Tag: HealthyLife® QuitWell™

The maintenance phase of quitting starts after you have been quit for about six months. At this point, your tobacco/nicotine free lifestyle has started to feel more normal and routine. It can take years to feel like tobacco/nicotine is truly in the past, though. In this phase, you may not be thinking of your old habit on a daily basis, but reminders are still all around you. Your new habits are still young.

What do you enjoy about being tobacco/nicotine free?

What challenges have you overcome to get here?

If you have quit before and relapsed, what tripped you up?

Stress is one of the most common triggers for relapse. This guide has many tools for responding to things that happen to you. While it may not be possible to control what happens in your life, you can control your response.

Deepen your motivation, understand your barriers (even if you already overcame them), and build a supportive team you can lean on when the going gets tough.

Here are more ways you can choose healthy foods to manage cravings and any weight gain.

Healthy Eating Behavior

How you eat is as important as what you eat. Weight control involves developing and maintaining healthy eating behaviors. Diets are hard to stay on for a long time because they are usually boring or too rigid. If you make a lasting change in your eating behavior, you will be able to maintain a healthy weight without depending on diets.

*  Try to always eat in the same spot in your home. Eat at a table, if possible, and avoid eating on the couch or in bed.

*  When you eat, only eat. Avoid TV or looking at your phone.

*  Slow down your eating pace. While tobacco/nicotine raised your blood sugar in seconds, food takes a bit longer.

– Chew and swallow each bite before the next.

– Pause frequently to take a drink of water or engage in conversation.

– Put your fork or food down between bites.

*  Start your meal with a small salad or hot soup.

*  Before having a second serving, wait 5-10 minutes to see if you begin to feel full or satisfied with your meal.

*  Keep less healthy foods hidden in cupboards or in the back of the fridge.

*  Use smaller plates and utensils-this will help you feel satisfied with a healthy portion and may help you eat more slowly.

Avoid turning to food to manage difficult emotions. Address what is bothering you, go for a walk, or call a friend. Emotional eating can lead to choices higher in sugar, salt, and saturated fat.

Choose Healthy Snacks

Your body may be giving you hunger cues more frequently when you quit. Your body’s natural way of managing blood sugar and metabolism takes time to go back to normal. Choosing healthy snacks can help you manage your weight and energy level.

*  Celery stalks

*  Bell peppers, cut into slices

*  Cantaloupe, cut into cubes

*  Raw carrot sticks or baby carrots

*  Cucumber slices

*  Tomato wedges or cherry tomatoes

*  Broccoli or cauliflower florets

*  Green beans

*  Frozen veggies, microwaved

*  Apples

*  Peaches

*  Oranges or grapefruit

*  Strawberries or other berries

*  Bananas

*  Dried fruit

*  100% fruit juice

Other Healthy Snacks & Combinations:

*  Cut-up veggies with hummus, salsa, or nut butter

*  Pita bread with hummus

*  Granola bar (with less than 5g sugar)

*  Raw nuts (low-salt or no-salt)

*  Natural peanut butter on low-salt crackers, apple slices or celery sticks

*  Mini whole-wheat bagel with natural peanut butter or cream cheese

*  Hard boiled eggs

*  Trail mix with nuts, dried fruit, and seeds

*  Yogurt with berries and nuts (with less than 10g sugar)

*  Whole-grain crackers with cheese

*  Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts

*  Scrambled eggs with veggies

*  Nut butter on a slice of whole-grain toast

*  Whole-grain cereal with milk

*  String cheese and low-sodium crackers

*  Smoothie with fruit, protein powder, and milk. Try adding avocado or leafy greens.

Spend time with a pet. Volunteer at a shelter. Spend time with a friend or family member’s pet. Go to a pet store, or look into adopting a rescue animal.

Spending time with a pet can:

*  Decrease production of cortisol, a stress hormone that can put you on edge and make you ill over time.

*  Increase serotonin, which helps you feel relaxed and happy.

*  Help you feel secure. Pets, especially dogs, can love unconditionally and may sense when you need extra support. Some pets are trained to help you manage certain emotions, like anxiety.

Maybe you don’t feel like you have time to read the QuitWell™ program or answer the questions in each section. The tips on time management in this section can help. Other barriers may seem to be unchangeable until a powerful motivator enters the picture. More information or skills to get through a challenge can also help you overcome what felt impossible in the past.

Be Open to Powerful Motivators

Have you ever started a new relationship or made a new friend and suddenly you want to spend all your time with that person? You may even get into a new hobby in order to spend more time with them. Or, maybe you got concerning test results and want to improve before your next visit to the doctor. Or, maybe you just found out you are going to be a parent or grandparent.

