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Exercise can literally change your life.
Being a smoker today can be quite inconvenient. Many workplaces and hospitals around the country now ban smoking on the premises. Throughout our nation, being a smoker has become a stigma and draws dirty looks. Meanwhile, a pack of cigarettes today can cost as much as a lunch. Many people don’t realize that exercise can help them deal with smoking cravings. Internal motivation combined with targeted interventions, such as exercise, can lead to a smoke-free life.
Exercise can literally change your life. 
It is a well-known fact that smoking is a difficult addiction to overcome. The pull of the craving can be unbearable, especially while dealing with the stresses of everyday life. Only about 5 percent of those who quit are successful on their own and will stay off the smokes for more than six months. Interventions such as counseling, health education, and medication dramatically improve your chances of quitting long term. Yet, combining these interventions with fitness can help you manage cravings even better — thus greatly improving your success.
After exercise, you feel a reduction in cravings. Exercise can also be used during a craving to combat it. It would only take a brief bout of moderate exercise for 5-10 minutes. Taking a brisk walk or even doing exercises in a chair can satisfy this. Exercise helps shift your attention away from your craving and improves your mood bringing you one step closer to beating the craving. The exact mechanisms by which exercise helps manage smoking cravings is not completely understood, but exercise affects the neurobiological processes of the brain, and it increases beta-endorphin levels.
Steven McDaniels is director of fitness and athletics at Beacon College in Leesburg, Fla., the first higher education institution accredited to award bachelor's degrees primarily to students with learning disabilities, ADHD and other learning differences.
McDaniels has served as a personal trainer and fitness center supervisor, adjunct instructor in health and wellness courses at Beacon. He also is a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS).
Prior to his work at Beacon College, he was a seasoned fitness trainer at World Gym where he conducted fitness consultations and recommended appropriate exercise and training regimens to clients. He also serves as an assistant recreation manager at South Chicago Parents & Friends, a program for individuals with mental disabilities.
McDaniels is also a life coach certified by the International Coach Federation and served several years at Beacon as assistant director and later Director of Life Coaching.
He holds a Master’s Degree in kinesiology from A.T. Still University and a law degree from Florida A&M University and owns the personal training company Fit & Focused, LLC. (http://www.getfitforfocus.com)
He has been quoted byReader’s Digest, The Tampa Bay Times, the American Council on Exercise'sCertified magazine, Yahoo! Canada Style, EliteDaily.com, Verywell, SparkPeople.com, Bustle,The Dispatch-Argus, Renew magazine, BlackDoctor.org and Max Sports & Fitnessmagazine. He was a featured guest on the “Octane Athletic Performance with Jason Benavides” podcast.
McDaniels has served as a personal trainer and fitness center supervisor, adjunct instructor in health and wellness courses at Beacon. He also is a Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS).
Prior to his work at Beacon College, he was a seasoned fitness trainer at World Gym where he conducted fitness consultations and recommended appropriate exercise and training regimens to clients. He also serves as an assistant recreation manager at South Chicago Parents & Friends, a program for individuals with mental disabilities.
McDaniels is also a life coach certified by the International Coach Federation and served several years at Beacon as assistant director and later Director of Life Coaching.
He holds a Master’s Degree in kinesiology from A.T. Still University and a law degree from Florida A&M University and owns the personal training company Fit & Focused, LLC. (http://www.getfitforfocus.com)
He has been quoted byReader’s Digest, The Tampa Bay Times, the American Council on Exercise'sCertified magazine, Yahoo! Canada Style, EliteDaily.com, Verywell, SparkPeople.com, Bustle,The Dispatch-Argus, Renew magazine, BlackDoctor.org and Max Sports & Fitnessmagazine. He was a featured guest on the “Octane Athletic Performance with Jason Benavides” podcast.
Latest posts by Steven McDaniels (see all)
- Brain Hack: Exercise to manage cigarette cravings & improve life - April 24, 2017