Sometimes those who are able to help themselves turn for help. One woman wanted to quit smoking and lose weight. I noticed that she can successfully achieve this and moreover without much inconvenience to herself. She replied, «I can’t resist food and cigarettes, but when it comes to exercise, I’ve got stamina… and I don’t do it.»
“You seem to be very religious, don’t you?” I asked. She answered in the affirmative. “Give me a firm promise that you will do some very simple things that I ask you to do.” She promised. I listed my requests: “Store matches in the basement. You live in a two-story house with an attic. Smoke all you like, but keep matches in the basement and cigarettes in the attic. When you feel like smoking, go down to the basement, take a match from the box and leave it on the box, run up to the attic and take a cigarette, go down to the basement and smoke. Here’s some great exercise for you.
“You said you like to snack. I offer a choice: running around the house or somewhere in the neighborhood. Do a certain number of circles, come back and eat whatever your heart desires. Would this be an option for you?» “Not a bad idea,” the patient replied. «Good. It goes without saying that when you bake a cake, you should cut it into very thin pieces. To eat one piece, you need to run around the house at top speed — and enjoy your meal. And if you want to eat a second piece, you have to run around the house twice.”
It’s amazing how quickly my patient began to lose interest in cigarettes … Go down to the basement for a match (you can’t take it with you), run to the attic for a single cigarette, fly back to the basement and light up. Doubtful pleasure. And running around the house … One round for one piece, two for two, three for three … Soon her appetite became much more modest.