What is Less-healthy? being obese or being a "fit" smoker?

gillendria

I quit smoking, since then I have gained the 20 pounds back that I had spent the last 8 months losing. Everyone tells me that is a normal occurance but I cannot seem to get back on track with me eating and my fitness routine has gone by the wayside as well.
I felt very healthy as a smoker and very in control. Now I am depressed and feel like I am not in control of anything, and I am not feeling healthy at all.
I have read numerous blogs and medical discussions about the adverse effects of being heavily overweight as opposed to being a more active and fit person but being a smoker. What do you all think? Comments please, thanks.

YvetteK2015

Do you consider black lungs healthy?

janejellyroll

I would figure out what is keeping you from getting back on track with your calorie and fitness goals and address that.

You don't have to choose between two unhealthy conditions. There are lots of former smokers here (including me) demonstrating that you can be at your goal weight and also be tobacco-free. It might be "normal" to gain weight when you quit smoking, but that doesn't mean you have to make it your permanent reality.

Duck_Puddle

Less healthy is smoking. Nearly always. Particularly if you’re talking about being fit but 20 pounds overweight. My answer would also say smoking is less healthy even if you were 100 pounds overweight.

Smoking almost certainly means eventual cancers, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, etc. Nearly certain. Meaning smoking will kill you.

I quit smoking a few years ago. I also gained a few pounds. I have lost them and now I’m a fit non-smoker.

I agree with @janejellyroll that you should really look at what’s preventing you from getting back on track (spoiler alert: it’s not the lack of smoking). Do not start smoking again. Please.

lemurcat2

Smoking, but how about choosing neither to smoke nor to be obese.

Keto_Vampire

Those are some pretty normal effects of abstinence from nicotine; pretty sure most people just discount/overlook the attributes of nicotine's effects on neurotransmitter release (why certain "antidepressants" are used when attempting smoking/nicotine cessation). Not sure if you went cold turkey or used nicotine replacement or pharmacolgical intervention, but there are many strategies to mitigate against rebound weight gain...

GottaBurnEmAll

Former smoker and former obese person here.

Of the two, smoking was worse for me.

Fortunately, life afforded me the opportunity and time to make the choice to neither smoke or be obese any longer. I think the same will hold true for you too, OP.

It's a false dichotomy you're setting up for yourself. Don't fall for it.

k8eekins

gillendria wrote: »

I quit smoking, since then I have gained the 20 pounds back that I had spent the last 8 months losing. Everyone tells me that is a normal occurance but I cannot seem to get back on track with me eating and my fitness routine has gone by the wayside as well.
I felt very healthy as a smoker and very in control. Now I am depressed and feel like I am not in control of anything, and I am not feeling healthy at all.
I have read numerous blogs and medical discussions about the adverse effects of being heavily overweight as opposed to being a more active and fit person but being a smoker. What do you all think? Comments please, thanks.

Years ago I'd have assumed that being morbidly obese would've easily been the worst of the 2 evils. Unfortunately, not. Physically-fit smokers or those who choose to live health-conscious lives other than the habit of smoking are at a higher risk, more susceptible to quick deteriorating health issues.

RealWorldStrengthLLC

Physically fit long time smoker here.

Neither being obese or smoking is good for you. And often times the two go hand in hand. You can be a fit smoker - its true, but fit doesn't doesn't mean you're healthy. I smoked my whole time in the military and consistently ran sub 35 minute five miles and sub 13 minute 2 miles. I served with a 2 pack a day smoker who had consistent 29 minute 5 mile times.

I would actually argue that being obese is probably worse for your health, not because it is necessarily worse than smoking but because you're less likely to care about getting healthy than a fit smoker. A fit smoker knows they should stop.

I eat right. I lift. I train strongman style cardio. I have cut a ton of weight from my heaviest. I'm not a runner anymore but I can tell you my cardio is great. I could hop on my bike and do 20 miles right now and it would barely phase me. I'm a smoker, but I care that I'm a smoker now. I dont like it. I try to smoke less. Obviously I don't care enough to quit or else i would have by now (no excuses), but i know it's the last thing holding me back from being truly healthy and i hate it. I didn't care when i was obese. I also didn't care when i was in the military because a) I was an alcoholic and b) I was a bit fatalistic. I used the excuse that I half expected my job to kill me so I was going to do what I want. I also used the excuse of "I'm fit as *kitten* so what I smoke like a chimney and drink like a fish." Yeah, smart attitude right?

Nicotine is hard to kick. Damn hard. I know recovered heroin addicts who can't kick smoking.

Bottom line, it should be about health. A fit smoker is better in some regards than an obese non smoker, not in others. An obese smoker is worse off than both.

