smoking

fefe0201

I read somewhere that smoking can cause you to burn up to 500 extra cals a day,
I stopped smoking in April, and have been dieting and exercising from about june.
Although I havent put on any weight I havent lost either,
do you think my diet and exercise have just counteracted each other and thats why
I havent lost??
Is there any ex smokers on here that can relate??

WendyTerry420

500 calories sounds like a big burn to me. I'm not sure if I believe that. Basically, because of keeping your heart rate elevated, your metabolism is a little higher, and it can be an appetite suppressant. But most sources say to expect 5-10 pounds of weight gain when you quit. If it was back in April, then I think there is something else going on. If it were just a month or two, then I might think that was a factor, but NOT once it's been six months. You should look at your diet and exercise routine and see what needs to change to start losing again.

Clumz27

Hi! Yes. I used to smoke. I quit back in Janurary. I had started dieting before then and lost 30 lbs. After I quit, I gained 27 lbs. !! I did research and talked to a doctor about it. The average smoker burns about 200 calories a day FROM smoking. It's completely natural and kind of expected to gain up to 10 lbs when you quit. Keep exercising. I fell completely off the wagon... that's why I gained so much. Don't let a little weight gain, or no loss at the moment get you down. Even if you gain a little, it's totally worth it. Quitting smoking was the BEST decision I ever made. I don't regret it at all... even though I gained so much.

Fozzi43

Wish I could stop smoking.....:sad:

I gave up several years ago and don't think I gained weight..but I was fat then so I wouldn't have noticed :embarassed:

etb23

Hi! Yes. I used to smoke. I quit back in Janurary. I had started dieting before then and lost 30 lbs. After I quit, I gained 27 lbs. !! I did research and talked to a doctor about it. The average smoker burns about 200 calories a day FROM smoking. It's completely natural and kind of expected to gain up to 10 lbs when you quit. Keep exercising. I fell completely off the wagon... that's why I gained so much. Don't let a little weight gain, or no loss at the moment get you down. Even if you gain a little, it's totally worth it. Quitting smoking was the BEST decision I ever made. I don't regret it at all... even though I gained so much.

Thats crazy that smokers burn that... never heard that before. I'm a smoker and really need to cut that out of my lifestyle. It's just hard since I already cut my calorie intake, plus workout 6 days a week, and completely stopped drinking. Felt like that was my only crutch. How did you guys quit successfully while giving up so much already? Advice would be greatly appreciated.

MinnieInMaine

Yeah, it's more like 200 calories a day and that's for a heavy smoker... If it was 500 a day, I would never have gotten as heavy as I was!

I checked our your food diary and see your calorie goal is pretty high - are you doing the Eat More to Weigh Less program or similar where you use TDEE? If so, there may be something off with the math there. Are you getting your calorie burn numbers from MFP estimates or an HRM? Also, keep in mind that with only a few pounds to lose, it's going to take much more time. And it could be if you're doing certain workouts (didn't check to see what you're doing) that your body is changing but the scale's just not showing it. Have you taken measurements or are you checking your body fat %?

Clumz27

Hi! Yes. I used to smoke. I quit back in Janurary. I had started dieting before then and lost 30 lbs. After I quit, I gained 27 lbs. !! I did research and talked to a doctor about it. The average smoker burns about 200 calories a day FROM smoking. It's completely natural and kind of expected to gain up to 10 lbs when you quit. Keep exercising. I fell completely off the wagon... that's why I gained so much. Don't let a little weight gain, or no loss at the moment get you down. Even if you gain a little, it's totally worth it. Quitting smoking was the BEST decision I ever made. I don't regret it at all... even though I gained so much.

Thats crazy that smokers burn that... never heard that before. I'm a smoker and really need to cut that out of my lifestyle. It's just hard since I already cut my calorie intake, plus workout 6 days a week, and completely stopped drinking. Felt like that was my only crutch. How did you guys quit successfully while giving up so much already? Advice would be greatly appreciated.

