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.
Her biggest concern historically, is that she is already overweight and can't risk the weight gain by giving up cigarettes.
Since I've always been the one to broach this subject with her, not the other way around, my curiosity was sparked.
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.
This was the first ad my friend had seen that appealed to her senses. She knew that is she had this thought, so did a lot of other men and women.
We both gained an education from the conversation that followed.
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.
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, moderation, moderation." This is what my friend was lacking in her first plan. Her plan simply wasn't realistic based on her current level of fitness and smoking habits.
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.
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 example, She could have chosen a stop smoking date and reduced the amount of cigarettes she smoked each day by one until she reached her goal of zero cigarettes.
What happened if she did backtrack? My friend had no support system in place - no one to tell her she isn't a complete failure and that she doesn't have to give up. My advice was to find a "buddy" to quit with.
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.
I also suggested a gym. Strength in numbers is a great philosophy where my friend is concerned - she likes knowing others are going through what she is.
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 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 - 16004
Her biggest concern historically, is that she is already overweight and can't risk the weight gain by giving up cigarettes.
Since I've always been the one to broach this subject with her, not the other way around, my curiosity was sparked.
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.
This was the first ad my friend had seen that appealed to her senses. She knew that is she had this thought, so did a lot of other men and women.
We both gained an education from the conversation that followed.
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.
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, moderation, moderation." This is what my friend was lacking in her first plan. Her plan simply wasn't realistic based on her current level of fitness and smoking habits.
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.
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 example, She could have chosen a stop smoking date and reduced the amount of cigarettes she smoked each day by one until she reached her goal of zero cigarettes.
What happened if she did backtrack? My friend had no support system in place - no one to tell her she isn't a complete failure and that she doesn't have to give up. My advice was to find a "buddy" to quit with.
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.
I also suggested a gym. Strength in numbers is a great philosophy where my friend is concerned - she likes knowing others are going through what she is.
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 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 - 16004
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.