The thing is, a lot of the damage done by obesity can be reversed, and rather quickly too. The damage done by smoking, a lot of it cant, and what can isn't quick. I could quit smoking now and run/swim/cycle every day for 5 years and my lungs will still not be what they were before I ever touched a cigarette. I have however, cut 60lbs in 5 months, regained all my strength, normalised my heart rate and blood pressure, fixed my blood sugar, etc. In 5 months. See. Quick.

My .02

rheddmobile

In your case, we're not talking extreme obesity versus fit smoker, we're talking 20 pounds. Twenty extra pounds is more healthy than smoking.

zamphir66

Former smoker here. I have to question how "fit" one can actually be while also being a smoker. I can't imagine running races or doing all-day bike rides when you're self-sabotaging by filling your lungs with tar. It's just completely at cross-purposes. I live in a very "smoky" state, but at the local rec center, you will literally never see anyone smoking outside.

RealWorldStrengthLLC

zamphir66 wrote: »

Former smoker here. I have to question how "fit" one can actually be while also being a smoker. I can't imagine running races or doing all-day bike rides when you're self-sabotaging by filling your lungs with tar. It's just completely at cross-purposes. I live in a very "smoky" state, but at the local rec center, you will literally never see anyone smoking outside.

Go spend a day in the Infantry, of any service (army or marines), of any country. You'll find a good half of them are smokers and/or alcoholics that could put the vast majority of people on the ground with their running times, cycling, lifting routines, swimming, crossfit etc.

SpicyWater

It's a lot easier to lose weight than to replace a destroyed set of lungs.

Fuzzipeg

I did a double check. I thought it was 20 years after stopping smoking for one's health markers to be the same as someone who had never smoked. Fortunately for you its only 15 years. So keep up the good work staying smoke free and get back gently to being the weight you want and being physically fit person you know is you. Depending on their not being an underlying medical cause you will be your healthy weight and maintaining well before you reach your 15th smoke free anniversary. As you are now is better for you than where you were.

All the very best and Live Well.

Theoldguy1

Nothing health about either one. Congrats on quitting smoking and good luck getting rid of the extra weight.

YvetteK2015

If your lungs look like the set on the left, I don't care how fast or how far you can run, you are not fit.

AnnPT77

For both of these, obesity and smoking, there's a how much/how long set of questions, too.

Morbidly obese is different from BMI 31, though neither one is good for most people (except maybe BMI outliers, blah, blah, blah). Obese for a couple of years or 5 is different from obese for decades.

Similar with smoking: Two or five cigarettes a day is different from 2 packs a day; 2 years is different from 2 decades.

Stopping either or both now would be a really good plan for any and all of us, regardless of how much/how long.

I was obese for decades. Some of those effects are irreversible, even though I've been at a healthy weight for several years now. Blood pressure is great, blood markers great - sure. But some joints are trashed permanently. Last CT scan showed slight aortic calcification: I don't really expect improvement.

BTW, the last decade-ish of obesity, I was pretty fit: RHR in the upper 40s/low 50s, rowing machine race-pace at about the 75-percentile level for my age/open-weight class despite not starting being routinely active until mid-40s, stronger than most women my age, flexible, decent endurance. My blood pressure & cholesterol/triglycerides were still crappy, though. Losing weight fixed the BP/lipids, but my fitness markers haven't changed much (though the lightweight machine rowing class in my age group is a little less competitive, so my unchanged race-pace stacks up a little better, and my boats got faster when I got lighter because of reduced excess cargo. ).

I was never much of a tobacco smoker - maybe 2-3 packs over my whole life, most of that in a couple-year span; no known long-term effects from that. (Lungs looked good on the recent CT, athletic performance is adequate for my age at a CV-intensive sport, etc.) I smoked . . . not tobacco . . . nearly daily for around 20 years; if there are long-term effects from that, they're probably cognitive and hard to sort out from aging, chemobrain, and menopause.

Oh, and: Hypothetical questions are always pointless.

OP, granny says: Take back control. You can, if you decide to. That sense of agency and control is good for a person. It makes other good things seem possible . . . because it actually does make them possible.

We all have circumstances we can't possibly change; no point in fussing about those. The current state of your lungs is one of those. It might improve over the years, or it might not. Let it go. Focus on the things you can influence or control. Your weight (via intake) and activity level are among the things you can control.

Whether you do, or don't: That's a choice.

Doing nothing is making a choice.

