A friend of mine who smokes and whom I've never been able to convince to quit, came to me recently on her own suggesting she might need to quit.
This was a surprise as she has always told me in the past that she refused to stop smoking if it meant any weight gain.
Since she came to me this time, I was greatly intrigued.
She had recently seen an ad on television which definitely emphasized weight loss - skinny models but they all had some sort of smoking related disease to go along with their excellent bodies.
My friend thought this was an excellent commercial to reinforce for those that as a weight loss aid, smoking leaves a lot to be desired.
We both learned a lot from the conversation that ensued.
My friend admitted that she had tried to quit smoking a couple of years before but it was difficult, she gained weight and she started smoking again.
When pressed, my friend explained that once she "failed" and had one cigarette, it went against her entire plan to quit and loose weight so she wasnt prepared - her plan didn't allow for ANY deviation.
What she also failed to consider is that smoking was not just an addiction, it was a habit which was created over several years.
We took a look at what went wrong in her first attempt to quit smoking, in order to avoid those same mistakes in her second attempt.
The first thing my friend did was to completely quit cigarettes without gradually cutting back. She thought this would be the easiest way to give them up.
This is where my friend discovered what a habit really was. What would she do when she woke in the morning with no cigarette? What would fill her time on the drive to work without a cigarette? What would she do on her coffe break without a cigarette?
Food seemed to be the easiest solution. Grab a muffin with coffee. Have desert after lunch instead of the cigarette. This worked until she realized she had quickly put on weight. Not to worry, she also had a plan to diet. She chose a popular diet that had worked for her friends but failed to take into consideration that she didn't have the same food likes and dislikes as her friends.
As predicted, the diet quickly disolved and she gained even more weight.
Exercise - what could be wrong with that? Nothing, until I discovered that like her rigid smoking cesation plan and diet plan, she was working out twice a day, six days a week. Keep in mind that her existing exercise routine was to walk to and from her car in the parking lot at work. She stuck with the plan for a couple of weeks and then quit.
"Moderation in all things." I asked my friend to keep that as a daily mantra and to use that as the basis of her next plan to get healthy.
We talked about how her goals to stop smoking, lose weight and exercise were great but she needed to work up to the original goals she set - not start with them.
First, stopping smoking was good but she could have looked at some other options to going "cold turkey" if she found this difficult.
For my friend, she needed to gradually reduce the amount she smoked each day until she could eventually give them up altogether.
She could have also made a plan for not giving up if she did slip up and have a cigarette. What was her support plan? Did she have someone to call? What other natural aides where available. She could have researched this better.
Diet - this approach also needed to change. I suggested that she first see her doctor to discuss all three things she wanted to accomplish - stop smoking, diet, exercise. Her doctor could recommend a diet plan she could stick with as well as ascertain her current fitness level.
Her doctor would have also been able to perform a physical to see if she was prepared for an exercise program and if so, at what level?
From there, she could have found a gym and a personal trainer to develop a moderate plan for exercise that increased gradually.
I was able to show my friend that breaking down her large goal of overall health into smaller, acheivable goals was the best solution for her.
Over time you will see results in the way your clothes feel, how you feel fuller with smaller meals and hopefully, feel better without the cigarettes and their undesirable attached health issues.
I ended up recommending my Weight Loss Breeze Program. Exercises that almost everyone, regardless of current fitness level can do are included and feedback has proven amazing results. There are also special exercises for smokers or those who've quit that cleanse the lungs and increase oxygen level.
EL331001 - 15255
This was a surprise as she has always told me in the past that she refused to stop smoking if it meant any weight gain.
Since she came to me this time, I was greatly intrigued.
She had recently seen an ad on television which definitely emphasized weight loss - skinny models but they all had some sort of smoking related disease to go along with their excellent bodies.
My friend thought this was an excellent commercial to reinforce for those that as a weight loss aid, smoking leaves a lot to be desired.
We both learned a lot from the conversation that ensued.
My friend admitted that she had tried to quit smoking a couple of years before but it was difficult, she gained weight and she started smoking again.
When pressed, my friend explained that once she "failed" and had one cigarette, it went against her entire plan to quit and loose weight so she wasnt prepared - her plan didn't allow for ANY deviation.
What she also failed to consider is that smoking was not just an addiction, it was a habit which was created over several years.
We took a look at what went wrong in her first attempt to quit smoking, in order to avoid those same mistakes in her second attempt.
The first thing my friend did was to completely quit cigarettes without gradually cutting back. She thought this would be the easiest way to give them up.
This is where my friend discovered what a habit really was. What would she do when she woke in the morning with no cigarette? What would fill her time on the drive to work without a cigarette? What would she do on her coffe break without a cigarette?
Food seemed to be the easiest solution. Grab a muffin with coffee. Have desert after lunch instead of the cigarette. This worked until she realized she had quickly put on weight. Not to worry, she also had a plan to diet. She chose a popular diet that had worked for her friends but failed to take into consideration that she didn't have the same food likes and dislikes as her friends.
As predicted, the diet quickly disolved and she gained even more weight.
Exercise - what could be wrong with that? Nothing, until I discovered that like her rigid smoking cesation plan and diet plan, she was working out twice a day, six days a week. Keep in mind that her existing exercise routine was to walk to and from her car in the parking lot at work. She stuck with the plan for a couple of weeks and then quit.
"Moderation in all things." I asked my friend to keep that as a daily mantra and to use that as the basis of her next plan to get healthy.
We talked about how her goals to stop smoking, lose weight and exercise were great but she needed to work up to the original goals she set - not start with them.
First, stopping smoking was good but she could have looked at some other options to going "cold turkey" if she found this difficult.
For my friend, she needed to gradually reduce the amount she smoked each day until she could eventually give them up altogether.
She could have also made a plan for not giving up if she did slip up and have a cigarette. What was her support plan? Did she have someone to call? What other natural aides where available. She could have researched this better.
Diet - this approach also needed to change. I suggested that she first see her doctor to discuss all three things she wanted to accomplish - stop smoking, diet, exercise. Her doctor could recommend a diet plan she could stick with as well as ascertain her current fitness level.
Her doctor would have also been able to perform a physical to see if she was prepared for an exercise program and if so, at what level?
From there, she could have found a gym and a personal trainer to develop a moderate plan for exercise that increased gradually.
I was able to show my friend that breaking down her large goal of overall health into smaller, acheivable goals was the best solution for her.
Over time you will see results in the way your clothes feel, how you feel fuller with smaller meals and hopefully, feel better without the cigarettes and their undesirable attached health issues.
I ended up recommending my Weight Loss Breeze Program. Exercises that almost everyone, regardless of current fitness level can do are included and feedback has proven amazing results. There are also special exercises for smokers or those who've quit that cleanse the lungs and increase oxygen level.
EL331001 - 15255
About the Author:
Christian Goodman is a well known health researcher and author of several revolutionary natural health alternative methods. One of his recent breakthroughs is his natural Weight Loss Breeze Program. You can learn more about Christian on his Natural Health Alternative Blog.
