Quit smoking – always at the top of the New Year resolutions list. Fear of failure is daunting. If you’re a woman who has tried, and failed, to quit smoking before – there’s good news.
Maybe it wasn’t you, or a lack of willpower. Believe it or not, your period may have been the problem. Researchers have discovered that women improve quitting success simply by stopping before their period. Now you can use your period advantage for a change!
The Science
Cigarette cravings vary dramatically throughout the different stages of the menstrual cycle, along with the intensity of those cravings. Cravings are the single biggest reason women resume smoking.
A study at the University of Montreal found that high levels of estrogen and progesterone at ovulation reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms … and the dreaded cravings.
According to Adreina Mendrel, lead author of the study,”Uncontrollable urges to smoke are stronger at the beginning of the follicular phase that begins after menstruation.”
Quit Smoking Tips
- Plan to quit smoking in the two weeks before your period is due.
- Do it during a quiet time at work, or well before exams.
- Set a date, write it down. New Year is the worst time!
- Do it for you. Just you. No-one can make you want to quit.
- Decide who to tell, or not to tell. Support is useful, smothering is not.
- Organise your cigarette-free days, and evenings. What are you doing instead of smoking?
- Change the channel. Listen to different radio stations at home and in the car.
- Drink coffee instead of tea, or vice versa, if you had a cigarette with a beverage.
- Reduce alcohol for a month. Binge drinking shuts down your brain.
- Clean the car, if you smoked while driving.
- Learn the lifecycle of a craving. The longest one is only about 3 minutes!
- Feel proud. Celebrate the first day, week, month, 3 months, with non-food treats.
- Don’t expect family or friends to stop just because you do.
- Use your better breathing to get out exercising.
- Spend the extra bucks on better food.
- Shed the flab.
- Get caught – not smoking! Nothing better for the morale, than meeting folk at a wedding and saying ‘Me? No, I don’t smoke. Quit last year and lost a stone!’
If you are ready to quit smoking, let me help.
Hypnotherapy makes it easier to reduce anxiety, cravings, to boost confidence and shed weight.
More info at https://helenatubridy.com/stop-smoking-butt-out/