UltraVegAthlete

So basically lung cancer or heart disease, other cancer, diabetes and other health complications?
I mean, you can have a higher BMI and still be healthy, but with obesity can come some serious health problems. I just can’t accept either as “better” or “healthier”.

fordk3557

I’ve never smoked so can’t comment on giving up I have however watched someone close die because of smoking - that was horrendous 😢 and I have been depressed and although it’s tough, getting out for just a walk in the fresh air does help and could just be the path back to where you want to be - good luck and look after yourself 😘

suziecue25

I am the same as you OP..........had lost 50lbs and was normal weight then gave up smoking [14 months ago] and hey presto those pesky 50lbs are back with a vengeance......so my answer to your question is smoking and obesity are both bad so don't be either....do what I'm doing, lose the weight again...we both know how to do it. Age is irrelevant....I am 70 and want to be able to be active in my old age and not be a burden to anyone.

leiflung

gillendria wrote: »

I quit smoking, since then I have gained the 20 pounds back that I had spent the last 8 months losing. Everyone tells me that is a normal occurance but I cannot seem to get back on track with me eating and my fitness routine has gone by the wayside as well.
I felt very healthy as a smoker and very in control. Now I am depressed and feel like I am not in control of anything, and I am not feeling healthy at all.
I have read numerous blogs and medical discussions about the adverse effects of being heavily overweight as opposed to being a more active and fit person but being a smoker. What do you all think? Comments please, thanks.

You know what will make you really, really, really thin? Chemo.

The worst of it catches up to you much, much later. In both cases.

I'm sure you can smoke and run marathons... now.

I put on 20 lbs when I quit smoking. It sucked. It took me a while to stabilize, to get to where I was able to comfortably manage my weight without smokes. Give yourself some time. You CAN get to where you are a healthy weight non-smoker. It's just going to take some time.

You are strong. You are capable. You can do anything. You deserve everything you can give yourself. So give yourself EVERYTHING.

Now I am depressed and feel like I am not in control of anything, and I am not feeling healthy at all.

This is all temporary, I promise you. Keep going. Move through this.

CSARdiver

Many people gain weight when they stop smoking because they attempt to end one habit without replacing this with another. Our brains are not wired that way and you must replace any habit with another to be successful.

I wouldn't focus on trading one risk factor for another when both are avoidable. Find a sustainable habit you enjoy and work on incorporating this into your life.

DX2JX2

As a 20 year smoker (and 13 months non-smoker) who lost 60 pounds right before quitting, I can say that quitting smoking is 100 million times worse for you then carrying 20 extra pounds around.

I felt good after losing the weight. I felt incredible after quitting the cigarettes.

Note that it took me a good 6 months to notice how much better I felt as a non-smoker. I'm not sure how long you've been off the sticks but give it time. Trust me when I say it's worth it.

fitoverfortymom

My doctor told me to quit smoking first, not worry about the weight gain as a result and then lose weight once the quitting smoking was a lock. It worked for me, but has been a five year process.

MikePfirrman

I was the smoker (and thin) in my 20s and then obese (and a non-smoker) in my 30s. Started getting in better shape in my 40s and finally learned how to do both.

My Dad died of lung cancer. Most of my brothers and sisters are heavy and have health related issues to weight. Neither is ideal. I kick myself all the time that it took me till my early 40s to start putting together both non-smoking and taking better care of myself.

I'm also astounded by what I can do physically now at 54. My kids, who grew up with me first smoking, then fat, are equally impressed. They can hardly believe it and their friends tell them all the time how "young and healthy" their parents are for mid and late (my wife) 50s.

lorrainequiche59

I Haven't read the myriad of comments and if this is a repeat, my apologies!! Bottom line, smoking & healthy do NOT belong in the same sentence. Are you looking for an excuse to start smoking again per chance?????

Chantelle9112

Smoking is easier to quit than losing weight in my experience, I did both though. When I quit smoking I got healthier lost weight and went to the gym.

tlpina82

They are both terrible for you, so you won't get much love from anyone in a fitness site.
But maybe I can put it in a different perspective.

Think of it like this... You gain weight, you're not happy. Then you work your butt off to get fit.

Then you decide to start smoking again.

Now, You're a Fit guy/girl, but you stink. You smell like an ashtray, your breath smells like someone took a dump in your mouth and when someone kisses you, they get to enjoy a rotten, bitter aftertaste.
And worse, you don't know that, because you have gone nose blind to it.

Note to all smokers... Washing your hands and face after smoking doesn't do anything for the way you smell, so if you're doing it for the people around you, don't bother. it's useless.
We still smell you from a mile away.

Tofu_Unicorn93

Being a smoker is less healthy than being obese.
Neither are healthy for you. But smoking increases the risks of heart failure, stroke and lung cancers a lot quicker than gaining 20lbs.
And not just that but you're massively increasing your risk of vascular dementia. It's not something to be messing around with.
As for depression and not being on track of eating anymore, I would seek counselling or CBT of some sort to figure out why? Xx

jennifer_417

It's an artificial choices based on fluctuating emotions. We all know full well that you can, and should, take care of both problems. Easy? No. But trying to excuse one by saying it's "healthier" than the other is a false comparison and an excuse, at best.

lubaberki

Arguably, being a fit smoker is way worse than being an obese non-smoking couch potato