COPING WITH WITHDRAWAL

Okay, you want to quit. But every time you start, your plan is knocked out by your cravings to chew or dip. Here’s some of the best advice you will ever get about dealing with withdrawal, plus a few tips straight from my own hectic struggles.

You get a craving to stick that tobacco in your mouth, especially when you’re at where you always used it.

Wait it out. Deep breathing and exercise help you feel better right away.

When you feel irritable, tense, restless, impatient . . . it will pass.

Walk away from the situation. Deep breathing and exercise help to blow off steam. Ask others to be patient with you. Tell them you re quitting and need their help.

If you have constipation or irregularity . . . a normal result of changing what you take into your body . . .

Add more fiber to your meals, like whole grain breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables.

You may feel hungry more often or start to gain weight. This will all pass.

Eat regular meals. Feeling hungry is sometimes mistaken for the desire to dip or chew.

Remember, it takes about two weeks or so for your body to flush out all the nicotine, which is what makes you want more nicotine. Be patient with yourself.

You may feel like having sweets more often. Nicotine pushes up your insulin production and then crashes it down so it’s natural to crave a “sugar high” when you quit using tobacco.

Spit tobacco and dipping are both oral so replace them with some oral substitutes. Reach for low-calorie sweet snacks like apples, sugar-free gums and candies. You might like jerky sticks. If you like things that are salty or crunch instead of sweets, try chewing on pretzel sticks, rice cakes or cereal sticks. Chewing or dipping Quitters sometimes like “ants on a log.” (Stuff celery sticks with peanut butter and sprinkle with raisins)

I finally quit smoking by taking the advice of the American Lung Association. I drank lots of water. I drank so much water I felt as if I sloshed as I walked. I drank water all day and especially when I craved tobacco. Not only did it keep me hydrated and less interested in tobacco, all that water (about an 8-oz glass every hour all day) quickly flushed the nicotine out of my body. My cravings for tobacco went out the window after about three weeks. I kept telling myself, “Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks.