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.
Usually, the only reaction I get from her is that she doesn't want to gain weight and therefore, won't quit smoking.
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.
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 learned a lot from the conversation that ensued.
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.
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.
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 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.
Quickly realizing that she couldn't stick to the diet, she gave up and not only returned to her existing bad eating habits but she was eating more to compensate for the missing cigarettes in her day.
The third part of my friend's plan was to exercise. Great idea right? It could have been, however, my friend didn't want to start by walking - she wanted to run. She chose unrealistic workout routines and naturally, she found them too difficult and quit right away. In fact, she also injured herself by chosing such a difficult routine and was even less mobile than before.
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.
We first looked at how she approached giving up cigarettes. The "all or nothing" approach was difficult for her the first time.
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.
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.
My friend's plan of dieting was also changed. What my friend needed was not another fad diet but something she could live with. Otherwise, she would simply go back to the same bad habits.
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?
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.
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.
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.
In the end, she chose my Weight Loss Breeze Program and has seen amazing results. The program is all natural and the exercises easy enough to accomodate even beginners.
EL331001 - 15995
Usually, the only reaction I get from her is that she doesn't want to gain weight and therefore, won't quit smoking.
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.
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 learned a lot from the conversation that ensued.
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.
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.
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 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.
Quickly realizing that she couldn't stick to the diet, she gave up and not only returned to her existing bad eating habits but she was eating more to compensate for the missing cigarettes in her day.
The third part of my friend's plan was to exercise. Great idea right? It could have been, however, my friend didn't want to start by walking - she wanted to run. She chose unrealistic workout routines and naturally, she found them too difficult and quit right away. In fact, she also injured herself by chosing such a difficult routine and was even less mobile than before.
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.
We first looked at how she approached giving up cigarettes. The "all or nothing" approach was difficult for her the first time.
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.
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.
My friend's plan of dieting was also changed. What my friend needed was not another fad diet but something she could live with. Otherwise, she would simply go back to the same bad habits.
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?
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.
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.
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.
In the end, she chose my Weight Loss Breeze Program and has seen amazing results. The program is all natural and the exercises easy enough to accomodate even beginners.
EL331001 - 15995
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.
