I quit smoking nearly 20 years ago. I stopped cold when I relocated to a new place/climate and never restarted. I wasn't a very heavy smoker and didn't even like it that much, it was a habit I picked up from my European-born boyfriend.

Occasionally over the years I've had sharp, short-lived cravings for a cigarette when I was very stressed or my serotonin levels were low. But I'm revolted by the smell of cigarette smoke and never picked one up again.

After six months of low-carbing, I no longer suffer carb cravings. But the past few weeks (which have also been very stressful, with an unexpected move and major lifestyle change), I'm suddenly plagued by cigarette cravings. I even had a dream last night that I was smoking again. I know my serotonin must be low and I'm doing some things to remedy that, but I'm really worried. I truly don't want to start smoking again! My dad has lung cancer and even though he did quit smoking years ago he was a heavy smoker for most of his adult life. I also live in a city that's behind the times on nonsmoking bans in restaurants, etc., and there are so many heavy smokers here; I think I may be picking up on that too.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this resurgence of cigarette cravings after a while on LC and how they've handled it. What's bothering me is that these are CRAVINGS, I don't really want cigarettes but something in my brain is hardwired to crave them. I can ride out the cravings but maybe there are other things I can do. I read somewhere that sunflower seeds "fill up" the nicotine receptors in the brain and so I may try eating some and see if that works.

Clearly with ongoing progress LCing I don't want to self-medicate with carbs either. I guess I'm looking for solutions at this stage so I don't start binging on carbs OR cigs!

Re the sunflower seeds and nicotine receptors, here's a link:

http://www.menopause-metamorphosis....art_healthy.htm

Scroll down to the "stop smoking" section.

Nettle and oatstraw infusions are very beneficial, reading that reminds me to try that again. You can usually buy nettle and oatstraw in the bulk section at Whole Foods or order from Frontier or Pacific Botanicals. An infusion is just a tea that's steeped a little longer to extract the micronutrients, 10 minutes or longer (you can even steep nettle overnight and it doesn't affect the taste).