I’ve done it, I’ve successfully given up smoking after lighting up and loving it for over 30 years.

When you are thinking about giving up a smoking habit no one tells you what is actually going to happen to your body. All the focus goes on the mental side of managing the cravings and breaking the habit. For me that was the easy bit. I thought I’d share my experience, of course everyone is different, 21 months after my last smoke, to help anyone embarking on the journey become better prepared.

I thought the difficult part of giving up smoking would be what do you do instead at the times when you’d usually have a cigarette, that first cup of coffee or lighting up when you come home from work.

That was the easy bit for me. I wanted to quit, I had a problem with my teeth, my gums and I didn’t want to lose them so I was motivated to give up.

I didn’t use gum or any nicotine substitute, I didn’t start vaping, I just decided. I didn’t tell anyone. I knew that would place added pressure on me especially if I failed. I was an arrangement with myself that after a few months people started to notice and I was able to genuinely enjoy the credit for actually managing to kick the habit.

But there was a much greater obstacle for me to get over, one I didn’t know was coming, one no one told me about. I knew nicotine was a metabolic stimulant and appetite suppressant so I expected to gain a few pounds, it actually ended up being about 12kg, twenty eight pounds and two dress sizes, almost half of which I’ve managed to lose thankfully, when I actually acknowledged the weight had piled on and that issue needed addressing too.

What I didn’t know is nicotine is a powerful anti inflammatory that can actually mask underlying muscular and skeletal problems for years as a smoker and stop your natural pain receptors working properly.

When you take this away it is like throwing your body into complete unprotected shock from how you can handle pain. Your natural pain receptors are completely heightened, so everything hurts, you feel 20 years older and your body’s capabilities to produce the endorphins you need to counteract pain are completely ineffective, your body doesn’t work as it should from years of not needing these natural functions. Basically despite all the terrible things smoking does it actually blocks pain, I guess one of the big reasons why people like it.

The physical pains were brutal. Arms, legs, back, shoulders everywhere hurt. I had to exercise every morning just to start my day which wasn’t easy but on the upside actually created a new healthier habit. And it took ages to get better, probably almost a year. Sleep was disrupted and whilst I could have run to the doctor with all my new ailments I didn’t, I sucked it up, told myself my body needed time to heal, I’d smoked for over 30 years, adjusting back to normal I believed my body would do on it’s own if I let it.

The good news is your pain sensors do come back into line, and all your natural feel good hormones, serotonin etc, they do come back. It just takes a lot longer than I would ever have expected.

I did think at one point if, not smoking feels this chronic what’s the point of stopping and then I thought about my teeth and stayed the course.

If you are in the middle of the first two years of giving up a long term smoking habit don’t despair. Take it easy. Cut your body some slack. Keep stretching, ballet barre, yoga and Pilates helped me enormously. In time you’ll feel better than normal again. And you’ll still have all your teeth.