Quitting Smoking

chnkydnknmomma

I'm just wondering if there are any other smokers out there, and if you are actively trying to quit while also trying to lose weight. I quit once before and gained a ton of weight, and it's a big fear of mine that it will happen again.

I know I need to quit--what's the point in getting my body in better shape as far as fat goes if I'm killing it slowly with cigarettes??? I also would love to try running at some point, right now the problems I have with my feet are holding me back, but when my feet are ready, I want my lungs to be ready as well..

Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

rileymax07

Tomorrow is my quit day... I think it will be fine. I have plenty of vegies, and honestly it's killing me to smoke and exercise. It's time. My body is telling me... so I better start listening!! Good luck.... feel free to give me a holler if you need support.

jeninne

Not a smoker, but know many that are and that have quit. Good idea asking help from others. It's a tough road and I applaud you for trying. You can do it. Do not give up the fight to quit even if you at first eat everything in the house. Are you seeking help from a doctor or anything? I know some people have great results from using Chantix, but it's not for everyone. Good Luck !!!!

Christie81

I quit 3 years ago and did not gain any weight frm quitting. You just have to eat the proper foods and don't go over board on your calories. I chewed sugar free gum everytime I felt like giving in to the cravings. You have already quit once so you can do it again. I honestly do not believe you will gain weight unless you are eating un-healthy. Stay strong

ismatts

You do not have to quit to lose weight. It helps, I say at least try. It's hard, good luck!

orierie113

I dont have words of wisdom, but I'm in the same boat with you. I sooooooooo need to stop smoking and Im worried about putting the weight back on. I thought if I start running (tried to run) I would want to quit more. I plan to stop on Monday, cause I swear the job I do drives me to smoke to stay sane.......Good Luck to Us Both.:explode:

Rubie81

Not a smoker just wanted to give you my support. I think it's excellent that you are considering quitting. You can do it!

karo224

i too am a smoker and i have cut way back but can only do one thing at a time. i know it is bad for me and i will quit as soon as i tackle the weight. i wish you much sucess and luck....both are very hard and i am fully aware that they are both killing me and will conquer both of these demons or should i say monkeys on my back as i hope you can.....i do not think i would have any family or friends if i tried to do both at the same time LOL! best wishes on your journey.

LowCarbAmanda

My sister just quit with the electronic cigarette after we saw it in the movie The Tourist. It's super cool. It is steam, but looks like smoke. She says it has the same throat feel, and has a red LED tip so it looks like a cigarette. She was able to seamlessly move from smoking to the electronic cigarette literally overnight. Apparently, some people go from a 2 pack a day habit that's lasted decades to quitting cold turkey with this thing. I was so impressed with my sister's results, I just thought I'd let you know. Good luck!

froglegjack

I quit smoking in January. As my energy level started to rise I tried running. I love running. I love it more than smoking. You totally have to find something that you want more than the cigarette. Also I kind of stumbled into losing weight because I want to be able to run more, and more easily so I thought if I took some pounds off it would help. Now I am learning how to eat right and healthily for the first time in my life. Good luck on quitting smoking.

tam120

I quit in 2007, so glad I did, exercise is so much easier. I used dum dum suckers as replacement for smokes, they're not all that high in calories. I also emptied the tobacco from a cigarette and put a straw inside and pretended to smoke as a crutch when I really wanted to smoke, it helped.
Good luck to you all. It does help to continue to consider yourself a non-smoker. ie - there is no option to smoke because I don't smoke, I'm a non-smoker.
This site helped as well.
http://www.quitsmokingonline.com/

wendyleach

try the book "the easy way to quit smoking" Allen Carr
its really good at putting things in perspective. it worked for me almost a year now. good luck
and a note. around the 4-6 month mark after quiting you are really going to have urges and think just 1????? but dont or you will smoke every day. 1 leads to every day of your life.
you can do it

ObviousIndigo

Hi there! I quit smoking March 2010 and I haven't looked back since. I can honestly tell you that I did not gain even a sigle pound when I quit smoking. I think it is all in the mind. If you tell yourself you need to have something in your hand then you will. I quit cold turkey but I had given up smoking in a couple different situations before I actually quit. Like, I wouldn't smoke in my car on the way to work. I would only have one cigarette break in the morning and one in the afternoon. I wouldn't have a cigarrette right before bed or after sex. I also didn't quit at the end of my pack. I quit while I still had 5 left and I carried that pack around in my purse for a month. It seemed to take away the panic feeling of having no cigarettes left and having to run to the store to get more. It all comes down to your mind set.

kymarai

There are several of us who have recently quit smoking. We are happy to be supportive. I have been quit for a year now. I still am struggling to lose some extra weight. I gained a little over the years, never quite lost some I gained (45 lbs) the first time I tried to quit. Friend me if you want some support from one who is happy to help.

