smoking and weight loss- your opinion wanted!!

beckie4442

Unfortunately I am a smoker, I smoke between 10 and 15 roll-ups per day, I understand the need to stop this habit BUT I have started tackling my weight. Do I now wait until I have lost the weight and have an exercise regime and healthy food life style before I stop OR tackle the smoking and possibly ruin my weight loss? ( I say this because I end up scoffing food instead of smoking, my will power is limited at best, non-existant at worst)
Advice would be extremely welcome.
Thanks.

trelm249

Wow. I am not sure what to tell you on that one.Hmmmm.

Will the site is called myFITNESSpal.

My recommendation is to track the roll-ups along with your food. You currently do 10 to 15 per day. So set a cap of 7 and treat it like your food. The exercise you add to your routine will help you deal with the physical stress you currently use the cigarettes for.

JMun

quit smoking and stop making excuses to delay eating right and exercising (this is coming from a previous 14 year smoker who quit & still managed to lose 80lbs).

Good luck

killagb

Try cutting down and weaning yourself off, kind of like said above. Try not to stress out over it, think of it as making progress towards better health, rather than trying to do it all in one big effort.

brandimacleod

I would say quit smoking first, with the goal being to not gain weight. Just quit smoking, exercise instead of smoke times (a little walk for 10 minutes will add up quickly!) and once you are past the smoking habit, tackle weight loss. I used to smoke too, and I was always afraid if I lost weight and then quit smoking I would gain it all back. So I quit smoking first, and now I am tackling the pounds. BTW, quitting smoking is harder to imagine doing, than actually doing it is.

smkcx♥

I'm a pack-a-day smoker. I too am too afraid to quit smoking because the last time I did, I ate everything in sight. I've heard though that it's all in your mind and that if you keep your mouth busy with low-cal stuff and eat properly the weight gain wont be so bad, especially with excercising. but for some reason I haven't quit the habit.

My grandma quit smoking and gained 10lbs. A woman who used to drive my bus quit smoking and gained nearly 50lbs. A girl I went to school with quit smoking and didn't gain any weight.

I think it all depends on the person and if they're ready. My grandma and the woman who drive my school bus both ended up starting back (and loosing the weight) I think if you quit, ate low cal stuff and excercised, I think you'd still loose weight. You'd just have to be very cautious of what you ate.

Goodluck to you )

Visser1971

Having stopped and started a number of times, with and without dieting and at many different weights, I have a very strong opinion that when I smoke I gain weight and when I am not smoking I lose weight. I was an occasional smoker for a few years too and that is when I gained the most - that is how it worked for me. Now I am a non-smoker and think I will never smoke again this time (now have two kids too) and am losing weight better than ever before.

Good luck whatever way you do it, but I would suggest that between smoking and being overweight, quitting smoking is the more urgent of the two, depending on how much you want to lose.

Cheers, Christy

Metsfn4life

As a former smoker myself (I smoked a pack a day for 7 years), I suggest you stop now.

One thing you have to understand is that besides the nicotine addiction, a large part of the smoking habit comes from oral fixation. This is why a lot of smokers gain weight when they quit...instead of putting a cigarette in their mouth, they grab food.

However, since you are already on a journey of being fit, you will be putting healthier things into your mouth...not junk. As long as you keep within your net calorie goal YOU WILL NOT GAIN WEIGHT.

In addition, you will feel so much better once you start exercising without smoking. When I fist started exercising right after smoking, I couldn't run more than 2 minutes at a time. Now, I can run 3 miles in 33 minutes without getting winded. I'm so proud of that.

beckie4442

Nice one that's a fantastic achievement, Yeah I admit it I'm a little scared!!!!

voodoomoocow

I was a smoker until recently and while it helped control my appetite, it didn't help my metabolism and I couldn't exercise for the life of me.

I switched to ecigs about 8 months ago and i've tried 4 different brands. The first 3 did NOT satisfy me at ALL (blu, the mall stuff, and volcano). The best brand I found (with the most satisfying throat hit) is the eGO.

http://www.alvinecigs.com/Joye-Ego-p/joyeego.htm

You can experiment with cardomizers and I really like the low resistance atomizers. After about 3 days, the taste of real cigarettes were disgusting. Now, I've been smoke free for 4 months! The flavors are really awesome, too.

I linked you to a starter kit if you are interested.

It is a GREAT way to transition off of it. You can even reduce the nicotine amount until you're just smoking flavors. They have flavors like strawberry cheese cake and creme brulee! The sweet ones are a nice after dinner smoke.

blakeman187

Trying to quit smoking and change your eating habits at the same time will probably make you crazy.

I smoked about a pack a day for almost 6 years, and it wasn't until I quit that I really embraced my current healthy living lifestyle.
My major motivation for quitting was the fact that it killed my endurance when working out.

I would get your eating/exercise routine in order first, then quit smoking.

elmsallmissile

Well it is very possible to be fat & fit, nearly impossible to smoke & be fit, smoking will kill you a lot faster than carrying excess weight, you have to be the one to decide!

kimmyj74

I you are like me and have an addictive personality, then trade smoking for exercise. You already know the reasons you shouldn't smoke so I'm not going to remind you. If you are considering waiting then your not ready- mentally- to quit smoking. You HAVE to be mentally ready to quit!
Throw yourself into your diet and exercise. Let that consume your day instead of "when is my next cigarette". Also exercise will be easier on your lungs when your not smoking.
I speak from experience BTW.
GOOD LUCK!!!!

GrammyWhammy

Welcome to MFP, Beckie. Good for you for making some important decisions regarding your health.

The desire to let go of unhealthy habits is one that needs nurturing and revisiting constantly and MFP can help you to that end.
Although I don't smoke, my mother did and smoking ruled her life (ultimately killing her). My dad died from her secondhand smoke one year before she passed away. I'm not going to shake my finger at you and say "Quit or die!" because I know how complicated and compelling the urge to smoke can be. It's never that easy or simple. My son began smoking in college and at age 29 had a lobe of his lung removed due to cancer! Even today, nearly 7 years later and cigarette free, he says he fights the desire to smoke.

Truly, if it was a one or other decision, I'd say work on the smoking issue first, just because of MY life experiences. Believe it or not (especially since I'm a food addict), I think making better food and exercise choices is far easier, and the results are more quickly visible and physically and socially rewarding. For instance, although I have lots of weight to lose, 30 pounds gone and my BP is within normal range, my cholesterol level's down, I have more energy, and I'm nearly 2 sizes smaller. Ditching tobacco is very hard, and the result may not be immediately apparent (except having more "wind" and better breath) though we all know the long-term benefits. There is help out there to assist you--social support, medication (oral and patch), and behavioral modification. And it was easier for my son to avoid some smoking triggers than it is for me to avoid food triggers.

Sorry for the rambling. I guess what I'm saying is--lung cancer, COPD, etc, is less reversable than high BP and cholesterol, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes. I'd recommend tackling the thing that could take you down first.

Good luck. I'm pulling for you.

Edit: Sorry for sounding so preachy. It's hard when smoking has robbed me of so much.

FifiFrizzle

I smoked and tried to stop several times before I worked out what I needed to do to become an exsmoker. The work I did to succeed is helping me with my weightloss. Before I stopped smoking I researched what would be best to do first, lose weight or give up smoking.
I found that smoking is far worse for your health than being fat. You don't need to gain weight if you are focussed about your stop smoking plan. Even if you do put on weight, it is still better than smoking. The day you stop smoking you will begin to experience the benefits, even if they don't feel like benefits while you go through that withdrawal phase. From my own experience, can I suggest this:
Stop smoking and become an ex smoker.
You will need to change your head. Hypnotism will help with your motivation, you can get free Apps from iTunes.
Work out how you will support yourself through the change to being an exsmoker, including replacement activities for when you usually reach for a cigarette. Make as many alternative activities as you can, exercise related. Getting out of the house and going for a stroll is a good one. Indoor exercises are great too. (You can get free 10 minute do at home exercise routines using no equipment from Sparkpeople.com.)
Make sure your plan includes a focus on alternative ways of dealing with stress. Meditation, yoga, baths and hot showers worked for me. And of course exercise is a great stress buster.
Prepare for change back pressure from your old smoking buddies. You might have to avoid them until you settle down in your new non smoking habit.
Put your smoking money aside and spend that on healthful things such as delicious fruit, and exercise related essentials-workout equipment, gym fees, classes. Maybe even a give up smoking coach.

Finally, good luck with this. I smoked a pack a day for 15 years and I am so thankful I quit. It is worth everything to stop smoking. Find a way.
If I can do it, anyone can do it.
You can do it!

Good luck with this and let me say you will never regret giving up smoking.