Holy potatoes, is this why I can't lose weight?

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Replies

  • Hayleighs_mom
    Hayleighs_mom Posts: 48
    Keep up the great work and don't start smoking again. Keep an eye on your sodium levels (that was one of my main issues). Also, your gaining a lot of muscle from working out so much. Lastly, drink LOTS of water.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    ^^^This! Please don't get discouraged. The benefits you'll get from not smoking will completely outweigh this period of none weight loss. Just keep doing what you're doing and your body will catch up!
    Oh please never say that, I know about those but at the same time I hate to gain weight. That doesn't sound too motivating especially if you're telling that to somebody whose been through ups & downs just to get to his/her goal weight.

    EDIT: I'm talking about weight gain, not plateau.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
    Congrats on giving up smoking - you won't regret it.

    Next - 3 weeks is too short a time to be panicking - you need to stick with one thing for 2 - 3 weeks before you know whether it has worked. 3 weeks is even too little time to know if you've really plateaued.

    agree with comments suggesting upping your work out though.
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    Perhaps another way to look at it is that smoking destroys your metabolism which has to work harder to maintain homeostasis and provide respiration to your cells.

    Congratulations, you just avoided a triple bypass. . . saved your life!

    Be patient, you will lose weight. If your diary is open, I'll check it to see if anything is wrong there.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    I quite 2 years ago and didn't gain a pound for like 12 months. I did indeed up my cardio by a lot, so that might be it (app. +30 minutes more per workout compared to when I was smoking and couldn't do high intensity cardio for very long time).

    Smoking might get your heart beat up for a little while because your poor body needs to deal with all the toxins, but it will also take years of your life in the end.

    Intensify your workouts for the first couple of months after quitting the cancer sticks - that should do the trick.


    O___________________________O

    twleve months? *fumbles for lighter*


    I kid, I kid.

    But seriously.







    No, seriously.

    I can't plateau for 12 months.


    I'm at 1200 calories a day. I now do classes-- dancing, kickboxing, heavy weight training, and Zumba. 4 - 5 times a week. On exercise days, I try to add about 100 - 150 calories.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    Just read that smoking increases you metabolism by 7%. D:

    Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
    Imagine how much weight you'll loose after the chemotherapy to treat the eventual lung cancer. People drop weight fast during those treatments and Methamphetamine will increase your metabolism by probably triple that amount but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to do that. Focus on what's healthy for your body. There are no gimmicks or shortcuts. Just do the right things. Eat good foods in the proper amount, exercise, and get plenty of rest.
  • angelalf1979
    angelalf1979 Posts: 244 Member
    how could you call it a plateau when it takes atleast 3 weeks for it to be a plateau....?

    you said you tried UPPING your calories, then tried lowering them... in otherwords, you probably averaged out to the middle.. where you will remain.

    just hold a steady deficit for 3 weeks.

    ^THIS. 3 weeks is not enough time for figuring this out. Congrats on quitting though!! Keep at it!!! I quit 2 months before joining MFP so it will be 4 months in August.
  • sodaisy
    sodaisy Posts: 69 Member
    Check out http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/weightgain/a/metabolism.htm

    I quitted smoking in March 2012, joined MFP in April 2012 and weight started to drop in Jun 2012. Don't give up, just take 1 step at a time!
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    how could you call it a plateau when it takes atleast 3 weeks for it to be a plateau....?

    you said you tried UPPING your calories, then tried lowering them... in otherwords, you probably averaged out to the middle.. where you will remain.

    just hold a steady deficit for 3 weeks.

    ^THIS. 3 weeks is not enough time for figuring this out. Congrats on quitting though!! Keep at it!!! I quit 2 months before joining MFP so it will be 4 months in August.

    Because for three months straight I was losing anywhere between 1 and 2.5 pounds, and now it's completely stopped. For three weeks. Pretty good indicator!

    Thanks for the encouragement, guys! I was mostly curious if it was true that quitting makes you gain. I'd previously thought it was because people replace smoking with food, which I haven't done, yet I've still not lost.

    And when I said I upped my calories, I went from 1200 to 1300. Not that drastic, I suppose.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    25% of quitters LOSE weight while quitting.

    The few percentage points of added BMR can't make you plateau at 1200-1300 calories. Your BMR has still got to be at least 1400, plus you burn calories through activity.

    Don't chalk it all up to the quit. You might be retaining water from the new workouts or something. Keep at it!
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    25% of quitters LOSE weight while quitting.

    The few percentage points of added BMR can't make you plateau at 1200-1300 calories. Your BMR has still got to be at least 1400, plus you burn calories through activity.

    Don't chalk it all up to the quit. You might be retaining water from the new workouts or something. Keep at it!

    Thanks!! I definitely will.
  • SparkleHorse224
    SparkleHorse224 Posts: 98 Member
    Nicotine doesn't really increase or boost metabolism, it just suppresses appetite. This is why supermodels smoke. : P

    Don't start smoking again. Just keep going and being patient.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
    Nicotine doesn't really increase or boost metabolism, it just suppresses appetite. This is why supermodels smoke. : P

    Don't start smoking again. Just keep going and being patient.

    I guess a change of my ticker is needed. Now I feel like a cigarette. Sigh. Just keeeeeeeep truuuckin
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I have been very careful about snacking-- oddly enough, I am snacking less (used to munch on 8 - 16 almonds before a smoke break, and now I don't).

    So will my body adjust? I puff on an e-cigarette now and then, but maybe only two puffs a day out of habit.

    I wonder how long it takes for my body to adjust?

    Just keep going to the gym that you can now afford. Exercise is the best way to increase metabolism. And, unlike cigarettes, it may just lengthen your lifespan, rather than shorten it.
  • Mama_Jag
    Mama_Jag Posts: 474 Member
    It's probably why. I've heard that 1 cigarrette=20 min of cardio. Congrats on quitting!

    I highly doubt this. I am pretty sure I was not doing the equivalent of almost 7 hours of cardio a day when I still smoked and was 50# heavier than I am now...

    Congrats on quitting, that is awesome! Just love yourself and don't fret over the scale so much. Measure, and do what you know will work, you will break the plateau soon enough!

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