Ex-Smokers Experiences Please!

SkinnyMsFitness

Quitting smoking easier than losing weight - yay or nay?

Wefita

Nay Lol I have a pack and a half left, and then its Quit time! I think they are both hard, but I have NEVER quit smoking and I have lost weight..

eric_sg61

Quitting smoking was a mindf*&k, losing weight wasn't

joe_madre

It really all depends on if it is your last time quitting smoking. For me the first hundred or so times were literally impossible. The last time went just like a cool summer breeze. I barely even noticed it. In fact, I can't even recall what the date was.

amanda24242

I could a write a book on the answer to this question!
but I have been quit cigs for 25 days and binged my *kitten* off over the weekend!
SOOOOOO . altho I am a raging HOT MESS - due to other things as I have shared w/ you , I know that quitting smoking was the right thing to do - and I can continue to improve on my foods .
and seems easier - esp I am prob over compensating and binging due to lack of cigs - with your workout regimine, I see you as being FINE GIRL!
email me your email addy and ill send you that stop smoking book!
loves ya!

amanda24242

agree! wth JOE!
I quit 100 times as well but this time IM DONE .

BigDaddyRonnie

Yay...

I had no problem quitting smoking, even after smoking for almost 20 years. Its more mental to quit smoking than it is to lose weight, because after all, you do need to eat.

Now, if I could only lose this beer belly of mine.

To those trying to do both at the same time, I wish you all the powers of the universe. Because if you can do this, you can do ANYTHING. :drinker:

arathena720

For me, harder to lose and keep off the weight. Not smoking got easier day by day, and after a while was just routine to not lights up. Keeping track of what I'm eating and exercising? Hard.

Capt_Inzane

I started smoking at 15-16 years old and when I was 21 I got pneumonia and didn't have insurance. For approximately 2 weeks I couldn't smoke even if I wanted to. When it finally went away reached for a cigarette and gagged for a minute and since then haven't had a smoke and I'm now 29.I was smoking a pack a day if not a little more back then, I figure I'm just lucky I guess. I know a lot of people have a difficult time quitting. I will say though the whole "I'll just finish this pack and then stop" mentality has boggled me.

I've quit drinking and that was really difficult. I actually kept a bottle of vodka on a shelf with a piece of paper wrapped around it that had information about losing weight and drinking. I kept it on my shelf for a month and then finally decided that enough is enough. I dumped it out and haven't looked back.

To quit anything is just a mental game if you allow yourself to continue a behavior in hopes that once you run out of that enabler you'll just feel more motivated to quit seems absurd to me. If you're ready to quit throw the pack away and KNOW that you're done.

WendyTerry420

Quitting smoking easier than losing weight - yay or nay?

I think losing weight is simple. Quitting nicotine is very difficult.

JenAndSome

I think making a decision to change your life in any way is hard. Quitting for me was just as simple as deciding to lose weight. It's just that losing weight takes longer.

So_Much_Fab

I think quitting smoking is much harder than losing weight. At least that's my experience.

Two weeks ago I decided to make some big changes to get back on track, so I quit smoking, started tracking food/exercise again, and for the exception of one evening, I've not had any alcohol (wine is my drug of choice).

Going to do this for two more weeks (well, I hope to not smoke anymore!), then splurge with pizza and wine as my reward. :drinker:

rokal

Once you get past the third day of not smoking it just gets easier and easier. Like its been said you have to eat smoking not so much!

Follow_me

I think making a decision to change your life in any way is hard. Quitting for me was just as simple as deciding to lose weight. It's just that losing weight takes longer.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

