========================================================== "The truth about Smokers 'Relaxation Ruse' "

- by Neil Stelling B.Sc, MBA

© DigiLectual Inc. 2004 http://www.quitsmokingwithNLP.com/ ==========================================================

Smokers love excuses. They can't quit because .. (fill in blank). I covered one of favorite excuses in another article, 'concentration con'.

Now here's another of main - can't quit - excuses. Smoking helps relaxation. Most smokers claim it helps them relax. But would you ever describe a smoker as relaxed ?

Their addiction (or habit) makes them nervous and jumpy. All things equal, a smoker will never relax as they once did before their drug.

Think about last time you ate in a restaurant. Isn't that a relaxing environment when you're eating your meal, in good company ? But that's not enough for smoker. They're still not relaxed. They need a cigarette fix, even between courses, because they think that's what they need to relax.

Then they associate a temporary relaxation with cigarette, rather than environment and company. They don't even consider their non-smoker friends enjoyment might get ruined by smoking.

Let's look at realities of relaxation ruse. Nicotine is a stimulant, not a relaxant/depressant. A stimulant speeds up metabolism, not slows it down.

The 'smoking is relaxing' claim counts as yet another irrational excuse used by smokers who can't face up to quitting. The smoker genuinely feels a cigarette will relax him.

Supplement is a word defined by Webster as such: Something added to complete a thing or to make up for a deficiency. Even so; some weight loss supplement companies market their products as magic pills and some consumers think of them as such.

I believe weight loss supplements can be beneficial if we learn to look past hype and use them in addition to improved eating habits as well as increased physical activity.

Know what you want out of your weight loss supplement: Are you looking for decreased appetite, carb blocking ability or increased metabolism? What is manufacturer promising? What are active ingredients and what studies and dosages were done on them?

Look for reviews and testimonials: This is something I almost did not want to mention because reviews and testimonials can be very conflicting. Reading weight loss supplement reviews and testimonials is going to require you to think for yourself and determine if review or testimonial makes a valid point or not. I recently read a review for a weight loss product that said something to this effect: “I did not like this product; I continued to eat way I always do and actually gained weight on this product.” My interpretation of this is that person probably did not carefully monitor what they were eating. They were gaining weight before “eating what they normally eat” and were expecting this pill to magically cause them to lose weight. On other hand, a weight loss testimonial that says “I eat anything I want and am still losing weight!” is equally suspicious to me. Weight loss product testimonials and reviews can be helpful in your decision if you weed through hype and incomplete information. Look for clues such as: Did this product decrease customers’ appetite? Did customer experience more energy? Was reviewer jittery?

Is it too good to be true? We have a tendency to believe what we want to believe. But when it comes to weight loss supplements we have to be honest with our self. Are claims exaggerated? Is company telling us we do not need to change our lifestyle? Does it appear company wants us to lead a healthy lifestyle or does company want to sell millions of pills? Remember weight loss supplements are going to help you reach your goals, not carry you to completion of your weight loss goals.