Is Smoking a Weight Loss Aid?

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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.

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.

My friend thought this was an excellent commercial to reinforce for those that as a weight loss aid, smoking leaves a lot to be desired.

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.

Additionally, she hadn’t taken into account just how ingrained smoking was in her life, not just the addictive nature of cigarettes.

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.

My friend first attempted to give up cigarettes completely.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Source: http://www.apakistannews.com/is-smoking-a-weight-loss-aid-102456

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