Quitting Smoking & Losing Weight

natboosh69

I quit smoking on Monday (apart from a slight relapse last night, which I won't be repeating!), and was just wondering if anyone had any advice.

I've been reading up and I know it's very common for people to pile on weight due to using food as a distraction or whatever, but I read that when you quit your metabolism slows down as your heart rate slows. Is this true? And if so, how does one prevent putting weight on?

I'm eating 1200 plus exercise calories, but the only exercise I do is walking. Just walking and cutting out fatty and sugary stuff works for me, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make sure my efforts aren't wasted, if the above about metabolism is true.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

jhall260

I quit smoking the same time I lost the majority of my weight. Here is what I did.

1) I replaced smoking and a sedentary lifestyle with an active one
2) I watched what I ate, and didn't kid myself.
3) When I was first quitting and used to getting up and taking a smoke break - I went for a brief walk instead
4) While there may be some truth to nicotine increasing the metabolism there is no reason why you cant negate that by being more active, it really is calories in vs. calories out.

Congratulations on making a good decision to quit smoking. It's one of the best ones I've made in my life. It will be 3 years on 5/2/2015 for me.

natboosh69

Congrats to you too! But yeah I guess it's just a case of seeing how it goes, if I do gain or plateau then I'll have to just up the exercise

SergeantSausage

I lost 36 pounds within the first 6 months of quitting (over 3 years now (17 Nov 2011)) so... gaining weight isn't written in stone, right?

OTOH, my first non-smoking goal was to run a full marathon - 26.2 miles - and I logged a bit over 1100 miles in that first 6 months. A bit under a million calories burned on the road and on the treadmill since then. Not everyone wants to do that ... but you don't have to gain if you don't want to.

natboosh69

Wow good going! Tbh I bloody hate exercise so hoping I'll find I have more energy after a few weeks, which will motivate me to get moving more.

atypicalsmith

I gained a ton when I quit smoking even though my calories were reduced substantially (also completely quit drinking a bottle of wine, usually a bottle a night, and stopped eating out because smoking in restaurants was still permitted back then). Lost part of the weight, gained it back plus, lost part of that, gained it back plus, but this time I'm not stopping! Everyone is different. Hopefully I'm a worst-case scenario!

RockstarWilson

OP, taking on smoking is one of the toughest battles you will go through in your life. You have to REALLY want to quit. You have to hate yourself every time you light up, because you are sleeping with the enemy. If you arent there yet, your chances go down. You cant quit to appease the masses, or because a significant other doesnt like it. You have to really, whole heartedly, consistently regret every puff.

I gave over half my pack to some passersby at the bus stop when I quit. It was right after my Cowboys got mauled by the Bears, Oct 2 2012. I was waiting for the bus, debilitating smoking another, and then I just made the decision that I was done. It was easy after that. ....Imagine the happiness of that guy that asked for one and got 12!

Taking on weight issues is a whole other beast. My personal experience is that I failed many times, because I took on too much. One of my triggers to smoke was stress. So, if I got stressed, I would want to smoke. When that came on, I first thought of food, but some foids were off limits to me because I was dieting. Part of why I failed may be because I really didnt want to quit, but I think it was a combination of that and my coping strategies.

When I quit for good, I was in a low stress environment. I allowed myself to eat whenever I wanted, to give my brain the placebo effect: it destressed with smoking, it destressed with eating. It was in part the motion of hand to mouth.

Yes, I got fat. About 30 lbs fatter. But I worked it off. As someone above me said, weight is variable, but quitting smoking improves your life for good. I simply decided that it was better to get fat and be DONE with cigs, or stay where I was at and keep smoking. A you +100 lbs and not smoking is still healthier than a you smoking.

I say these things to just give you awareness that tackling both things is very hard, and not everyone can do it. You are trying to lose weight, but what if a craving hits, what do you do? You cant snack...its not in your calorie allowance. Stuff like that will come up, so make sure that your failsafes work if you are going to do both things.

I know you can quit. Everyone here does. So, do what you can do.

atypicalsmith

Everyone is different. Just keep it in check.

TimothyFish

One reason some people smoke is because they enjoy having something near their mouth. Eating does the same thing, so it can cause people to gain weight. A college professor I had grew a beard after he quit, so he would have something to rub near his lips. It helps some people to chew gum.

natant88

I quit smoking by eating a ridiculous amount of apples. Eventually my jaw got tired and did not want anything.