I quit cold turkey. I was a health coach and a smoker... not a good mix. I went to Dallas in a rental car, which I couldn't smoke in, so I didn't. I had barely enough cash to get to Dallas from Corpus so buying a pack was out of the question. When I got to Dallas, I had to pick up MY health coach from the airport... I sure as hell didn't want to smell like smoke, so that's another reason I didn't smoke that day. Then I was stcuk with her for an entire weekend... lol... I guess no smoking the whole weekend for me! Then on the drive back, noooo smoking... stupid rental car rules. But on that 8 hour drive, I decided to see how long I could go for. I decided to call myself a NON SMOKER. I just kept telling myself that I am a NON SMOKER. It really helped. You can quit smoking too. It's all mental. Once three days have passed, the nicotine is out of your system. After that, it's all mental. Make the decision to quit and just do it. Long work hours, kids driving you nuts, being drunk and being completely stressed in other ways is NO EXCUSE for smoking. I used to think it was... but I was wrong. Instead, take some deap breaths as if you were smoking. Hope this helped! Good luck to you!! You can do it.

Clumz27

Instead of making excuses to smoke, make excuses not to smoke.

fefe0201

Yeah, it's more like 200 calories a day and that's for a heavy smoker... If it was 500 a day, I would never have gotten as heavy as I was!

I checked our your food diary and see your calorie goal is pretty high - are you doing the Eat More to Weigh Less program or similar where you use TDEE? If so, there may be something off with the math there. Are you getting your calorie burn numbers from MFP estimates or an HRM? Also, keep in mind that with only a few pounds to lose, it's going to take much more time. And it could be if you're doing certain workouts (didn't check to see what you're doing) that your body is changing but the scale's just not showing it. Have you taken measurements or are you checking your body fat %?

Yeah before I was eating 1200 cals, and I was advised on here to try the TDEE-20% and thats the figure that it gave me,
I know its gonna take a while its just after so long of no results it gets very depressing. I know everything is not logged on here but I can honestly say that i have been eating healthier since I stopped smoking as I was aware I may put on weight.
Gernerally I'm running 5k 2 or 3 times a week or a 5k twice and a 10k once, and always do a 45 minute spin class on a saturday.
I have scales that give me my fat % and its not changed 0.1% im not sure if they are wrong as I know for £40 they wouldnt be the most accurate,

fefe0201

I became really unwell in April with bronchitis,
That pretty much scared me into stopping, I had never been so ill
in my life I wanted to just curl up and die,
I couldnt smoke cos I couldnt breath
I was bed ridden for 2 whole weeks and even once i felt better
and could get out of bed I couldnt breath without coughing
I think I would definatley still be smoking if I hadnt been so unwell
now the only time it bothers me is when I have had a drink.
Even now when my friends smoke infrnt of me it irritates my nose haha

cedarghost

I read somewhere that smoking can cause you to burn up to 500 extra cals a day,
I stopped smoking in April, and have been dieting and exercising from about june.
Although I havent put on any weight I havent lost either,
do you think my diet and exercise have just counteracted each other and thats why
I havent lost??
Is there any ex smokers on here that can relate??

Quit 5 months ago too.
What kind of exercise? And forget weight, have you firmed up/lost inches? Do you feel better?
I actually gained about 20 pounds until I started dieting and exercising a little over a month ago. Now I am losing. I lift weights three days a week (high intensity style) and do 15 minutes of HIIT once a week. I quit drinking soda and eating junk food (lived out of a vending machine while at work).
Here's the thing about smoking...it's not so much that you burn calories while smoking (yes you do), but that smokers receive chemicals into their bloodstream which can block the intestine from absorbing nutrients properly. So the body is deprived of nutrients it needs which makes it harder to gain weight and can naturally lead to weight loss as your body is starving for the nutrients it needs.
Nicotine also acts as an appetite suppressant and it is obviously a physical as well as mental habit. Meaning, when you stop smoking you feel like you have to be "doing something" with your hands and mouth.
Combine all these things together and now you have a bigger appetite, your body absorbing more nutrients through enzymes in the intestines than it was before and you are possibly eating more just to have something to "do".
You will naturally burn some calories while smoking because of the movement/effort involved, however in my opinion most of the "weight loss" associated with smoking comes from the other negative things I mentioned above.
The bottom line is, even if it burned 1000 calories a day, it would not be worth the trade off in health to me personally.
All I can suggest is:
1. look at other measurements besides weight for results (although you should have lost some)
2. Make sure you are accounting for EVERYTHING you eat. A lot of times we forget about dressings, sauces, etc.
3. Take another look at your BMR or TDEE, or whatever it is that you use and make sure it's right.
4. Other than that, assuming you are not eating too little, start dropping your calories about 200 to 250 a day, give it a couple weeks then adjust if necessary until you find that "magic number" where the weight starts to come off.
All this being said, I'm no expert. I just identify with you being a former smoker as well and hope you do well.