Detoxing and strong motivation

I started smoking when I was 14 and am now 40 so 26 years as a pack and half a day smoker. I have tried around 5 times before to quit and never made it past 2 weeks. I have tried cold turkey, Zyban and patches. This time I decided to go cold turkey.

I have always wanted children but I always thought it just wasn't in my scope of life. I have decided I would like to try a surrogacy option. In the process I want my "donation" to be as healthy as possible. This made me realize that I needed to make lifestyle changes that included smoking.

I woke up December 19th and decided this was the day. I never thought about quitting before the 19th but knew that morning when I woke up this was the day. The reason I have outlined above has really helped me stay quit for this long. This time I had a powerful motivation to quit and it wasn't because others wanted me to quit, it was because I wanted to quit.

On day 3 I purchased Alan Cars Easy way to quit smoking. This book really helped me to understand why I smoke and that I was "escaping smoking" not "giving it up"

Once I had made it past a week I wanted to make other "lifestyle" changes and read that detoxing the body would help with cravings. I watched the video (on netflix), hungry for change. That really made me think about the nutrition choices I was making. They suggested juicing as a way to detox. I started juicing around 2 weeks after I quit and purchased a colon cleanse product. I had a headache the first couple of mornings but felt more energized by doing the juicing. From there I have done reflexology, acupuncture, sauna for 15 minutes a day to sweat out toxins. Epson salt, baking soda and lavender baths before bed, drinking tons of water, cut out most sugar and am getting massage therapy once a week. All this therapy is initially costing me more money that it would be to smoke but in the long run I will be saving financially as well as many other benefits from quitting.

I still get cravings but they are manageable and I know I will not give in because I have such a strong motivation to stay quit. I believe the other lifestyle changes I have made not only made the withdrawals easier to handle but have given me more confidence that I have a tool belt to battle the nicotine demon.

I am just as eager to reach the 3 and 6 month milestones as I was to reach the 3 day and 3 week milestones. I hope my shared experience might help even just 1 person in the battle to quit for good.