Quitting smoking is an admirable goal for anyone.  By quitting, a person can save a ton of money, and greatly improve their chances of living longer and being healthier while doing it.  So it's also a very sensible decision.  But it's tough to pull off.  Whether they go cold turkey, use the patch,  various prescription medications, or try to taper off, the vast majority of people who try to quit smoking don't succeed.  That's a tragedy.  Why is this the case?  Well, for a lot people, it's the side effects that they experience when they quit that make them fall off the wagon.  But if you want to quit smoking, side effects are part of the package.   Plan ahead for them, and be prepared to deal with them.

Common "quit smoking" side effects are eating more, and eating junk food, and consequently gaining a few pounds.  That's not that big of a deal, and people tend to overreact to it.  It's only natural to deal with cravings for a smoke by eating something to relieve the desire for oral intake.  But don't sweat it.  Yes, in the first few weeks you will probably put on a few pounds, but it won't be long before your cravings decrease in both number and intensity.  When that happens, you'll find yourself eating at normal levels again.

And of course there's irritability and restlessness.  Again, these are common, and nothing to get all bent out of shape about.  And you can greatly reduce these side effects by taking a walk every day for half an hour or so, or getting in some other form of moderate exercise.  (Don't overdo it at first.)   If you find yourself snapping at people, take a deep breath, apologize, and tell them what you're dealing with.  Most of the time they'll be very understanding.

But when people quit smoking, side effects aren't the same for everybody.  Two less common, but very disconcerting ones are constipation and insomnia.  These will eventually go away as your body chemistry sorts itself out, but in the meantime, you might want to consider taking a laxative and sleep remedies if you experience these.  Of course, it would be great if we could quit smoking with no side effects, but that's not going to happen.  Just be prepared for them, and have a plan for dealing with them, and don't let them force you back into your old lifestyle.

I quit smoking several times before I finally found the method that works, and I haven't had a cigarette since! Find out how you can finally kick the smoking habit for good at my quit smoking blog today!

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