Smoker/heavy eater

minohh

ive been smoking cigarettes for a couple years now... I'm 23 and am trying to stop.
ive tried every natural way to stop the habit but then I either lose my cool or too busy stuffing my face.

I eat a lot of snacks and have big meals.
(Guess you can say it's from my lack of self control)
I know it's going to be tough but I know for me to be the person I want to be I have to stop those two things.
Help me get motivated because I have A LOT of days where I just want to give up..

WendyLaubach

I quit smoking many years ago after a doctor friend of mine got my attention with a vivid description of what happens to your bloodstream and your heart and lungs every time you take a puff. I don't know of any way other than cold turkey. It's also true that the temptation to munch food when you can't have a cigarette is incredibly strong. Honestly, I don't know of any way to start eating less food than the cold-turkey method, either, though pre-logging absolutely all my food on this site helps. It's awfully hard to munch on a bag of potato chips if you have to look it up and write it down first. I will say that, having been here for four months, although it was a slow process, I did gradually lose the munching urge, that sense that I just had to be chewing or drinking or messing with something with my mouth at all times. It's hard to believe that that impulse will ever go away, but it does if you set your mind to saying "no" to it long enough.

Of course, then you have to watch out for other impulsive behavior, like buying things. :-) There never will be any substitute for self-control.

minohh

Idk how you do it - congrats on continuing your healthy living! It's inspiring to hear that you quit. I've tried handful of times but was always pulled back into temptation.
Maybe gum would help curb both habits?

lgoldfarb

I quit smoking about a year ago. My biggest piece of advice would be to not tackle both things at once. Pick one, then a month or 2 later, start the next thing. Both are major changes in lifestyle. I would recommend stop smoking first. That way you'll be able to exercise when you are ready to start that. Gum, sunflower seeds, hard candy, dum dum lollipops all helped me. You can still log all the food you eat, but just tackle one major change at a time.

nuttynanners

I second @lgoldfarb. Log your food on MFP, without a big deficit in calories. Set yourself an extremely reasonable goal, like eating at maintenance for a month. You can adjust that under the goals setting. Then, after working at that level for a while, focus more on your food goals.

Also, don't try to go cold turkey. Try leaving the house with only 1-2 cigarettes at a time, that way you have to pace yourself. Try planning activities that you might get too caught up in to smoke. If you are out and about, it will take your mind off things. If you regularly smoke at work/school, try cutting back on the number of smoke breaks you take, and instead use that time to have a healthy snack that you brought with you, or to make a cup of coffee/tea. Make the snack time or coffee break into a new habit, and break the ritual of using that time for smoking. Another tip is to try to set a minimum number of hours between cigarettes, like if you smoke one, you have to wait another 5 hours before the next. I've always found that playing these little games with myself helps. I currently smoke 1-2 cigarettes per week rather than the 3-4 per day I did before, and I'm fine with that.

The important thing is to know that you ARE in control and you CAN get through each bout of cravings. Just go in with a plan

adinterim

Hi, figured I'd throw in my two cents worth, cause in about two weeks I can proudly say I've been smoke free for a year.
I'm currently 24 and previous to quitting I had been smoking for a whooping 8 years. (Yikes!) Most of that time was spent with a solid packet a day.
While I wasn't serious about losing weight at the time, I certainly didn't want to fall in the trap of gaining even more. But I gave myself blanket permission to eat whatever I wanted for a week and told myself not to feel guilty (which I still did, but it wasn't as bad).
I went to the store to buy most of what I'd need for the coming days, as well as my last pack of cigarettes. I smoked the whole pack that day, like any other day, went to bed and more or less bunkered myself inside for the next three days.
The first three days or so are the worst since this is your body going into withrawal, then it just tapers off and becomes easier by the day until one day you walk by someone who's smoking and have no idea what the hell you were thinking cause that smell is absolutely terrible. Huge lightbulb moment.

In the immediate aftermath, I remember snacks being very important so I recommend stocking up on fruits and veggies you like to eat. It gives your mouth something to do.
For the first few weeks, avoid smokers or places where smokers hang out. It might sound drastic, but I remember my first dinner at my dad's house (he's a smoker) as being quite tough to get through when I was about a week and a half though.
Be very strict with yourself when it comes to cigarettes, but be more mellow with everything else. Your body will thank you for it later. Keep in mind why you quit.
Keep track of the money you save and maybe plan to get yourself a treat with some of it when you've been smoke free for this and that long.

I wish you the best of luck and I can honestly tell you that it's worth it!

lostgoals

I quit smoking June 6th 2014 the day I bought a 15$ "e-cig" went from 24mg nicotine to 0mg nicotine over a year. I went from 2 packs a day for over 20 years to being able to breath and walk and even go up steps without gasping. That was my first step in getting myself healthier. Now I am working on the weight loss aspect!

BlueMacaroniArt

I quit for about 2 years and in a moment of weakness after my 2 yr old was born I started back. That was the 3rd time I had quit because I'm stupid. Tip one. Once you do this if you are anything like me don't ever think you can just have the one. One always leads to more. Anyway I just quit AGAIN 2 weeks ago. But I guess I'm in the minority. The last 2 times I have just did both at once. Logging food and quitting smoking. I added the c25k program to it so running would encourage me to stick with not smoking so I can breathe while running. I did it cold turkey this time. It's not easy but after the first few days it really is a mind thing. But the exercise helps and I think throwing myself into food logging and a new "obsession" actually helps keep my mind busy so I don't want to smoke. Try the quit now app on your phone. It's free and it's fun to see he money you are saving and the health benefits as the days pass. I find I don't want to cheat because I don't want to reset my stats. And I agree with everyone else. Avoid smokers. It will start to smell bad eventually. You can do it!