GiddyupTim

OMG! I opened my car door in front of a bus once, while trying to quit smoking. I walked into my apartment building, walked up to the wrong floor, and sauntered right into the wrong apartment, while trying. I have berated my wife and kids, for nothing, while trying.
I used to feel like I was turning into the wolfman, in broad daylight, when I tried to quit smoking; my skin would crawl and my muscles would feel brittle and jumpy, literally.
Are you kidding me? Quitting smoking is really tough. They say that the reason quitting smoking is so hard is this: If you successfully deny the urge, you get no payback. You just sit there for another minute, and the urge is still there -- maybe it is worse. But, when you light up -- BOOM -- you feel better instantly.
They say the things that are most addictive are the things that hit you fast and hard. That is why injecting drugs is so much more likely to lead to addiction than snorting them is. That is why crack cocaine is more addictive than snorted cocaine.
Food is not like that. Food does not hit you fast. With food, you can eat a little and get satisfied.
I do not know about the genetics of weight loss for everyone, but I was only able to quit smoking with Chantix, the drug that blocks nicotine receptors, partially satisfying the urge and, at the same time, blocking the effect of smoking if you do it.
They also say that the younger you are when you start smoking the harder it is to quit.

rassha01

I think they are a horse a piece. It all comes down to how much a person wants it! If you do not have great motivation for one or the other you are more than likely going to fail.

MizTerry

To me, losing weight was easier, but it does take longer.

Every day I still want a smoke but it's nothing like it was. The urge never went away, but I've been smoke free for a year and a half. I was a pack a day smoker for 32 years.

I focused on quitting first, then losing.

Wefita

WAKE UP CALL. You are absolutely 100% right

Wefita

WAKE UP CALL. You are absolutely 100% right

Opps that was supposed to be directed to ALL of you who said its basically a decision you have to make, and the whole "I am quitting after this pack..." I am so guilty of that saying

lostdogg

Is different within each person. I quit cold turkey years ago after smoking nearly 15yrs. I just walked away from it. It wasn't hard for me cause I had my mind made up. I knew what I wanted. I grabbed it by throat and took it. Now in my journey for a healthier, leaner me I'm looking at it the same way.

The key for me, is that my want for the overall goal is greater than my want for self destruction. Is different for each person. The end result in your journey has to be wanted more than the crutches you use to keep you from achieving it.

I was having this very same chat with a friend of mine about self destruction and or "want to's" being in the wrong place. Every journey we take on in our life to achieve something greater, something sexier, something healthier in our live comes at a sacrifice. A sacrifice of pleasure, time, comfort, or more. Do you want it bad enough? Are you ready to sacrifice to achieve your end result?

Once you get your "want to" in the right place you will find that all your goals are achievable.

Remember though, only you know what you can physically and mentally handle. It takes baby steps sometimes. If you aren't mentally and physically 100% ready for either transition you will crash and burn and be even more discouraged.

You may surprise yourself once your mind is made up. Or you may defeat yourself if you're not prepared for the task.

Side note: Mark Twain once said "quoting smoking is the easiest thing in the world to do. I've done it a thousand times"

justicer68

I quit I think almost five years ago maybe four?? I also started to gain weight and said to myself "not going happen." I lost 60lbs the same year I quit smoking. I have now managed to keep the majority of it off now for almost four years. I'm not going to lie today I still have cravings but then I think about my time and the gym and I'm not willing to give it up. I know that if I were to ever start back I would never be as healthy nor feel as good as I do now.

Icelandic_Saga

As I am still a smoker, I would say that losing weight is much easier

michelefrench

smoke free for 90 days...hell of a lot easier than I thought.....
losing weights harder....for me anyways.

was a pack a day smoker for almost 30 years....quit cold turkey

Mama_Jag

Smoke free since 2/5/09. Not easy, but easier than losing weight for me.

Smoking is all or nothing come quitting time. You still have to eat!

ghdsmais

Once I decided it was time to quit I ran a 5K race. First couple of weeks was tough but it got easier each and everyday. I still dream of smoking from time to time, but it is my real goal of running the marathon this October.
Plus I have never felt better than now.

ElicitDreams

I guess since I have successfully quit smoking almost 3 years ago, and I'm practically at the same weight as I started almost 4 years ago, I have to say quitting smoking was easier for me. Quitting smoking wasn't easy per say, It took me about a year of solid trying to finally stop, but as far as efforts go I had a much easier time.

ractrev

I would go through the pain of quitting smoking every week if I could trade it for this losing weight bull$hit!

beckyboooo87

quiting smoking is defo harder! but i done both at the same time...