Quit nicotine, need to lose 30lbs, any hope?

stylistdeb11

I have been giving up nicotine my whole life, gave up the lozenges, the last of the nicotine 10 weeks ago. Gained another 10 lbs, need to lose 30. Have never seemed to be able to lose weight. I am also 52 yrs old. Anybody had success in this situation?

Sheisinlove109

Try getting to the gym and building a love for it. I'd try sticking with it every day for 30 days and see if you can rewire your brain to love it.

I'm not a doc or a nicotine user ever but I was not a fan of exercise and that's what I did and I love it. My whole world has changed. My mind focuses completely different, my food choices completely changed and crazily when I get frustrated all I want to do is go to the gym. Like I said took me 30 straight days. Even at 11pm when I didn't want to go, I went.

Down 85lbs, still going . Good luck! Just remember you CAN do this, just committ.

xchocolategirl

What's your current weight! Height? How many calories are you consuming? Are you using a food scale? In order to lose weight you need to be at a deficit.

stylistdeb11

I am 5'2" and up to 167 after giving up the nicotine lozenges. My goal is 1200 calories a day. Only just now feeling like I can start to focus on healthy eating. Giving up the lozenges was almost as hard as giving up the cigarettes. I did by a pedal bike today!

lauracups

I quit 5 years ago, no gum, no pills, no patch, just stopped spending all that money for a pack, was SUPER witchy for 2 weeks, hit my highest weight, joined here after a year or two trying different things, 60lbs gone....it can be done, the cliché is true, one day at a time.

EllaLeahB

Congratulations! I quit almost a year ago. Started at 13 and just turned 40. I also put on some extra weight, I'm working on losing about 10-15 from my gain.

brznhabits

Food and smoking addictive habits can be closely related. Find something else to do with your hands and mouth. Suckers/hard candies, chewing on straws/toothpicks, etc.

Why'd you pick 1200 calories as a goal?

bapity88

Not sure how you feel about vaping, but there's thousands of flavors: fruits, desserts, baked goods etc. and it can help with cravings or help if you have an oral fixation after ditching the lozenges. Although I'm not sure if it would trigger your smoking habit again, but I know a lot of people who have quit smoking, ditched the patches and lozenges, and curbed their cravings by vaping. Either way, you're doing great! You quit smoking and have been off the lozenges for 10 whole weeks. That's fantastic! You can do 1200 calories a day. Just make sure you're writing down every little thing you eat and make sure you measure correctly and weigh your food.

Moxie42

First, congrats on quitting nicotine!!!!

When I quit smoking, I found that the craving for cigarettes felt an awful lot like cravings for food. Between the cravings, being antsy, and bordom (cigs were a big procrastination tool for me), I found myself over-eating way more than when I was smoking (when I would avoid snacking by having a smoke instead). I really do believe the weight gain caused by quitting smoking has more to do with how we choose to replace smoking than it does the actual quitting. Yes, nicotine is a stimulant but it's not significant enough to directly cause weight gain just by not having it. Reminding yourself of that can help you decide, "Am I actually hungry right now, or do I just want to munch because I can't have a cigarette?"

Things that helped me: taking walking breaks instead of smoke breaks; sugar-free gum and mints; TONS of water, especially sparkling water (because I love it!), healthy snacks that I could munch on over time (grapes, popcorn)- these helped keep my hands and mouth busy without adding a ton of calories.

I also increased my calorie allotment to 1,600 and usually eat between 1,200-1,600/day. You can totally lose weight eating more cals than just 1,200- maybe give youself a little more wiggle room there and using those extra calories to enjoy more healthy foods like fruit or nut butters, or even having a glass of wine or other yummy treat. Different things work for different people but personally, that helped me because I was able to enjoy my new lifestyle, instead of feeling restricted. At 1,200 cals I found myself frustrated if having a banana instead of an orange put me over my limit for the day!

Wishing you the best in your new healthier life!

Grantmewillpower

I'm a 52 yr male mind you and I use to smoke for 35 years or so.
Yes it is possible to lose, but you really need to want to, not just say that you do.
Start by slowing changing the way you eat. It's important to learn how and what to eat and what will work for you.
Start going for walks and time yourself, try to increase the distance by speeding up your walk but keep the same time that you are out.....
Do this all for 2-3 weeks and tell me how you feel at the end of it.
Cheers and good luck with starting a program.

stylistdeb11

Thanks for all your support! I am thinking 1200 cals is pretty low. I bought a bike yesterday which for me is way more challenging than walking. Also, I am done with nicotine, I have done it all after giving up the actual cigarettes, vaping, gum, lozenges. Just don't want that monkey on my back anymore! I'm feeling pretty good without the nicotine, it was almost as hard as giving up cigarettes! but now that it has been 10-12 weeks I feel good enough to concentrate on the challenge of ditching some of this weight. Thanks again

DebLaBounty

Congrats on the new bike! I just started biking and it's great to be outside.

slaite1

stylistdeb11 wrote: »

Thanks for all your support! I am thinking 1200 cals is pretty low. I bought a bike yesterday which for me is way more challenging than walking. Also, I am done with nicotine, I have done it all after giving up the actual cigarettes, vaping, gum, lozenges. Just don't want that monkey on my back anymore! I'm feeling pretty good without the nicotine, it was almost as hard as giving up cigarettes! but now that it has been 10-12 weeks I feel good enough to concentrate on the challenge of ditching some of this weight. Thanks again

Biking is a great idea

When I finally gave up smoking I did it by picking up running. I figured if I'm giving up smoking (which I loved) I want to be able to do something I couldn't do when I smoked (run!)

It worked well. Running was a great distraction and fitness and health became a huge hobby of mine. I just really needed something to obsess about for a while.

Also, I second the mints/candy/gum. I still chew a lot of gum.

stylistdeb11

30 minutes on bike this evening!