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.
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.
The conversation we both then had was enlightening to both of us.
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.
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.
To help her in her second attempt to quit smoking, we decided to look at what was wrong with her first plan to stop smoking.
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.
My friend found herself bored with her available food choices and the diet soon became a thing of the past.
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.
"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.
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.
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?
From there, she could have found a gym and a personal trainer to develop a moderate plan for exercise that increased gradually.
I was able to show my friend that breaking down her large goal of overall health into smaller, acheivable goals was the best solution for her.
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
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.
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.
The conversation we both then had was enlightening to both of us.
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.
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.
To help her in her second attempt to quit smoking, we decided to look at what was wrong with her first plan to stop smoking.
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.
My friend found herself bored with her available food choices and the diet soon became a thing of the past.
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.
"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.
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.
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?
From there, she could have found a gym and a personal trainer to develop a moderate plan for exercise that increased gradually.
I was able to show my friend that breaking down her large goal of overall health into smaller, acheivable goals was the best solution for her.
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
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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