Smoking

wdwgirl3

I quit cold turkey 5 years ago. I didn't gain any weight the first year I quit, but it slowly crept on for the last 4 years. I have gained almost 80 pounds in 4 years. I finally decided enough is enough, and I am going to lose the weight. I would suggest one thing at a time. YOU ARE NOT SUPERWOMAN! I look at it this way...you can always lose weight, but you cannot lose lung cancer. good luck!

sydnisd183

oh wow i'm coming up on 6 years quit in December. i took it one day at a time and joined quitnet dot com (quitting smoking community) it's free and you can share and read about others that are right where you are. i'm so grateful i don't stink, my clothes/hair/home/car don't stink and i'm not stuck paying $6 or whatever it is for one pack o' cigs. i can run and train without being out of breath.

i know that when i was smoking i stayed at about 140 without exercise. it is easier to have a cig instead of eating something, not gonna lie. i'm currently 174 so i guess i've gained 30 lbs over the past few years. um that's ok, that's why i'm here at mfp and plan on staying even after i hit my goal.

good luck to all the people contemplating quitting smoking. it's so freeing not to be tied down to smoking, planning ways to smoke, who's lookin', standing downwind as not to offend anyone walking by, people checking me out standing outside the restaurant with a grossed out look on their faces, stinking around other people (and thinking that gum and perfume masked it) etc

bradphil87

I can't do both at once. I quit drinking, then started my weight loss journey, smoking is next....one thing at a time

Thanks everyone for your advice and comments and to you for keeping it real.....I had a friend tell me the same thing. And congrats on being 9lbs away from your goal. That's awesome.

Thank you I figue it'll be better when I try to bulk anyway after I reach goal. That way I'll have some extra cals to snack on lol

gavini

for me it has been 42 days, 16 hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds since my last cigarette (but who is counting), Cigarettes NOT smoked: 427, Money Saved: $125

i am 38 and had smoked since i was 13, fluctuating between a few a day to a pack a day and for the last few years about half a pack a day. I quit for a few months last year and lost about 10lbs during that time.

i think doing both at once is a MUCH better idea than doing it seperate - of course every person is different.

this is mostly cut and pasted from another thred i posted it in recently

my notes and thoughts...

oranges help when you have a craving and are a good post workout treat.

wanting a cigarette feels a lot like hunger - which it is, your body is hungry for nicotine, and you are hungry for the taste and experience of smoking. This is a big reason we eat more when we quit, recognize that and be prepared with carrots or something else to fill that void and realize you arent really that much more hungry than normal, they just feel the same.

on doing all at once...
1. to change, add, or get rid of habitual behavior you need to shake up your routine, thats hard enough to do once so why do it twice? you want to add new habits - dieting and exercise and get rid of one - smoking, so set up a new routine that incorporates those goals.

2. if you are starting to excersise more and you want to quit smoking (this is the most important factor, you have to really want to, otherwise dont bother trying) then you dont want smoking to become part of your exercise routine. a cigarette after a workout is the greatest thing in the world (i really miss that) so if you want to quit then you are going to make it a lot harder.

3. you can obsess about your calories and or your exercise to help eat up the time you might be thinking about how you miss smoking, it will give you a new addiction to replace the old one.

4. of course there are people at gyms and in running groups and other people you might meet exercising who smoke but if you start to make fitness related friends and have never smoked around them, they might not smoke around you or not much at least since it is less acceptable since you met at a gym or on a run, thats a good thing for you, fewer people smoking around you is fewer temptations and less envy.

5. workouts will start to become easier as you get in better shape and also as you smoke less, get both of these benefits at the same time and it will spur you on in your efforts that much more

6. if you arent going to watch your weight while you quit smoking, then when will you know it is time to start? once you quit smoking then you have quit. do you wait a week, a month, a year? what is the magical date? i say there is none, so dont make excuses for yourself by saying you cant do both at once.

i dont say good luck to people since there is no luck involved in quiting smoking and saying there is gives you an out or an excuse to start again, it is mental, you have to convince yourself and your mind that you really really really dont want to smoke anymore. the rest is handling the side affects.

grab your goal by the horns and dont let go, add me if you want, i will do my best to check up on you.

kingpt11

Hi all,

i started to quit smoking this Saturday, at midnight.
And it's like Gavini says, wanting a cigarette feels a lot like hunger. Mental and physical.
Its being hard, especially with the stress at work, but drinking water, eating carrots, exercise and of course, my mates in MFP, have all been a great help.

sorry if i dont sound that excited, but every minute that passes its still a struggle. lol

hunter624

That's why I'm here gave up in Aug 2010 and piled the weight on comfort eating, now went up to 204 lbs Feb2012, then joined MFP now 193lbs and losing, and that was after 53 years of chain smoking, stronger than tobacco ... lol