A good friend who needs to stop smoking (as I remind her on occasion but never seem to convince) approached me recently about her desire to quit.
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 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 gained an education from the conversation that followed.
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 decided to look at the flaws with her first plan to quit and from that, create a new plan for her.
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?
Her solution was to replace the cigarette with food. Guess what? It worked! She wasn't smoking. Of course, she was overeating and gaining weight. The second part of my friend's plan was to go on a diet and lose weight. This is a fine idea and my friend even did research to find out the the "best" diet but that diet was for quick weightloss and she didn't take into account that she wouldn't like most of the foods on this diet plan.
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.
I then helped her to see why her plan although well-meant, was too rigid and moderation was not addressed at all.
First, stopping smoking was good but she could have looked at some other options to going "cold turkey" if she found this difficult.
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.
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 also suggested my Weight Loss Breeze Program. The exercises are easy to start with and accomodate almost every fitness level. She has seen amazing results. She also liked the special breathing exercises that benefit smokers or those who've just quit.
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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 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 gained an education from the conversation that followed.
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 decided to look at the flaws with her first plan to quit and from that, create a new plan for her.
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?
Her solution was to replace the cigarette with food. Guess what? It worked! She wasn't smoking. Of course, she was overeating and gaining weight. The second part of my friend's plan was to go on a diet and lose weight. This is a fine idea and my friend even did research to find out the the "best" diet but that diet was for quick weightloss and she didn't take into account that she wouldn't like most of the foods on this diet plan.
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.
I then helped her to see why her plan although well-meant, was too rigid and moderation was not addressed at all.
First, stopping smoking was good but she could have looked at some other options to going "cold turkey" if she found this difficult.
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.
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 also suggested my Weight Loss Breeze Program. The exercises are easy to start with and accomodate almost every fitness level. She has seen amazing results. She also liked the special breathing exercises that benefit smokers or those who've just quit.
EL331001 - 16732
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.
