Many of you who smoke know that euphoric first puff of
nicotine and tar that hits your brain when you inhale in the morning is what
gives you an immediate rush and makes you go to the loo. You can count on that
first cigarette never to let you down. Deciding to quit however, especially
after many years of smoking, is something you have to take into account when
abstaining from cigarettes. Your body will crave for the drug, you will become
constipated, and if you have not properly paced your body to wean yourself off pills
and other mental health medication you might be in for some unpleasant withdrawal symptoms in the form of cravings, moodiness,
short tempered behavior, and the like. This is not, however, about quitting
cigarettes but how to maintain regularity
in the bathroom when you do stop
smoking. I have fought many battles in the loo and know that there are no
shortcuts to breaking an addiction. First, you must want to break the habit, then you must own it, and then you must send
it on its way.
Break the habit with
water
In the meantime you have to regulate your bowel. Your bowel
is used to being triggered by that first smoke in the morning, and you have to
break it. Trust me, if you do not follow a Gestapo-like attention to your bowel
you are going to have toilet misery until you come up with something to replace
smoking cigarettes. Here is what I did
after smoking for ten years, quitting for 25 years, and then starting again in
my sixties when I made a film and had to smoke almost 500 cigarettes to re-shoot
scenes.
·
I quit smoking. Immediately my bowels acted up.
I was told by my doctor to drink lots of water; I have a doctor – actually a
neurologist – because I have Parkinson’s disease and constipation is one of the
side effects. I quit in the midst of
some very bad things going on at the same time with Parkinson’s and was dealing
with a right leg that moves constantly, trembling, headaches, dizziness; you
name it.
·
I bought a kilo of prunes, took about 20 of them
and washed them first before putting them in a small pot. When the water in the
pot started to boil I switched off the stove and let the prunes soak in its own
juice. I eat four prunes in the morning and four prunes at night; sometimes
five prunes or six. Prunes are high in fiber.
·
I drink about 4 to 6 bottles of water every day and
spread them out with my Parkinson’s pills which contain a lot of calcium and
need to be countered with another blue little pill. I drink water every half
hour or hour and make sure I eat veggies and fruit. I have mango and avocado in
a bowl with a fat dollop of Greek yogurt.
·
I don’t eat foods that are binding and do not
drink fruit juice except for the natural juice of the prunes which I myself
cook. Once you have established a regular routine by triggering your bowel with
something else – a lukewarm glass of water with a teaspoon of lemon juice for
instance, or two tablespoons of hemp oil to keep you healthy and glowing – you can
then work more confidently on your nicotine addiction. Go one step at a time.
Best advice I can give you.