dawnyl25

i quit smoking in November!!!! (only smoked for a year straight) and going strong. its been hard needless today but i didnt gain any weight. i found that to cut the crave i chewed gum alot!!!! and start running. it pushed me even more not to pick them back up. i can remember trying to run for the first time after quiting i really did think I was going to die and each day of running it got easier. but when a slip up smoke happened i payed for it. it was like starting all over again. so needless to say i didnt slip up much after that. I have notice that after running for a long time I get that same feeling that a smoke gave. now I really love running alot more than smoking. you can do it and im sure you will fall in love with running its just as addictive

michlingle

I am almost two weeks smoke free. You will feel so much better not smoking..I've done it with the patch. Last night I went out with friends to a bar and had a cig outside, i guess i wanted to see what it would be like....but I felt like I couldn't stand up, waaay too much nicotine in the system! But I may stop using the patch as I didn't use one today....hangover and a migraine...which was probably caused by the overload of nicotine...I can say that I thought it made me more calm and handle stress better, and I was a terrible nail and cuticle biter, my hands look almost normal now! Smoking also stinks, it kept me from getting close to people especially in social situations......I had a complex about smelling bad, but now I can talk to people more closely and not feel smelly..

rachel4

I TOTALLY understand your dilemma, I too quit smoking about 10 years ago and went through the SAME struggles you are today! Eat carrots I know that sounds very silly, but when you eat carrots (without dressing) your hands are busy. I also ate shelled peanuts, maybe not a GREAT idea, cause of the sodium but it got me to kick the habit for good after smoking for about 15 years. THAT is the important part… smoking is such a scary death. So quit now and lose the weight later. *hugs* hope you do great on your journey

ItsTerriC

I've just recently quit smoking, about a month or so ago. I've smoked for most of the last 35 years, except for 6 years in my 30's when I quit. I didn't gain weight last time I quit. I think my metabolism has slowed down with my age and the quitting has slowed it a bit more. My weight loss has stalled and I've even gone up a couple of pounds. I think that has more to do with my food intake than not smoking. I've made a lot of excuses for going off my eating plan the past few weeks. Between my husbands birthday, our anniversary, a date night and Easter I've given myself a lot of excuses to over indulge. Quitting isn't easy, there are still times when I really want to smoke. I just keep reminding myself that I wasn't born with nicotine in my body and I won't die without it. I want to be around for my grand children more than I want a cigarette.

Good luck and use whatever you need to help you quit. I used hypnosis, the patch, and Wellbutrin. I don't care what it takes, I won't poison myself any more.

letsdothis2010

I'm not going to lie...when I quit smoking a while back, I gained weight. But at that point in my life I wasn't dedicated to becoming healthier and I wasn't thinking about what I was eating. I think you'll do fine (lots of gum!). Even if you gain a pound or two for a bit...that's okay! Your doing a lot better for yourself in the long run by quitting good luck!!!

Erindipitous

I couldn't resist putting my medical two cents into this.. Mainly because it should clarify the link between quitting smoking and gaining weight.

Nicotine increases blood sugar in your body. Smoking just 2 to 3 cigarettes a day can spike your blood sugar by 29%. When you take the cigarettes away, your body tries to compensate for the lack of "sugar" that it's used to, and therefore people tend to have an increased appetite, eat more, and there is a consequent weight gain if not counteracted with exercise.

Depending on YOU (everyone is different) and how long you smoked, how much, etc, it could take a few days to months until you feel "normal" again. Some people find that eating replaces the hand to mouth action of smoking and fulfils the desire to do something with their hands. Others find that they eat more because, after about two days from having quit smoking, they can actually taste food again as their sense of smell and taste return. It is also possible that the craving for cigarettes may be mistaken for hunger pangs.

Advice: Choose healthy foods, keep track of your calories and stick to them, adopt new ways to "take the edge off" (yoga, meditation, guided imagery), keep your hands and mouth busy (chew gum and learn to play an instrument like the piano or guitar, start crocheting or knitting), drink lots of water to help expedite the flushing of nicotine out of your system, come up with non-edible rewards to celebrate day/week/month/YEAR benchmarks, and most importantly: FEEL AWESOME about your decision to better your health and the health of those around you!

mursey

I hate to admit I've cut down a lot but I still sometimes smoke. I am going to go to a hypnotist that deals with addictions soon, I already paid for it and I just have to schedule it now. I know it sounds nuts, but I have heard from a lot of people it helped them quit.

I previously quit cold turkey for 2 years. . but I think I was mentally stronger then. I also tried acupuncture, it's great for stress and anxiety but I still wanted to smoke a little. I tried Zyban once, it made me too lazy but it worked a little too.

Good luck!