Smoking Beliefs
As a personal trainer, I often meet people who smoke, want to give up but haven’t yet found a way to kick the habit for good. For the determined few that finally do give up, I find they admit to having spent a long time in denial about the harmful effects of smoking, even though they knew in the back of their minds they had to finally face it in the end. I’m not saying it’s easy to quit, you can be a stong person and still be a smoker, but my advice for anyone who is smoking right now is - DON’T STAY IN DENIAL. If you smoke 20 a day, you have a 1 in 2 chance of dying from a smoking related illness. Just a social smoker? 1-4 cigarettes a day increases this risk by 3 x more than a non smoker.
An effective way to give up smoking is to start doing regular cardiovascular exercise. This focuses your attention into how your lungs feel when you are out of breath whilst running, jogging, cycling, hill walking and the need to be able to breath deeply and clearly. Try setting a goal of not smoking on the days you exercise and gradually you’ll find as the exercise increases, the amount you smoke will decrease. I’ve seen this work many times, after all ,when you feel fit you are less likely to want to go and spoil it by having a fag!
Here are some common beliefs and arguments, extracted from a smoking hypnotherapy article:
- It’s not the smoking that’s giving me this cough
No, of course not – nothing to do with how much nicotine is clogging up your lungs then - Smokers are more interesting/creative/exciting/cool/bohemian/etc – Smoking is part of my identity!
Where are we – high school? Was no one interesting, cool etc before tobacco was introduced? - I’ll give up when I choose to. I just haven’t chosen to.
Yeah, yeah! Just do it. - I could be run over by a bus tomorrow
One in 14,000 people are run over; one in two 20-a-day smokers are killed by their cigarettes. - It’s my friend/companion/’secret vice’. It ‘looks after me’ when I’m stressed/upset/disappointed/bored
Yeah, weakening your gums, destroying your serotonin so you get more depression and pain, slowing blood flow into your penis (if you’re a man) and shrivelling your ovaries (if you’re a woman), dimming your vision, and making you look 10 years older. If a person did this to me I wouldn’t be sending them Christmas cards. - I only smoke one to four cigarettes a day. Where’s the harm?
Compared with those who have never smoked, men and women who smoke between one and four cigarettes a day are almost three times as likely to die of coronary artery disease. - My Uncle Fred smoked every day of his life and ran marathons until he was 110!
Good! Was he insane? The average smoker pays seven years of life for their habit. - If I didn’t smoke, what would I do with my hands?
Go and look at some non-smokers or people who haven’t started yet - I use smoking to relax, concentrate etc.
So which is it – relaxation or stimulation? It can’t do both. Do non-smokers never relax/concentrate? That’s your reason for sacrificing yourself for the tobacco company? - I’m completely physically addicted and there’s nothing I can do.
Ah – so smokers never go on long haul flights or sleep eight hours without waking up to smoke? Conditioned association to certain times and activities is not physical addiction.
Source: http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/articles/quit-smoking.html
Is Stress Making You Fat?
A recent study by Kalms has found that 44% of us admit to over-eating when we are stressed. Another link between stress and weight gain is down to the adrenal glands. The basic task of these glands is to rush all your body’s resources into ‘fight or flight’ mode in response to feeling under attack or stressed. In this high alert mode, the production of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are stepped up. Adrenaline gives rise to those unpleasant symptoms of increased heart rate and raised blood pressure that you experience when you are anxious, while high levels of cortisol can lead to a number of health problems.
Stress can result in the inability to lose weight, particularly around the tummy area, poor skin quality, rapid ageing, digestive problems and lowered immunity.
Amanda Hamilton, GMTV’s expert nutritionist, has devised some top tips designed to counter the negative effects of stress. Here is her advice:
1. Ditch the chemicals
If you can’t pronounce the name of certain processed foods’ ingredients, they probably contain toxins that can lead to weight gain. If you do buy processed foods such as tinned tomatoes, buy organic.
2. Avoid eating when stressed
Make a cup of herbal tea instead. Liquorice tea is great for stalling your appetite.
3. Only eat when you’re hungry
If you’re tempted to reach for a sugary snack, drink a glass of water and then wait 10 minutes - chances are, you’re simply thirsty.
4. Digestion starts in your mouth
Chew food properly and eat slowly. And always sit down to eat, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.
5. Be prepared
Ensure that you have the ingredients for quick nutritious meals such as stir fries and salads.
6. Eat and drink regularly
You must have breakfast, lunch and dinner each day and have two or three cleansing drinks daily (warm water and lemon). These will boost your digestion.
7. Stock up on snacks
Like nuts, seeds, dried fruit. This will stop you reaching for the biscuits.
8. Eat one treat desert a week
This will stop you binging.
9. Drink at least 4 large glasses of water each day
These can be herbal or green tea. Avoid caffeine. If you need a coffee fix, go for decaf. Or go for Miso soup.
10. Eat limitless vegetables
Pile up your plate with as many different varieties as possible.
Source: She Magazine June 2008
