Would you like to look 10 years younger without plastic surgery? 

I'm not a doctor or a trained specialist of any kind, but I can tell you with real authority that if you make three very hard changes in your life, you will feel and look dramatically better - you'll sleep better, your skin with soften, you'll eliminate the bags under your eyes, and you will have the energy you had in your 20s. Really.

1.  Quit smoking.

About the time I turned 16, I started to smoke. I'd get in the car, turn on the radio, light up my cigarette and back out of the driveway. Initially I associated cigarettes with freedom. Boy did it feel good to take a deep drag and crank up The Band on the eight-track. 

Later, smoking became a more finely calibrated tool that I could use to mediate any kind of life experience: feeling sad, light up; nervous, light up; blocked for an idea, light up. It got so I couldn't leave the house without my lighter and cigarettes. It was paralyzing. And, of course, it was killing me.

Over 20 years I tried every possible aid to quitting - hypnotism, Nicorette, writing down the number of cigarettes I smoked each day. I believed that something other than my own willpower would magically take care of my addiction. And they were effective for short and exhilarating periods of time. 

But then I'd be at a party or have a really bad day and I couldn't resist "just" one cigarette. And pretty soon I'd be back up to a pack a day. It wasn't until I decided that I couldn't continue to smoke and be a good mother that I finally mustered the resolve to quit.  

I started attending yoga classes and discovered that substituting deep breaths for deep drags was helpful. Something so obvious to a non-smoker was a revelation to me.   

And I also discovered a shockingly easy, effective, and inexpensive tool. Every time I wanted a cigarette I chewed on a whole clove. I'm happy to say I smoked my last cigarette almost 10 years ago. Now I walk up stairs without huffing, the dark circles under my eyes have disappeared, and I can smell the roses.  

If you need any further encouragement to quit, a recent University of Michigan study found that nonsmokers like their bodies more than smokers!

2. Cut down on or quit drinking.

I started drinking socially about the same time I started smoking. At the beginning, a few beers helped me feel relaxed and engaging. Like cigarettes, alcohol became a tool I could rely on to help me through awkward situations or stressful days, and something to celebrate the good ones. 

Until I began to look forward to "cocktail" time...and then depend on it. Like cigarettes, alcohol began to govern my life.  And it felt dangerous to me - it ended up making me lethargic and my mind fuzzy. It was harder to stop drinking than to quit smoking - social drinking isn't demonized the way cigarettes now are, so I had no societal help.  

I didn't consider myself an alcoholic, so once again I decided to figure out my own method to quit. Inspired by my experience with cloves, I tried to substitute other satisfying drinks for my chardonnay. The first things I tried weren't helpful - bitters and water, water with lemon - just too boring and unsatisfying.

It wasn't until I realized that sugar was what I mostly seemed to crave when I had my wine jones that I discovered that if I drank a glass of pineapple or cranberry juice cut with seltzer at the very first impulse for a drink I could avoid the craving. I quit altogether for seven years and discovered an energy and clarity I hadn't known I'd lost. Now I allow myself the irregular celebratory drink.

3. Quit caffeine.

Caffeine didn't have the same negative effect on my life as cigarettes or alcohol, but it was definitely addictive. I had to have my cup when I woke up, or when I felt sluggish or blue. 

If I tried to quit cold turkey, I got headaches. But a combination of two age-related health issues - high blood pressure and perimenopausal hot flashes - made me finally decide to stop drinking coffee. Once again I tried my substitution method and was successful. 

I began to drink lots of different kinds of teas - cooling herbal, jazzy gunpowder, sweet green. I still love the smell of coffee (and I know tea has caffeine, but much less than what I had been downing). Now I revel in the variety of tastes that tea gives me - and the familiar, comfy reassurance of a warm liquid.

I don't pretend that any of this is easy, and I certainly don't recommend quitting any two addictive behaviors at the same time, but I can promise you that the quality of my life has improved since I stopped ingesting these substances during the last decade.

I think I look younger than I otherwise would, but most importantly, I feel younger. So if you're thinking of taking the leap, you might try my homespun substitution options, or find your own.