I pulled out of my driveway yesterday behind a bus and on the back of the bus was a stop smoking sign. It was quite disturbing, it said “$16 a pack isn’t all smokers cough up” below it was a photo of an average looking guy coughing up blood onto a handkerchief. It goes to show that a smoker really is a ticking time bomb ready to go off. It could be any minute, and you don’t need to be that old either. So here is one of my favourite blogs, maybe the message can get through this time, if you’re a non smoker congratulations maybe you could forward onto a loved one that still puffs away.
A Scam Exposed
Let’s pretend I was to offer you a pill that is highly addictive. You become addicted straight away, and you may remain so for the rest of your life. I’ll give you the first pill for nothing, but then I’ll start to charge you. I should warn you though it will be expensive, but whatever the cost you will find the money. You have a 50% chance of dying as a direct result of your addiction. You will become more lethargic, suffer loss of breath and become less resistant to all types of diseases. Bad breath, stained teeth, coughing and wheezing are all side effects. It will not only affect you physically but it may attack your nervous system undermining your confidence and self respect. You; a strong, intelligent, attractive human being will end up despising yourself for being a slave to something that you detest and ironically the more the drug destroys you the more you feel like you need it. By the way it tastes awful. What are the advantages? What will the drug do for you? Absolutely nothing, not a single thing, it won’t even give you a high. Any takers? No? Guessed what I’m talking about…….That’s right. Cigarettes.
The above is taken from an extract from Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking and……..
(Smokers please keep reading!!)
This week I am writing about something that really annoys me as a fitness professional, I want to talk about those stinky cigarettes that some of my clients, friends and loved ones smoke. They are killing themselves and annoying everyone around them with their cigarette smoke. I can say this because I used to be one of them. I may be the worst ex-smoker around, every smoker hates an ex-smoker who preaches giving up, trying to convince them to stop. I’m not going to tell you how bad smoking is for you, everyone knows it ages you, can cause cancer/s, disease, bad breath, stinky hair and clothes and it is becoming increasingly anti social. I help a lot of people with their health, diet and exercise but the one thing I find it hard to get through to people is to give up the ciggies. I have clients who are really fit and strong, eat right, train every day of the week but still puff away on cigarettes. I just don’t get it. I want to tell you about how I became a non smoker and a good friend of mine who has become a non smoker recently too. It’s a method called Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking, I read the book a couple of years ago when I was living in Spain and smoking lots of cigarettes, by the time I finished the book I was a non-smoker, I never smoked a cigarette again. I watched the DVD version with a friend over the weekend and basically it just uncovers the scam that nicotine addiction is. Most smokers want to quit, talk about quitting, want to be a non smoker, they try to quit but they just keep on smoking. They don’t want to smoke but are still smoking; they are a slave to the cigarettes and are trapped.
How do you become hooked? When you have your first cigarette you get your first hit of nicotine, then when the nicotine starts to leave the body you get a minor withdrawal, you feel empty, lonely and uptight and it’s not until you get another fix of nicotine that you go back feeling normal. It’s the same as a heroin addict. Heroin addicts believe they enjoy the ritual of shooting up when in fact they just want the heroin to relieve the massive down they are experiencing. It’s the same as with cigarettes just on a smaller scale.
Allan Carr’s methods expose all the myths that smokers tell you as to why they smoke and some I must say I used to use myself; here are a few of them.
It relaxes me. Yes this is true but it’s only relaxing you from the stress caused by the withdrawal from your last cigarette, in fact it’s not relaxing you it’s just getting you back to level you were at before you started smoking, it’s a vicious cycle. In actual fact you are permanently stressed out because you’re constantly thinking “when can I get my next fix? I need a cigarette! Oh no I can’t smoke in here!” Non smokers don’t have these feelings. They are relaxed after the meal or with the drink, minus the cigarette.
I like the taste: eat an ashtray full of butts and tell me that you still like the taste.
My favourite: It relieves boredom: Do you really sit there with the cigarette saying WOW this is fascinating? Maybe the first one, if this is all the fun you have in the day you need to get out more!
It’s cool and social: It’s not so cool anymore and its actually very anti social, the worst is when you go out to dinner with smokers then they get up and go and stand out in the cold or rain to get their fix, trust me a meal or a night out is much more enjoyable without having to pop outside for a cigarette.
From watching the program you begin to realise that cigarettes are just a scam, they do nothing for you and once you realise this it’s a pleasure to say goodbye to them. Here are a few tips from Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking.
You need to think of the positive, which is everything; there are no negatives to giving up. There are only positives; Health, energy, money, self respect, confidence, length and quality of life. You are losing nothing at all. Don’t approach quitting with doom and gloom, get excited that you are now free, tell yourself I am a non smoker, and enjoy being a non smoker right from the start, enjoy the process of cleansing your body free of cigarettes. Don’t doubt your decision and don’t envy other smokers. Pity them.
I urge any smokers to either read Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking, or watch the DVD or attend one of their clinics.
Jackie O, Anthony Hopkins and Richard Branson as well as thousands of other people have used his technique and it works. Check out the website at http://www.allencarr.com.au/
Board of Achievement
Jacq McDonald – Loss of 11cm total
Bec Graham – Loss of 8cm total
Duncan Elliot – loss of 5cm total
Damo Allman – Loss of 6.5cm total
Diana Bowyer – 2cms off the waist. 0.5 cm added to the guns
Mat McKenzie – Added 2cms to the important parts, chest and shoulders
Clint Morgan – Lost 1cm from waist, added 0.5cm on calf. Grow calf grow!!
Lean Van Den Berg – Added 7.5cm and 3.6kgs of body weight, and that’s all muscle
Graham Reidy – Loss of 16kgs
Saturday I.C.E mania!! The Beach is back
Yes we are doing it again. This Saturday morning at the world famous Hamilton Beach, voted one of the seven natural wonders of the world (by me). Get ready for a powerful 20 minutes of a run in the sun. See you there at 8.00
Can Do Clint's lifestyle Blog 