Smoking As A Weight Loss Plan? No Thank You!

Before I start the main part of today's blog entry let me just announce to those that don't already know, that I am a non-smoker. I have never smoked and never will. I am particularly affected by it due to someone very close to me dying because of it. I also believe that it is extremely disgusting and unhealthy for those that do smoke and to those around them. I have always intended and continue to intend never to become involved with someone romantically who smokes for example. I also believe those that do smoke - and yes I do have 'friends' that do smoke - are being extremely selfish to their 'friends' by smoking around them. And yes it is a subject I feel very strongly about.

So that being said, here goes:

After I left the gym this morning I saw a girl smoking. It was a girl who had left the gym after me and she appears to be a tall stick figure type person. I regularly see her on most days I am at the gym and she does a lot of cardio work. Having never spoken to her before at the gym I admired her as a fellow regular gym-goer who was consistent and appeared to be doing many things right in regards to her own fitness. Then when I saw her smoking this morning, my respect for her from a fitness standpoint took a nosedive. The initial thought in my head was "What a Shame". I felt this way because it seemed to me that based on how hard she works with her cardio she wouldn't need to take up smoking which some have considered to be a weight loss tool. Now, let me just say that the girl in question is someone I've yet to be introduced to apart from maybe being in each other's eyeline at the gym, but the disappointment I felt was strong enough to make me research further into smoking and weight loss.

I found the following article by Anna Lynn C. Sibal from http://www.beautyden.com/smoking-weight-loss.shtml . It very much sums up what I feel regarding smoking and weight loss. To those that don't smoke, well done, you're an inspiration, and to those that do- please don't, for yourself, and for the rest of us.

Here's the article:

It is a sad reality that our culture and society is so youth-oriented. The image of what is considered beautiful is what is exemplified today on the runways: those stick-thin, teenage gazelles with boney arms and legs, whose cheeks look a touch sunken and whose cheekbones are a touch too prominent because of their thinness. It is the template that most women right now are trying so hard to fit in, so much that they would do anything to lose the extra weight that they think they are carrying.

Some of these women subscribe to various diets, whether scientifically proven or just fads, while some exert all effort to burn away the extra weight. some take diet teas and diet pills, and some even go through surgical procedures just to suck the fat out of their bodies. Sadly, there are some women who will not stop at anything to lose weight, who are truly convinced that the only way to be considered beautiful is to fit the size and shape of the ideal image that society holds.

Unfortunately, smoking is one of those means that some of those women use to lose weight. Why smoking? It is because smoking is one of the fastest ways out there to lose weight. Smoking accelerates weight loss because it kills the appetite and quickly burns the extra weight off the body's system.

But just as unfortunate is that while smoking deadens the appetite, it also burns away the nutrients that our body needs to be healthy and functioning properly. While we may think that the quick weight loss that smoking brings us is good, in the long run, it is only going to cost us our health.

Did you know that smoking is currently the leading cause of death in the United States? According to the United States' National Institutes for Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases, diseases directly resulting from smoking kill more than 400,000 people in the United States. Smoking also increases the risk of a person getting cancer. And not just cancer of the lungs; smoking is linked to cancer of the cervix, the larynx, the esophagus, the kidneys, the pancreas, even breast cancer. Smoking also robs the body of calcium, so women who smoke are more prone to developing osteoporosis than women who do not smoke. In addition, women who smoke are also more likely to give birth to premature babies and babies with congenital defects.

Smoking may be a quick fix to anyone's weight problem, but in the long run, the detriments that it brings to our health is not really worth it. Regardless of what image society projects, a truly beautiful woman is not just someone who is thin and can fit into size six clothes. A truly beautiful woman has a body that is fit and toned and whose skin glows with health.

If you want to lose weight, smoking is not the ticket for you. Rather than smoking, you should try simple exercises. You do not have to go to the gym to get some exercise. You could chose to walk when you need to go to the neighborhood store instead of drive. Also, instead of eating three times a day, you can try eating small, nutritious snacks every two or three hours. In this way, you will not feel hungry at all, and yet your body will remain nourished and actually increase its metabolism.

Quit smoking. Smoking is not good for you.