So the clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in and October is coming to an end. We’ve done a brilliant job of quitting or cutting down on smoking for Stoptober.
We’ve embarked on several challenges across the month to highlight our achievements and help us along the way. I began by dropping into Boots, my one stop shop for pretty much everything, and having a chat with their friendly, knowledgeable quit smoking adviser. They have some top practical and motivational tips on their website such as keeping your hands and mind distracted with something else, going easy on caffeine and alcohol as these can exacerbate cravings, and avoiding situations where you’ll be around smokers. All sounds obvious, but I found it’s vital to be prepared.
After a week or so smoke-free your sense of taste kicks in quite dramatically. I even spent a merry afternoon cooking up avocado, coffee and chocolate cookies! This was great as it occupied my mind, hands and mouth, and my ability to taste the subtleties between flavours was quite astounding. It’s amazing what a week smoke-free can do! I also noticed I needed to season my meals less, and went off sugar.
Three weeks after quitting my sense of smell came flooding back. I was sent the most amazing bouquet and could smell every different flower! I also caught the warm enticing scent of a bakery a full road away. And unfortunately, my wet dog smells even worse after a run in the park!
After getting through a whole four weeks with only the most minor of slipups, I feel it’s time to sit back, take stock of all I’ve achieved and document the evidence. My skin is glowing, my teeth are noticeably whiter, and I swear my hair is actually more swishy!
In the spirit of documenting how fabulous I look, I gathered some tips on constructing the perfect selfie from noted fashion photographer Claire Pepper. It’s all about the lighting, get this right and the rest is easy. Attention to detail is paramount, check the background for clutter, clashing colours, or last night’s pants strewn casually across the floor.
Find your angle, as with lighting, this is most of the job done. And finally, post-production. There’s no shame in editing or adding filters to make you look even more fabulous than you already do…
For more information click here: Boots UK Stop Smoking
