I reached goal. Now quit smoking?

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SuccessHere
SuccessHere Posts: 240 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I am happy to announce I am fitting into pants I have not been able to fit into for years!!
I am thrilled. I am still not where I want to be, but I have reached my first big hurtle. I have been going to the gym and exercising. Sadly, I have also been smoking.

I sure hope I can maintain these measurements and not put belly fat back on if and when I quit smoking. Does anyone have any success stories on stopping smoking and keeping the weight off? I know it can be done.

Replies

  • Thaifarang
    Thaifarang Posts: 19
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    I did it the other way around. I gave up smoking first.

    Best way I found to quit smoking was through vaping (a more advanced form of electronic cigarette). Yes it keeps the nicotine coming but it gets rid of all the other 4000 or so chemicals. My health has improved dramatically and I gained no further weight since I started it in Dec last year. Now to lose the weight.
  • jamesdavidy
    jamesdavidy Posts: 32
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    Well done, keep going you are doing great! As for the smoking, you know its stupid the only motivation I can give you is, I watched my Dear Mother in Law Die of Lung Cancer, A very high risk of a horrible slow death should be motivation enough :'(
  • idontcarroll
    idontcarroll Posts: 216 Member
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    When I quit for two months I didn't gain anything. I also felt like wasted so much time smoking, I was less stressed when I was quit and over all accomplished so much more.

    Sadly I need to quit again and stay quit!
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    "Now" is always the right time to quit smoking. Congrats on taking the first step--the decision to quit. I've quit and stayed quit for almost a whole year. Now, I was already carrying a few too many pounds. Can't say I really gained any extra from quitting (maybe 5-7 pounds, tops, if I recall correctly).

    But quitting only helped me get more active (hello? I can RUN now? Awesome). When I was ready to commit to losing the extra weight, I found it so much easier to commit to healthy activities--no more smoker's cough. YOU can DO IT!
  • tombetlej
    tombetlej Posts: 61 Member
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    SuccessHere wrote: »
    I sure hope I can maintain these measurements and not put belly fat back on if and when I quit smoking. Does anyone have any success stories on stopping smoking and keeping the weight off? I know it can be done.

    Me, too!

    I'm near my (interim) goal weight and now want to focus on maintaining this weight while I quit smoking

    I'm planning on using patches +/- lozenges for nicotine replacement while I work on breaking the psychological/behavioral habits of lighting one up.

    Good luck!

  • mangogirl272727
    mangogirl272727 Posts: 95 Member
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    Unless you are extremely obese and are in imminent danger because of this, I would say quitting needs to be your number one health priority. You may gain a few pounds, but you can then continue with your weight loss journey.
  • JenToms80
    JenToms80 Posts: 373 Member
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    Hi There,

    After coontless time of trying to quit....my last cigarette was 31 December 2013, this is the first time I have gone this long and I can honestly say I havent missed them.

    Like you I worried about gaining weight, but what I started to do was plan days ahead...maybe do an extra class here or they so your mind is busy and you create a new routine - also chewing gum really helped me as well!

    Good luck!
  • pinkiezoom
    pinkiezoom Posts: 409 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I quit smoking first, vaping help and also i joined a fantastic support site called Healthunlocked, and joined their quit group, fab support, lovely friendly people and i would advise you look them up. Its free, and I have tried and failed to quit before, but this time 8 months in and its been brilliant.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Hi,

    As a few people have already said, they quit smoking first and that was the same in my case. I quit 4 years ago and have never looked back.
    It was actually from gaining a stone of weight from quitting the evil sticks that prompted me to get my weight down and I found MFP...

    Quitting smoking for me was very much about improving my health rather than anything else. I found a great article (I can't remember where) but it listed the parts of your body that recover from the effects of smoking and in what time frame... e.g. nicotene to leave the blood, so it created a series of mini goals to aim for.
    I also really concentrated on my workouts. With quitting, you will notice a VAST improvement in your cardio performance. I don't understand people that go to the gym and smoke. Not everyone might agree, but that is my opinion.

    As for aids to help with quitting, I haven't known anyone have success with e-cigs. I used patches for a week and then those 'lozenges' that taste like ashtray for any desperate moments. I didn't even finish one packet.

    My key tips would be to find positive things to focus on. You have the tools (MFP) to keep your weight in check. Focus on exercise...sign up to running race or challenge and create new goals. In terms of weight...I would consider quitting smoking more important than worrying about gaining a couple of pounds in the process. You can shake those off afterwards.

    It's tough, but so very rewarding. I couldn't run 100yds without wheezing desperately 4 years ago and now 2 weeks ago, I ran 13 miles in 1 hour and 44 minutes!

    Best of luck. x
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    Congrats on your success and good luck on quitting smoking. I think I would have tried stopping smoking first or at the same time since it's probably the more damaging thing to your health but it's never too late to stop.
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,834 Member
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    There's an app called "Smoke Free" that my friend is using. She was a 2 pack a day Marlboro smoker and with help from that app, she hasn't smoked in 2 months - or gained any weight.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I have read several studies that basically say every time you try to chance you've got about the same chance of succeeding. First time? Sure. Tenth time? You still might do it.

    You should ALWAYS quite smoking.
  • Frankiigii
    Frankiigii Posts: 62 Member
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    Personally the only thing that has helped me "quit" is my GreenSmoke e-cig. I want to quit that at some point too, but in the meantime it's been a good intermediary step for me. It makes regular cigarettes taste disgusting to me and the wheezing has gone away. There's no long term testing on the effects propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine has on the lungs, but I'm willing to bet it's better than everything in a regular cigarette.

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