Addictions

mysi019

I wasnt sure what catergory to stick this in, so i just picked this one. Loosing weight is very hard to do by itself. As one can be addcited to food and addicted to other things as well. Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how i should go about kicking my nicotine habit as well. I am thinking that after i loose about 25 lbs i will start working on the nicotine. I am definately someone who is addiced to the act of smoking. So i am afraid that i will gain weight quitting smoking and at this point in my life i cant afford to gain any more weight. Has anyone tried to quit at the same time as dieting or have you done one or the other at a time and which one first. I am a dispatcher who works mids so sometimes it can get very long and boring. so i find myself either eating or smoking. which explains how i have gained about 50 lbs in 3 years and how i am up to a pack a day now. Any suggestions?

Kazren

Personally i dont smoke, but my friend does and she said that they way she cut down her smoking (she only wanted to cut down not stop) was she got into the swing of her diet prop about a month in and then she started the smoking part, as she was not having to think to hard about the food as it was becoming second nature by that point.

balfonso

I don't smoke anymore. I used to smoke but I wasn't "addicted". I was more of a "social smoker" so whenever I went out for drinks with friends I would smoke. Also my ex chained smoked lots. How I stopped, I just did. It's just down to programming your mind that you don't actually need it. Plus I hated it when my clothes and hair smelt and lost my sense of smell generally. My other half now doesn't smoke which has helped I suppose.
A few friends of mine who have stopped smoking said that they read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking book. They all recommend it. Another one of my friends stopped because she fell really ill for a whole week and she couldn't smoke. She still doesn't smoke to this day and it's been over a year, but she still keeps a big box of cigarettes under her bed, unopened, untouched as her "safety blanket".

mysi019

Thanks to both of you. My plan is to get my eating down before i start so that i am not temped to stick something in my mouth ie food. And i will also check out that book, it cant hurt. Thanks again

FemininGuns

I can tell you working mids and trying to lose weight + quitting your friend (cigarette) is going to be challenging. But, I've done it! I had to change some things, including my job. Working mids screws up your health as a whole and can add to the challenge of losing weight. But even though you might not be able to do that, it's still possible. The way I quit smoking was by exercising. Replacing one addiction with another I started running and wanted to run half marathons, eventually doing a full marathon. Smoking and running DON'T go together. So naturally I starting thinking of what I wanted as a dream crossing that finish line or having my finish line with emphazema or in my death bed. It took a few "slips" at some parties before I became smoke-free. The diet came naturally for me at the same time because I wanted to fuel my body right. It will take time to see the contrast of eating well and not smoking compared to struggling with the two - but eventually you'll get there with perseverance and determination. Follow your dream!!! As for the social aspect of smoking, I used to love that (cause smokers are so much cooler - and you don't miss out on all the good gossip!). But, with pro-social activities come pro-social friends with different socializing. You'll soon see that being out in the rain or smelling like an ashtray loses it's appeal after a while. GOOD LUCK!

merbee

Addicted is the word I would use to both food and smoking. Personally - I picked a weight - and told myself that when I hit that goal then I would quit smoking too. The idea being that I woudl have my eating under control by that weight, so I would be at a point mentally to tackle the other too. Def had to get my eating under control first - and I have done a fine job with that - and as the quit smoking weight approaches - I seem to be good with it in my head - and my head is my biggest obstacle. I am continuing to eat better - and seem to be getting in a good spot mentally to quit smoking. Luck !!!

FleurDuAmbition

AHA! I gave up smoking right as I picked a month to get in shape... Cold turkey I started August first and well so far so good. The thing is, is that food tastes better when it doesn’t taste like an ash tray... so we tend to eat more when we quit but just as long as your getting enough exercise this should tackle the gaining weight bit! Good luck!

pickledlilly

Smoking is an adiction and it very very hard to give it up. However, it is even harder to hear a consultant tell you that you have not long to live. There is no choice then.

Sorry to be blunt but it is heartbreaking.

mysi019

Thank you all, i keep telling myself when i loose like 20 or 25 lbs. But i think i need to get a specific weight in mind. So i picked it, and there will be no changing it. I could see myself loosing 20 pounds and saying okay 25 then loosing that and saying okay 30lb and never doing it. But when i see 199 on that scale. I will quit. when it gets close, i will start cutting down and slowly swapping cigs for something else. and then offically quiting when i see that 199.

spambubbles

I used to smoke a pack to a pack and half a day and then one day I quit cold turkey. I'm not exactly sure how I did it, I think it was more or less me truly ready to give up the habit once and for all ... that was almost two years ago. I still get nicotine cravings, but I remind myself that working out will be so much harder if I'm hacking up mucus. So instead I chew A LOT of gum when I get crazy stressed out. OR I try to go for a walk or call a friend. Also, I noticed that changing my daily routine helped a lot too ... like ... I took a different route to work and didn't smoke on the way to and from. So by going that route I was training my behavior addiction to smoking.

I'm not sure if any of this will help, but I wish you all the luck in the world. Smoking is hard to quit, but thankfully you have a lot of people rooting for you on this web site.

bjshooter

I am totally addicted also. I have stopped for 5 years at one point but I put on about 3 stone :O
I'm sure it is possible to do both, but I am going for one at once. Hit my target weight, then stop smoking, whilst still maintaining and logging. Then I will diet again, to lose the extra pounds I have put back on. I know if I tried both at once, I would probably give up on both. I would be depressed I am not losing weight and smoke again to feel better then have to do it again and again. I am not saying do, what I am doing, you may have more will power than me and smoking, is a lot more damaging than being a few lbs over weight, just they way it has happened for me. Also if I know I have lost the 3/4 stone I want to, I reckon I will feel like I can master anything.