Motivation trying to Quit Smoking and stay healthy

sassykitty101

Motivation trying to Quit Smoking and want stay eating healthy and working out!

I have been doing really good with working out three to five times a week and eating much better then I used to. I have only been on MFP for a little over a month but have been working on my health for about three months and in total have loss 27 lbs since I started.

I am now wanting to be even more healthy so I am trying to Quit smoking again and my biggest fear is gaining the weight back. So and ideas or support would be great. Thanks

Daisychain65

Well done making the decision to stop smoking.
I quit last July after 30 years on a 20 a day habit, so I know if I can do it you can too. I can honestly say I didn't replace the cigs with food, after all it's hardly the same thing is it. Truthfully if I gave you a bar of chocolate right now would it kill your craving for a smoke? Just remind yourself it's not going to help and that the cravings will pass....in fact the more you don't give in to them the sooner the nicotine will be out of your system.
Stopping ultimately gave me the best boost to weight loss ever because I realised if I could stop smoking (and for years I didn't believe I could), then I could control my eating habits too and I've lost 25lbs since last November.
Good luck, you CAN do this!

MizTerry

Let me tell you my story and you can glean from it what you want.

I quit smoking back on January 16th, 2012. In February I got back into martial arts so I could keep the weight at bay, going at least two, sometimes three nights a week. Gained anyway.
My doc told me to either focus on quitting or weight loss, not both because then I'd be setting myself up to fail.
I focused on quitting.
January 3rd, I started here and was shocked by the calories I was taking in daily. Opted to go for 1570 and to do SOMETHING each day, whether it be martial arts, the treadmill or walking. I don't take a day off because if I do, I'll become slack again. Plus, what if I get sick?

Baby steps, but it can be done. I smoked for 33 years.

blindedbyawesome

Definitly focus on quitting and believe me it is one of the hardest things to do. You may fluctuate with your weight a bit but stick with it. Try to have healthy snacks laying around and chew lots of sugarless gum. Try to move more also because your lungs will work better you will feel like you can excercise for longer periods of time. Good luck!

gorock13

I smoked about a pack a day for about 14 years, BUT I quit, just about 10 years ago. I went cold turkey and like others here, I started doing exercise regularly to counteract the possible weight gain. Despite my best efforts, I gained, but not as much as I would have if I wasn't active. Nicotine does have an effect on metabolism - at least in my case.

The hardest part were the cravings (especially after dinner - that habit was really ingrained) but I had a technique - and it may be a little OCD, but it worked for me. Everytime I had a craving, I drank a glass of water and walked around the block. I physically left my office or whereever I was and went for about a 10-15 min walk. This really helped me keep my motivation high - I always felt rather triumphant when I didn't give in to the cravings. It sounds really odd, I know, but these little "mind games" got me through.

Also, at the gym, when I first became active I would give myself a baseline - I HAD to work out for at least 20 min, 30 min...if I did more, great! But no less. And I changed it every 2 weeks or so. I wound up running my first 5K within 3 months of having quit. Oh the most important part? I made the food I was going to eat after working out beforehand, and stuck to it.

It is possible and you have to KNOW that you've got what it takes to beat it. best of luck to you!!

gavini

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 separate - of course every person is different.

this is mostly cut and pasted from another thred i posted it in but it all applies here.

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. 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? if you arent actually quit for X amount of time then you are allowing the doubt to exist in your mind and allowing for the possibility that you will fail, dont allow for that doubt, dont make failure an option. there is no magical date where you have quit other than when you stamp out that last cigarette so dont make excuses for yourself by saying you cant do both at once.

2. 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 or build on new habits - dieting and exercise and get rid of one - smoking, so set up a new routine that incorporates those goals.

3. if you are starting to exercise 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

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.

kimmynw1

Motivation trying to Quit Smoking and want stay eating healthy and working out!

I have been doing really good with working out three to five times a week and eating much better then I used to. I have only been on MFP for a little over a month but have been working on my health for about three months and in total have loss 27 lbs since I started.

I am now wanting to be even more healthy so I am trying to Quit smoking again and my biggest fear is gaining the weight back. So and ideas or support would be great. Thanks

I quit smoking about a month ago and joined MFP same day. So far I am down 10 lbs. I am using the patch and that is helping. I think the key is to keep moving. If you have the urge to smoke go walk for 5 minutes until the urge passes. Good luck and feel free to friend me and we can keep each other motivated!

KANGOOJUMPS

i miss smoking.
i want ONE RIGHT NOW.

sassykitty101

Thank you everyone. It really helps to here other peoples stories and support. So far I seem to be doing really good. I have been going for walks and chewing sugar free gum. I am using the patch which I think is working. I will keep posting how I am doing. Thanks again