you are not home. This cools down your house and cuts energy use. Try adding window coverings that block heat, such as shades or darker, and dark curtains.

Instead, make sure each member of your family has sweaters, slippers and socks, or even consider investing in a stove or fireplace.

Avoid turning the heat in your home unless it's absolutely necessary. If it is a little chilly, add a layer of clothing, such as a sweatshirt and some sweatpants. You waste a lot of energy when you put the heat on higher than necessary.

A solar oven can be an energy efficient way to bake. These can be made with readily available items like an old window, a discarded window, and some tin foil. These types of oven can become very hot with adequate sunlight, and reach 300 degrees in temperature simply using the sun.

Keep an eye on the wattage you use.Plug your appliances in to these devices to find out what amount of energy is required each year, a month or a year.This will make you know how much it costs to run.

There is a lot of things you can do if you want reduce your environmental footprint on the planet.Lowering the temperature of your water heater to 120 can also help reduce costs. Every little thing you do will help.

Write yourself reminders to stay on top of new energy efficiency goals, and check each bill against last year to see if improvements were made.For instance, if you make a conscious effort to cut down on your water or electricity usage, then you are more likely to make a habit out of shutting off unused lights or appliances.

Try using LED lights when you decide to decorate your home for any holiday season.According to a study by the United States That amount of power is enough to supply 200,000 homes for an entire year. You can at least look forward to saving money on your electric bill.

Hopefully, this article has provided you with very useful ideas on going greener in your home. Becoming more green can reduce your bills and have a positive impact on the environment at the same time. Use these tips to make your home and lifestyle more green.

Simplify Web Design With These Awesome Ideas

This could be difficult when you have so many places to find these. Read on for suggestions that will help you design some great sites.

Always delete any outdated information and content off of your website. You will come across as undependable or an amateur if the promotional offer on your page expired months ago. Users are careful with their time and if they can tell that your site is not updated often, and leaving up old information shows a lack of attention to the site. Set yourself a review schedule for reviewing your site and removing anything that is outdated.

While free services sound good in theory, these hosts have many ads that you cannot control, you need to be aware that these service have the power to place annoying adverts on your website without your prior approval.

There is little worse than visiting a website and being attacked by pop-up ads or newsletter sign-up boxes. Many people will close a website that brings pop-ups as soon as they can, even if it's a site run by a well-known brand or company. Avoid those annoying ads to keep your visitors happy. If your host forces pop-ups on you, look for another one.

A web designer's work can be made easier when they compile a collection of cheat sheets that can be referred to for example code, that you can check out any time questions or problems arise about your site. These lists can also useful in learning how to make your site better.

You don't have to use every inch of space when you design a site. Leaving space between different page elements will make people more comfortable. There are many situations in which empty space is actually more valuable than other content.

While it can provide a large variety of ways to build a more responsive and transparent website, it can pose difficulties for some visitors. Each web browser displays content differently, and each has a new version on a regular basis. Not everyone will upgrade to the most current version of their browser.These problems will lead to people not being able to use your website.

Most of your visitors will find intrusive popup windows and hyperlinks that open up in new windows irritating. These techniques that should be avoided.If you feel you must use these practices for navigational functionality, you need to think about whether the entire navigation system that you have for your website needs improving.

Use sound sparingly in your website's design. Do not aggravate your visitors with blasting sound that they have no way of turning off when they get to your site. You can supply sound options with audio and video links, but let the user choose whether or not to have audio as part of the experience of your website.

Don't utilize Flash players on your site. Flash can slow down visitors' computers, but it might cause a visitor's computer to load slowly and lag. Don't forget that some tablet PCs and mobile phones do not have Flash enabled, which could also ruin a site visitor's experience, so they are going to be frustrated when they can't view your site.

Concept sketches are a great early tool for the beginning web designer. This will help you to establish a visual image of its structure and content. It is always a great way to begin with.

Make sure that your users the option to cancel an action if they need to. This could mean ordering products, browsing your site, or registering for newsletters. You can deter people from coming back to your site if you don't allow them to follow through on a purchase that they are in the middle of completing.

Pay attention to which colors you use on your website interact. Make sure that text visible against the background hues. Dark text colors on a light background is the eyes than the other way around. Ask someone to look at your color schemes to ensure you are choosing something harmonious.

As you now know, whatever your skill is with web design, you always have to know the fundamentals. There are various places for you to find basic information, which could lead to difficulties in finding everything you need. The insights here have given you a great way to jump start your presence online with fantastic web designs.

Looking For Fishing Advice? Try These Tips!

Fishing can be one of the best and relaxing hobbies around. Fishing is simultaneously a great tool for stress relief and relieving your mind of stress. Keep reading to learn more about fishing experience.

Know what the ideal temperature for the kind of fish you are trying to catch. Different fish species crave different temperatures. If your plan involves catching a certain type of fish, you need to keep this in mind. This will help you in your success and enjoyment much more likely.