These are examples of powerful motivators. They usually seem to come out of nowhere or when you are least expecting them. Some seem to knock you off your feet and you can’t ignore how powerful they are. Others you may not notice unless you are paying attention. These may be negative and scary or joyous and exciting. As you think about quitting and look at your barriers, try to be open to power motivators.

Do you feel any powerful motivators in your life right now?

What could be a powerful motivator in the future? Imagine what it would take to suddenly make nearly all the barriers on your list seem less important.

S.M.A.R.T. in Action

Before: “I want to cut back.”

S.M.A.R.T. Goal: “Today I will put 12 cigarettes in an empty pack instead of the 15 I usually have. I will keep my emergency pack of substitutes (gum, toothpicks) with me and will leave my cigarettes behind. I will cut back by 1 cigarette each day this week.”

Practice Goal-Setting

Strengthen your goal using the S.M.A.R.T. tool. Start with a simple statement about what you want to do. Next, write how your goal will be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

Pharmaceutical:

*  Buproprion (brand names Zyban and Wellbutrin) is a prescription, non-nicotine pill. This medication is used to treat depression and help with quitting smoking. To use, begin taking 1 to 2 weeks before your quit date. It must build up in your system before you quit. It can be taken for 7 to 12 weeks. It may cause dry mouth and insomnia.

*  Varenicline (brand name Chantix) is another prescription, non-nicotine pill. It works by cutting the pleasure of smoking and reducing withdrawal symptoms. To use, begin taking one week before your quit date. It must build up in your system before you quit. It is taken once or twice daily for 12 weeks. If quit, it can be taken for another 12 weeks. It can cause nausea, headache, vomiting, gas, insomnia, abnormal dreams, and a feeling that food tastes different.

Non-Pharmaceutical:

*  Counseling or coaching can help you identify triggers and challenges, give you support and encouragement, and help you set personal goals. Coaching can double your chances of success.

*  Text or smartphone apps offer goal setting, reminders, and encouragement. Some even send text messages to keep you motivated.

*  Hypnosis helps you learn to relax and identify triggers. It also helps your subconscious mind look at your habit differently.

*  Acupuncture uses special thin needles placed in specific spots to help you relax and fight cravings for nicotine.

Hypnosis and acupuncture are not proven ways to quit tobacco/nicotine, but they have helped many people. Be a smart consumer when choosing one of these therapies. Continue to work on behavior change and stress management. You will still need these skills to prevent relapse.

Taking small steps can help build confidence. Seeing the “wins” right away can show you how strong and capable of change you are. The activities in this section may not feel very exciting, but they are small on purpose. Once you get going, taking bigger steps will feel easier and you will be more successful with them.

These activities can also help you learn more about what causes your urges and what you do without thinking. These activities can start weakening your old habits and strengthening new, healthy habits.

Who could support you in your effort to quit? Having someone to hold you accountable-and who you want to share success with-can be a powerful part of your quit plan. Support from others can help:

*  Motivate you and lift you up when you stumble.

*  Hold you accountable.

*  Give you new ideas and inspiration-especially if they have gone through quitting themselves.

*  Make activities more fun, like taking a walk together instead of a smoke break.

Start With One Person

1. Choose a buddy-someone you will talk to daily. This person should be someone you trust and who you can be completely honest with.

2. Let them know what you are trying to do.

3. Ask them if they would be willing to support you. If they are, thank them!

4. Let them know how to help you. This may change over time.

5. Share your feelings and actions truthfully with your buddy. If you don’t, you are losing out on the benefits of an accountability buddy.

6. Thank this person often. Let them know the impact they are having on your lifestyle change.

Involving Others

Even when someone wants to help you, they may not know how. You have probably experienced this already, like when someone gives you cliché advice or says “just one won’t hurt.”

Be specific when you tell others how to help you. These are suggestions for those people who want to help you. Read over the list and choose the ones you think will be most helpful. Write these down and show your list to the people who want to help.

*  What are you really good at?

*  What have you overcome in your life?

*  How do you help others?

*  How do you take care of yourself?

Trust that the things that make you strong will continue to be there during your quit attempt. Repeat after me: “I am strong.” Say it again. And again. Say it out loud to add some ‘oomph’ to your statement. Continue to repeat as needed!

In this section, you were guided to understand the barriers you face with quitting. By carefully reading, thinking about each part, and answering questions along the way, you are getting yourself ready for success.

*  How have you prepared yourself to quit? Write the steps you have taken, mentally and physically, to get to this point.

*  Look back at your list of barriers. Do any of them feel more manageable now?

*  Which of your strengths do you think will come in handy for quitting? Be confident in what you know you are good at and what makes you a strong person.