quit smoking, and gained lots!

michelellawrence

Anyone else here quit smoking? I am having a terrible time. I think I have the cravings kicked, but my weight shot up, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to control it! Any advice??

biggerpix

Once I quit smoking, i'll start eating...hence why I'm here. I'm not planning on giving it up till I know I can stay at my goal weight. 6 of one 1/2 a dozen of another, right?

swenard

I quit smoking a couple of years ago after numerous tries. I finally kicked it this time, as I haven't even craved a cigarette since my last one. However, I didn't gain too much wait luckily. I gained about ten pounds, which I hear is normal due to your metabolism slowing down without nicotine.


I know I'm not much help but I think having some extra pounds is waaaaaaay better then smoking.

loriannmartin

me too... but i am happy i quit smoking :-) thats why im here... gained from quitting smoking then had other issues and weight just kept coming on regardless . add me as a friend we can do this heck if i quit smoking i can do anything lol....

michelellawrence

I have been smoke free since Jan 1st, but I have also gained about 25 pounds!! save my lungs, but kill my heart.... not very happy with myself right now!

bachooka

You guys are scaring me... I just quit smoking!

lacybolton

I quit back in Oct and gained about 13 lbs in 3 months. I realized that I was putting all kinds of food, mostly chocolate into my mouth just to pass the time at work (I am not a gum chewer). I had the nicotine habit beat, but the oral fixation was still there. Thats when I had to change my eating habits and take baby carrots and celery to work. I also started drinking water through a straw when I was at my desk. That is what helped me out. Also, the nicotine speeds up your metabolism, so when you quit it will start to lower a bit, its important to exercise. (I also found that I can run better too). The important thing is to stay SMOKE FREE!!!! Congratulations to you, I know how hard it is.

kim824

I quit about 8 years ago and am so glad I did. Yes I did gain some at first but as I felt better I was able to exercise and get that weight back off. It is wonderful to look back and say 'Yeah I did that'. Now that I have gained again for other reasons I know how strong I am when I set my mind to something. I know I am in control. I hope this helps.

michelellawrence

thanks for the ideas... I have started an exercise program, and am determined to knock this weight off!

fitalex99

I would advise you to not worry about your weight until you're confident you won't start smoking again. Allow yourself to eat a snack if it'll get you past a cigarette craving. Losing weight and quitting cigarettes are both very difficult, so doing one at time is best. Since tobacco suppresses appetite anyway, it makes sense to start with that.

38Gigi38

I quit smoking a year and a half ago and gained 40lbs. I had smoked for 19 years so it was a real battle for me to quit. Now that I finally have that addiction under control I knew it was time to focus on the weight problem. Tackling one problem at a time worked best for me because I could put my full focus on the task at hand. You can add me as a friend. I'm always here for moral support.

JayandBrensMommy

I quit smoking last year...I gained like 10 pounds once i quit, but i feel 10x better now that I did quit then I did before.

cinnamon818

I quit smoking after 7 years. My kids and i made a bet if they quit drinking soda (bcuz i only drink water) and soda has lots of sugar in it that i would quit smoking. So i quit smoking cold turkey it wasn't easy but i found if your gonna crave food while u quit u might as well eat healthy so i ate granola and yogurt, soft peppermints,and trail mix and lots of water. It takes a while to get use to not smoking but u save so much money and i can breathe better and i did it because i wanted to and i am proud of myself. Plus i have found something else to be addicted to exercise (much better).

cinnamon818

Oh! And stay away from ppl that smoke until u have enough strength to be around them bcuz u can easily be sucked back into it.

Zuznana

8 days today and I started drinking tons of coffee to stop eating....maybe that's the problem with my mid week weight gain. Well done on stopping. Apparently it gets easier...I'm still waiting for that myself. :laugh:

babygurl48

Anyone else here quit smoking? I am having a terrible time. I think I have the cravings kicked, but my weight shot up, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to control it! Any advice??

been there. i quit smoking on june 9th, 2011 and i gained back the 50 i had lost. it took me a year to lose the 50, 8 months to gain it back. suxs big time, now gotta my mojo back.. and with the support and motivation, i am losing again.

pinkchrome

Anyone else here quit smoking? I am having a terrible time. I think I have the cravings kicked, but my weight shot up, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to control it! Any advice??

Congrats on quitting! I quit 68 days ago and I gained back almost all of the 15 pounds I had lost through MFP prior to quitting smoking. I'm having a real hard time with it because I have a job that is all sit down and VERY boring. I used to smoke every hour to give me something to do. Now I find myself nibbling ALL the time. I'm having a hard time with it as well.

armywifeinpink

I did the same thing....i replaced the smoking with drinking coffee, so instead of going out side with a cig in my hand i had a cup of coffee and did the pounds come flying on, lol....but i was slowly able to get off the coffee and go to like diet coke, and then i was able to slowly go off diet coke to sweet tea, and then i started mixing the tea bags with two with caffeine and two with out and it has been a long hard road but well worth it

Good luck, you can do it, hang in there and never give up!!!

tabi26

I quit on Jan 30/2011. I smoked nearly 2 packs/day and quit cold turkey, no medication When I quit I needing things to do around the hosue so I wasn't sitting around craving all day....enter fitness into my life I started playing Just Dance 2 for a few hours a day and still eating what I wanted too (and then some lol). I never gained any weight, but I never lost any either, and it fianlly got the point where I was starting to get irritated that I could play that darn game all day long and not lose an ounce......enter MFP into my life. I never meant to quit smoking AND start working out at the same time. It just happened that my one addiction got replaced with another

Good for all of you for quitting smoking! The few pounds that may result are nothing compared to the short lived life of a smoker

michelellawrence

wow... I think I am really going to love this site.... Thank you so much to everyone who commented on the struggles of smoking and weight gain... you all gave me lots of good ideas, and I appreciate all the support! W

harrinja

Quit in Dec. No problem used Chantix. The problem was the weight gain. My knees are killing me. I'm way overweight and have to do something so I started a HCG based diet. I've lost 8.2 lbs in 3 days!

michelellawrence

I used chantix too.... amazing how easy it was to quit... now to quit eating! LOL Good luck to you all... I know if I put my mind to it I can do it!