Smoker

vbear1983
vbear1983 Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
As a smoker, am I delaying my potential weight loss and muscle building timeframe??

Replies

  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    I smoked through my entire process . I quit smoking last year. Smoking isn't a good idea at all but has nothing to do with weight loss or then building muscle .
    For weight loss, calorie deficit.
    For weight gain, surplus ( you need a surplus to build muscle )
  • Werk2Eat
    Werk2Eat Posts: 114 Member
    In terms of cardio, absolutely.
  • blessingsfromabove721
    blessingsfromabove721 Posts: 161 Member
    It will make it harder to breath during cardio..other than that, no, it should not affect weight loss.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    c_ross624 wrote: »
    It will make it harder to breath during cardio..other than that, no, it should not affect weight loss.

    But this will make you want to quit, LOL
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    This op didn't ask about cardio, but yea its not so easy as a smoker. But as far as an impact on weight loss, no. Weight loss comes down to cico
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    You can lose weight while smoking. As mentioned, if you start exercising, you'll probably notice that you're out of breath way too soon, so you might not be able to do as much as you could if you didn't smoke, but you can still do some cardio. And you can totally lose weight.
  • penguinparty510
    penguinparty510 Posts: 12 Member
    As a very recently quit smoker (forced to due to a health issue) I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but quitting smoking will play some games with your metabolism/BMR. Obviously, quitting is the best thing to do for your health! No question about that.
    But there is a lot of truth to the quitting smoking = weight gain stories. I thought I was doing great after quitting, even lost a few pounds. But then about 3-4 months later, about 10 - 15 lbs came crashing back with no change in diet. Hence why I'm on MFP religiously tracking calories.
    If you do quit, I'd suggest having a plan ready to increase your cardio and/or lower your calories. That way you won't get that weight creep like I did! Best of luck to you.
  • FitnessDebunked_com
    FitnessDebunked_com Posts: 7 Member
    vbear1983 wrote: »
    As a smoker, am I delaying my potential weight loss and muscle building timeframe??

    Probably not. I know big bodybuilders who smoke. But like any bad habit, they're not good to have. Keep smoking if you want, but try gradually cutting down if you want to at least limit your intake for cardiovascular purposes. The better your breathing and bloodflow, the better everything works in your body. :)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited September 2015
    vbear1983 wrote: »
    As a smoker, am I delaying my potential weight loss and muscle building timeframe??

    Nope.

    However, smokers are more prone to tendinopathy ("tendinitis", overuse injuries), and it takes them longer to heal from it than it does non-smokers. Tendons need oxygen to recover/heal, and smoking makes it harder for them to get it.

    Smoking also makes it harder to absorb vitamin C , which helps with collagen health.

    This probably won't affect you too much if you're young, but it catches up with you the longer you smoke and the older you are. So you might be slightly more vulnerable to those kinds of injuries if you do a lot of repetitive cardio. Not sure about lifting (probably will affect things a little, if you push it).

    Smoking increases your metabolism by a couple of hundred calories. You'll probably be able to eat slightly more than you did if you didn't smoke. (But that doesn't matter - you'll still just cut whatever calories you'll cut. If you quit, you'll have to get used to a lower daily calorie target.)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Mind you, you could name any disease or injury - smoking will make it harder to heal.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    I doubt smoking can affect the process physically - but I do believe it makes it a lot harder than it needs to be. I am an ex smoker. I stopped when my goal became more important. I needed to be successfully hitting my cardio targets and being a smoker meant that was literally impossible. I couldn't run for more than a minute without getting awful stitches and being VERY short of breath. I'd say if you're looking to build up stamina and overall fitness, ditch the cigarettes or at least consider cutting down. I'm not going to be the 'anti smoking preacher' but you will feel so, so much better in the long run too. :)
  • franfran1821
    franfran1821 Posts: 288 Member
    Smoking hasn't hindered me at all, with losing weight or cardio. I run a lot and i don't lose my breath. I'm the fastest runner in my crossfit class and i smoke a pack a day. I dream about quitting but i can't commit.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited September 2015
    I've smoked through most of my weight loss, only quit about a month ago. It hasn't hindered me in any way when I was losing, and quitting caused me to stall for a while, but it was worth it.

    Maybe it's too early to notice change in my breathing, but I don't feel a difference between then and now in terms of cardio either and I used to smoke 1.5-2 packs a day.
  • Duchy82
    Duchy82 Posts: 560 Member
    I quit smoking a year ago its the best thing i did, smoking didn't affect my weightloss and quitting smoking didn't either but i will tell you I'm feeling so much better not smoking, i haven't had a chest infection since and i used to have several a year, i haven't had a severe cold and i used to pick up everyone's sniffles, and i feel better, I'm less out of breath, my skin is less dry, i will never go back to that, and my fitness has improved a lot in the last year.

    No point quitting until you're ready to quit though, i have made so many attempts to quit before and they never worked, its a bit like weightloss you need your aha moment/ something has to click for you to be successful.
  • vbear1983
    vbear1983 Posts: 11 Member
    I am sincerely grateful for all your replies. It puts a lot into context and all the ex smokers stories opens my mind up even more so. I'm not fully ready to stop just yet but I am going to take part in "stoptober". You are all right with the cardio aspect, I do get easily out of breath and I think that's why I primarily do weight training than cardio. Once stopped/cut down I can concentrate on incorporating more cardio routines. Thank you all
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    vbear1983 wrote: »
    I am sincerely grateful for all your replies. It puts a lot into context and all the ex smokers stories opens my mind up even more so. I'm not fully ready to stop just yet but I am going to take part in "stoptober". You are all right with the cardio aspect, I do get easily out of breath and I think that's why I primarily do weight training than cardio. Once stopped/cut down I can concentrate on incorporating more cardio routines. Thank you all

    Good for you & Good luck!

Categories