YOU (South Africa)

Off the sauce – and the smokes!

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He’d been a drinker and smoker for more than half his life, having started both habits at the age of 15. But after getting into better shape with exercise and a healthy diet over the past two years, TREVOR GUMBI decided it was time to quit fags and booze.

The comedian and actor took to Instagram recently to mark reaching 21 days without cigarettes or alcohol. “If it’s true that it takes 21 days to form a habit, I might just be in the clear. I’m here to tell you that it does get easier,” he said.

“It was a decision I came to in line with my weight-loss and body-shaping goals,” Trevor (37) tells us. “It’s about being healthy and also about challengin­g myself to control all aspects of my life and take charge of everything around me.”

He also wants to be a good example to his sons, Jamie and Jodie. “I want to show them that I’m not perfect but that I can make a decision to change for the better.”

He experience­d mood swings in the early days of nicotine withdrawal and initially avoided friends who smoke and drink, but now that he’s feeling stronger he’s more comfortabl­e about being around people who do. “Both were difficult to give up in different scenarios – the cigarettes in bored and lonely situations and the liquor during social gatherings,” he says.

Any tips for those thinking of quitting? “Do it for yourself – because then you’re doing it for the right reason. Don’t do it to please others because then if you fail, you’re disappoint­ing yourself, which is worse than disappoint­ing others.”

 ??  ?? Funnyman Trevor Gumbi says quitting bad habits sets a good example for his kids.
Funnyman Trevor Gumbi says quitting bad habits sets a good example for his kids.
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