...Breaking You UNHEALTHY Bad Habits...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Starting on a new health and fitness journey does not just involve working out and eating right.  It also means cutting out other bad health habits as well.  One of the most common issues some of my clients have is their battle with giving up nicotine.

Nicotine comes in all shapes and sizes!  This includes smoking cigarettes and doing snus (or also called snuff).  Both are pretty bad habits, but I would have to say that using snus is a pretty nasty habit.  For those of you who do not know how someone may use snus I will describe it in more detail:

Snus (also called snuff) is a powdered form of tobacco leaves. It is a form of smokeless tobacco and can be infused with other flavors to make it more taste appealing.  It can be snuffed up the nostrils but is most commonly gathered and placed between the space that is located in front of your  teeth and your lip.

Smoking or doing snus is BAD for you!  It still baffles me to see people walk into the store and purchase cigarettes.  There are so many studies that have proven the bad health benefits to using these products.  Second hand smoke has also been found to be harmful to people who are inhaling the smoke hence why many cities are making restaurants and other public places smoke free.

Cutting these habits may be tough but it is necessary in order to achieve optimal health results.  Smoking or doing snuff is like adding poison to your body and over time it can cause serious and even life threatening heath problems.

Mayo Clinic  has created a great article that can help those with curving your tobacco cravings which can also help you with eliminating your tobacco use.  They suggest the following things:

• Try to delay your cravings.  If you get a craving to use tobacco to try to wait longer.  Try to occupy your time and do something to get your mind off of your cravings. 
• Don't have "just one".  If you cave into your cravings this sets you up to cave in again when you really want tobacco.  Do what you can to fight your cravings and try not to give into the temptation.  Yes it will be hard, but if you want to stop using tobacco you have to start by saying NO.
• Try to avoid doing things that will trigger your mind to want to use tobacco.  For example, you only smoke when you _____.  Try to stay away from doing those activities or try to have something you can do to take your mind off of.  Good examples would be to do a cross word or word search.  You can even try chewing gum or drinking water.
• You can also try to use nicotine replacements such as the nicotine gum or patched you can get at the store.  These are great options to help you to slowly start to decrease the amount of nicotine you get into your body.
• The other important thing is to have a support system!  Try to have someone or something that you can turn to when you really feel the urge to use tobacco.

The CDC also offers some great advice, as well as The American Cancer Society.   There are many different resources and local programs that are available to help those who are seeking guidance and help.

Embarking on your own health and fitness journey is more than just working out to look good.  It is about strengthening and building a stronger body, mind, and soul.  Eliminating your mind, body, and environment of all of the negative and bad things and embracing the good.

So why not stand up NOW and make a change! Start TODAY! Any day is a great day to start YOUR health and fitness journey.  Stop stalling and stop waiting!  Do something about it TODAY!.