Pay attention to what is going on around you at all times. An easy way one can sabotage is to forget to be aware of the environment. Be quiet and settled before throwing out the line. Be mindful of wildlife, wind and wildlife in the area. You can use these indicators to find the environment might help you better select a good fishing location.

This ensures that you will be able to show everyone your keepsake and the fish lives on.

If you're attempting to catch catfish, make sure that your bait goes deeply into the water because they are bottom feeders.

Time and temperature are two important variables when going fishing. Larger bass are more prevalent around dawn and sunset because this is when their desired bait fish come out. Just be certain the water is over 50 degrees if you are going fishing during these times.

Make sure you use sharp hooks before you go fishing. Even if you're doing everything else right, dull hooks will result in less fish caught. You should bring replacement hooks along with you when you go fishing, or bring along some replacements that can be alternated often. A fisherman's friend while fishing will be a sharp hook is key to fishing success.

This makes for a quick and easy way to have your monofilament at hand whenever you need it. The little cutter is also be used to snip leader.

It can sometimes be very discouraging when you fish in an area with a lot of plant life. While these can be annoying, fish love to feed on the bugs that hang around this vegetation and it is likely you will catch more fish there.

This gives a much more natural looking and increases your chances of catching something. Just be certain you don't have too much line that is slack line.

Grubs are a very good bait for catching bass. These little insects will help you some big fish. They can even be used as bait for smallmouth bass but may also catch both small and largemouth bass.They are perfect for fishing in highland reservoirs where there is not a lot of coverage.

Make sure you have included everything you need before you leave for your fishing trip. Having to return home after you've gotten half-way to your destination because you forgot will ruin your trip. Make sure that you have all the items that you need, tackles, as well as appropriate outerwear during your fishing trip.

If you find yourself getting many bites, gradually increasing your lure size to accommodate the bigger fish is the way to go. Bigger fish will likely to swim toward big lures.

Bass fishermen usually prefer to fish with lighter colored grubs.The most effective colors include white, speckled, smokey, or yellow. Translucent grubs are great because they reflect light and attract more fish. If you are having a hard time catching anything, choose a grub which is the same color as the water.

Be extra careful when wading in water. If you need to wade across a river when you're fishing, be sure to go slowly and be extremely careful. If you are too noisy, you'll scare the fish because sound does travel under water. Take your time and be sure you don't disturb the river.

You can purchase a fishing pole almost any store.Fishing has become so popular pass-time that fishing rods are popular. You do not have to spend a lot; prepare to get a basic, as a high-quality reel and rod combination can be around $15 or $35

The introduction to this article emphasized the fact that fishing is a great way to relax and blow off steam. It could even bring you a delicious supper. With luck, you have learned a few things from this article that you did not already know, so that your next fishing trip will prove more fruitful and fun.

The Forex Market Can Be Tricky, Learn The Tricks That Help

You can earn a lot on the forex market; however, you should take time to research in order to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls. You will be able to do this when you are practicing with a demo account. Read on for some tips to keep in mind as you practice.

Researching the broker you want to use is of utmost importance when using a managed account in forex. For the best chance at success, select a broker who has been working for a minimum of five years and whose performance is at least as good as the market. These qualifications are particularly important if you are a newcomer to currency trading.

Knowing when to accept your losses and try another day is an essential skill for any Forex trader. Too often, traders fail to pull out of losing trades in a timely manner. Instead, they continue to hope that the currency value will start to rise, so they can recoup their losses. This strategy rarely works.

The best advice for a Forex trader is that you should never give up. Any trader who trades long enough is going to hit a bad streak. Perseverance is the factor that distinguishes good traders from the failures. It may seem horrible to go on, but you should stick with it.

When trading, keep your emotions out of your decisions. You can get yourself into deep financial trouble if you allow panic, greed, and other emotions rule your trading style. Of course since you are only human you will experience a range of emotions while trading, just don't permit them to take you over and interfere with profits and goals.

The Forex market is not the place for individual innovation. It has taken some people many years to become experts at forex trading because it is an extremely complicated system. You should probably consider a known successful strategy instead of trying a new one. Instead, focus on extensive research and proven guidelines.

Using an account with a lot of leverage has many downfalls, which forex traders should comprehend. While these accounts are more flexible, they are also more volatile if you don't know how to properly use them. Understand what you are doing.

The simple strategy is the best route, particularly if you're a beginner. The more complex your system is, the harder it will be to deal with problems that arise. Stay with the easiest method that has proven to work for you. As you start to become successful and efficient, incorporate some of the more complicated strategies to keep growing. Try to find ways to expand.

You need to pick an account type based on how much you know and what you expect to do with the account. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will assist you in taking a rational approach. Understand that getting good at trading does not happen overnight. With respect to account types, it is usually better to have an account which has lower leverage. A demo account should be utilized so you can learn what you can. Be patient and build up your experience before expanding into bigger trades.

There is a learning curve involved in trading on the Forex market prior to turning a profit from your efforts. Remember that your research should always be capped off with the most recent information you can find, as the market continuously changes. Always be checking out forex websites in order to view up-to-date information and remain competitive.