One of my good friends who is a smoker, recently came to me expressing a desire to quit smoking.
Her biggest concern historically, is that she is already overweight and can't risk the weight gain by giving up cigarettes.
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 admitted that this was one of the first commercials she'd seen that truly spoke to her - she might be thin but smoking was still killing her.
The conversation we both then had was enlightening to both of us.
When I asked why she was so worried she'd gain weight when she tried to quit smoking, she explained that she HAD tried to quit and she DID gain weight. While she admitted that she hadn't gained that much weight, she took up smoking again anyway.
While my friend had a plan, she had no contingency if anything deviated from this plan.
Additionally, she hadn't taken into account just how ingrained smoking was in her life, not just the addictive nature of cigarettes.
To help her in her second attempt to quit smoking, we decided to look at what was wrong with her first plan to stop smoking.
My friend first attempted to give up cigarettes completely.
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! That was obviously an easy filler. Who doesn't like food? Food doesn't cause lung cancer! This plan actually worked for awhile since she wasn't smoking. What was the result? Pretty much what you'd think - she gained weight. Of course, this didn't fit well with her second goal of dieting to lose weight. The diet she chose was a poor one, based on her likes and dislikes. While she stuck with the plan for awhile, the choices were limited.
My friend found herself bored with her available food choices and the diet soon became a thing of the past.
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.
After listening to my friend's story, the one word that kept popping into my head was "Moderation."
I helped my friend to see that the goals she set were simply not realistic and certainly not acheivable for her to start with.
The first thing she should have done was consider how removing cigarettes all of a sudden would affect her. I explained she was already ahead of the game, having gone through this once before. She new "cold turkey" wasn't for her.
Research has shown that chosing a date is important, which she did, but she never made any attempt to reduce her cigarette intake gradually before that date. An end date is good but she needed to have smaller goals of reducing her intake as well.
My friend also needed the support of other resources along the way. She needed a place to go if she found she was getting off the path to smoking cesation.
Her second attempt at a healthy lifestyle, to diet also had problems because she chose a diet that she couldn't stick to. She should have seen a doctor or nutritionist to help her make a realistic diet plan.
Once my friend had a physical, she could design an exercise program that worked for her - not a marathon runner.
She could also join a gym and let the professionals there, who already have the expertise, design a program for her.
Starting out with several smaller weightloss, and exercise goals is much more gratifying than one big, rigid plan that makes one feel like a failure if results aren't seen immediately.
While we all want instant results, that simply isn't realistic. Take the time to notice the gradual changes happening to your body. How are your clothes fitting this week compared to two weeks ago? How much longer were you able to go on the treadmill this week compared to last? How are all of the small steps you are taking to gain better health coming together?
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 - 16463
Her biggest concern historically, is that she is already overweight and can't risk the weight gain by giving up cigarettes.
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 admitted that this was one of the first commercials she'd seen that truly spoke to her - she might be thin but smoking was still killing her.
The conversation we both then had was enlightening to both of us.
When I asked why she was so worried she'd gain weight when she tried to quit smoking, she explained that she HAD tried to quit and she DID gain weight. While she admitted that she hadn't gained that much weight, she took up smoking again anyway.
While my friend had a plan, she had no contingency if anything deviated from this plan.
Additionally, she hadn't taken into account just how ingrained smoking was in her life, not just the addictive nature of cigarettes.
To help her in her second attempt to quit smoking, we decided to look at what was wrong with her first plan to stop smoking.
My friend first attempted to give up cigarettes completely.
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! That was obviously an easy filler. Who doesn't like food? Food doesn't cause lung cancer! This plan actually worked for awhile since she wasn't smoking. What was the result? Pretty much what you'd think - she gained weight. Of course, this didn't fit well with her second goal of dieting to lose weight. The diet she chose was a poor one, based on her likes and dislikes. While she stuck with the plan for awhile, the choices were limited.
My friend found herself bored with her available food choices and the diet soon became a thing of the past.
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.
After listening to my friend's story, the one word that kept popping into my head was "Moderation."
I helped my friend to see that the goals she set were simply not realistic and certainly not acheivable for her to start with.
The first thing she should have done was consider how removing cigarettes all of a sudden would affect her. I explained she was already ahead of the game, having gone through this once before. She new "cold turkey" wasn't for her.
Research has shown that chosing a date is important, which she did, but she never made any attempt to reduce her cigarette intake gradually before that date. An end date is good but she needed to have smaller goals of reducing her intake as well.
My friend also needed the support of other resources along the way. She needed a place to go if she found she was getting off the path to smoking cesation.
Her second attempt at a healthy lifestyle, to diet also had problems because she chose a diet that she couldn't stick to. She should have seen a doctor or nutritionist to help her make a realistic diet plan.
Once my friend had a physical, she could design an exercise program that worked for her - not a marathon runner.
She could also join a gym and let the professionals there, who already have the expertise, design a program for her.
Starting out with several smaller weightloss, and exercise goals is much more gratifying than one big, rigid plan that makes one feel like a failure if results aren't seen immediately.
While we all want instant results, that simply isn't realistic. Take the time to notice the gradual changes happening to your body. How are your clothes fitting this week compared to two weeks ago? How much longer were you able to go on the treadmill this week compared to last? How are all of the small steps you are taking to gain better health coming together?
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 - 16463
About the Author:
Christian Goodman is a popular 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.
