7 steps to quit smoking without substitutes and naturally

Though you have made the decision not to use substitutes, you still need to consider other options, know that there is no perfect way to quit and depending on the situation, substitutes may also help.

Step 1: Make a quitting plan

The first step to quitting smoking the natural way is to make a quitting plan. Instead of quitting suddenly, prepare yourself, so you can finally say goodbye to cigarettes. Some people start on special occasions, such as: birthdays, New Year's Eve or even Stoptober. However there is no perfect time to quit! The key is to prepare yourself.

Cigarettes may have been an important part of your life, so planning when to quit will help in many ways:

• It will help you to be aware of your cessation.

• You will help you to reflect on what motivates you to quit smoking.

Do you need help to prepare? Good news! Kwit designed a program to help you prepare to quit smoking. This 9-step program, available on our application, will allow you to stack the odds in your favor so that you’ll be ready on D-day!

For more information, find our dedicated article, and Download Kwit on your store!

Step 2: Adjust your diet if you quit smoking without substitutes

Quitting smoking naturally also means adjusting your diet. Most smokers have vitamin and mineral deficiencies; this is especially true for those whose diet hasn't been balanced! Thus, it is essential to rebalance your diet before quitting smoking. Doing so will help you get through this challenge since a good quality diet can help you deal with some withdrawal symptoms.

Furthermore, taking this step will reduce what many people fear when they stop smoking naturally: weight gain. The nicotine contained in cigarettes has actually altered your metabolism, by making your bodyweight artificially lower than your natural weight. Once you stop smoking without using any substitutes, your body will no longer have access to nicotine, and your metabolism will return to normal. As a result, some smokers see their weight increase when they stop. But don't worry! This does not happen to everyone, and you can always lose the weight you gain once you have stabilized your cessation.

Step 3: Change your mindset to be more positive

In life, we naturally tend to notice the negative rather than the positive. This can be especially true when we experience life changes, such as quitting smoking. Therefore, when quitting smoking, it is essential to try to change our mindset, to learn to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. In this article, you will find all our tips to make it happen!

Step 4: Find natural distractions to cope with cravings

During smoking cessation,especially if you quit smoking naturally, one of the most important steps is to find distractions. They are indeed the best allies to deal with cravings. Keep in mind that these cravings usually last only 2 to 5 minutes! This explains the importance of distraction techniques: they allow you to think about something else during difficult moments and to forget about the cravings. Since you are quitting smoking naturally and can't help yourself with substitutes, these distractions are even more important.

Don't know what to do? How about taking a look at your profile on the Kwit application? Looking at the goals you've already achieved will help you to:

• Realize how far you've already come;

• Think about something else while surfing on the application, and thus forget about the cravings;

• Get motivated by thinking about what you can still accomplish.

If after doing this, the urge persists, consider trying out our breathing exercises!

Step 5: Learn stress management with our breathing exercises

The breathing exercises can also be useful for another important step of your smoking cessation: learning to manage your stress.

Some smokers think that cigarettes help them deal with stress and are afraid that they will have to deal with it if they quit smoking. Yet this is just a perception. When you think about it, how often has smoking actually stressed you out? On Sundays or holidays, for example, when you were out of cigarettes and all the stores were closed. Or fearing the impact of smoking on your loved ones, especially your children. Quitting smoking will take this stress off your shoulders!

True, at the beginning of the quitting process, you may feel stressed and on edge. This is due to the physiological dependence on nicotine, which has gradually been building up while you were smoking.

If you don't use nicotine substitutes to quit smoking, this dependence will be particularly strong at the beginning. However, you should know that this dependence is usually the first to disappear and that it is only particularly strong at the beginning of your withdrawal. In other words: this stress will be one of the first withdrawal symptoms to disappear! In the meantime, our breathing exercises are here to help you deal with it.

Step 6: Make sure to reward yourself for every step you take

Once you decide to quit smoking naturally, it is important to remember to reward yourself for every step you take! Kwit’s counters and goals will help you keep track of your progress. By the way, why don’t you use this opportunity to treat yourself with something that makes you happy? Some former smokers do this every month (or at regular intervals): they use the money they've saved to buy themselves something they want; That becomes a token of their progress and of how far they've come.

Step 7: Start exercising again to get back in shape

We all know that it is not recommended to practice sports and smoke. Indeed, smoking increases the risk of heart attack, especially for athletes. But when you stop smoking, exercising has many beneficial effects! For instance:

• When you practice sports, just like the nicotine contained in cigarettes and substitutes, physical activity enables the secretion of dopamine, the happiness hormone, which is beneficial to your mental health.

• Sport helps you clean your lungs, of all the toxins built up from smoking.

• Practicing a physical activity pushes you to set goals; It forces you to use all your respiratory capacity. As a result, you feel more motivated to stay smoke-free, thus keeping risks of relapse at bay.

However, exercising doesn't mean you have to overdo it. Spending a few minutes regularly doing some physical activity, even a gentle one like yoga or walking, is enough. The key is to adapt it to your needs and interests.

Have these steps to quit smoking without substitutes and naturally convince you? Share this article with your friends and family! And join us on Instagram, Youtube and Tiktok for new daily advice!