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.
Her inspiration was a commercial she'd recently seen with beautiful models sporting skin tight jeans. The true eye-catcher though, was a different smoking related illness written down the leg of each model -"Lung Cancer," etc.
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.
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.
My friend also hadn't realized just how much she smoking was tied into her daily activities and how it wasn't just giving up nicotine.
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.
My friend first attempted to give up cigarettes completely.
This worked for her until she realized that she needed a substitue for the cigarette on her drive to work, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, after dinner and the like.
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.
The third thing my friend tried to incorporate into her plan for health was to exercise. She chose great running shoes, bought the exercise equipment and started to work out. Always an over acheiver, my friend chose incredibly difficult exercise routines and was soon injured and stopped exercising.
After listening to my friend's story, the one word that kept popping into my head was "Moderation."
I then helped her to see why her plan although well-meant, was too rigid and moderation was not addressed at all.
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.
For my friend, she needed to gradually reduce the amount she smoked each day until she could eventually give them up altogether.
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.
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.
I suggested that my friend see a doctor to determine her current physical condition. This would enable her to chose an exercise routine based in reality.
From there, she could have found a gym and a personal trainer to develop a moderate plan for exercise that increased gradually.
When you start out slowly have have a lot of short term goals that are acheivable, you will have more interest in a diet and exercise plan that is difficult or even impossible to achieve.
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 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.
Her inspiration was a commercial she'd recently seen with beautiful models sporting skin tight jeans. The true eye-catcher though, was a different smoking related illness written down the leg of each model -"Lung Cancer," etc.
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.
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.
My friend also hadn't realized just how much she smoking was tied into her daily activities and how it wasn't just giving up nicotine.
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.
My friend first attempted to give up cigarettes completely.
This worked for her until she realized that she needed a substitue for the cigarette on her drive to work, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, after dinner and the like.
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.
The third thing my friend tried to incorporate into her plan for health was to exercise. She chose great running shoes, bought the exercise equipment and started to work out. Always an over acheiver, my friend chose incredibly difficult exercise routines and was soon injured and stopped exercising.
After listening to my friend's story, the one word that kept popping into my head was "Moderation."
I then helped her to see why her plan although well-meant, was too rigid and moderation was not addressed at all.
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.
For my friend, she needed to gradually reduce the amount she smoked each day until she could eventually give them up altogether.
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.
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.
I suggested that my friend see a doctor to determine her current physical condition. This would enable her to chose an exercise routine based in reality.
From there, she could have found a gym and a personal trainer to develop a moderate plan for exercise that increased gradually.
When you start out slowly have have a lot of short term goals that are acheivable, you will have more interest in a diet and exercise plan that is difficult or even impossible to achieve.
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 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 - 15438
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.
