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.
This time, however, she was not only listening but also initiating the conversation.
She had seen a commercial recently which had beautiful women wearing tight, provocative clothing but written on the clothing was a different smoking related disease - "Heart Disease," for example.
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.
My friend explained that she had tried once before to quit smoking and had even made a plan beforehand. Still, she gained weight and eventually started smoking again.
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 decided to look at the flaws with her first plan to quit and from that, create a new plan for her.
Cold Turkey - My friend gave up cigarettes completely one day without any preparation because she heard this was the best way to go.
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 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 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 helped my friend to see that the goals she set were simply not realistic and certainly not acheivable for her to start with.
First, stopping smoking was good but she could have looked at some other options to going "cold turkey" if she found this difficult.
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.
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.
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 - 20896
Her biggest concern historically, is that she is already overweight and can't risk the weight gain by giving up cigarettes.
This time, however, she was not only listening but also initiating the conversation.
She had seen a commercial recently which had beautiful women wearing tight, provocative clothing but written on the clothing was a different smoking related disease - "Heart Disease," for example.
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.
My friend explained that she had tried once before to quit smoking and had even made a plan beforehand. Still, she gained weight and eventually started smoking again.
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 decided to look at the flaws with her first plan to quit and from that, create a new plan for her.
Cold Turkey - My friend gave up cigarettes completely one day without any preparation because she heard this was the best way to go.
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 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 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 helped my friend to see that the goals she set were simply not realistic and certainly not acheivable for her to start with.
First, stopping smoking was good but she could have looked at some other options to going "cold turkey" if she found this difficult.
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.
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.
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 - 20896
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.
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