Still Smoking!!

jeanababy2

I have been working on my Healthy eating habits and going to the gym and loosing weight!!! I am very happy with how things are going . I started about 4.5 weeks ago. Since then I have lost 14lbs BUT I am still smoking!!! I know I need to quit... I want to quit... I know how unhealthy it is.... I have trouble breathing when doing stuff and I know I could do MORE When not IF I quit. Im doing pretty good with my eating habits but I smoke more instead of eating. Before I would sit and munch on chips or candy or whatever Now I Don't do that so I smoke instead of grabbing that bag of chips. Im afraid that when I do quit im going to put weight back on. So how do I quit smoking and LOSE weight at the same time with out wanting to "kill" the people around me... For those that have ever smoked before you know what I mean!!! Please help

nicola1141

Have you spoken to your doctor about quit smoking aids and options? I know a few people who've had success not killing their friends with the short-term aid of an anti-depressant specifically targeted to quitting smoking. Good luck!

thkthn

Just stop smoking! Sounds easy ......
It's the most addictive substance known to man.
Work out a Quit plan
Work out a date
Don't beat yourself up!
The more you try to quit the more likely you will.

BflSaberfan

I am still smoking too - while it doesn't hinder my breathing (yet) I know eventually it will. We've lost 3 family members in the past 3 months at fairly young ages - all due to smoking. My uncle was 67, my aunt was in her low 50's and my other uncle was in his early 60's.

RedneckMomma77

Oh, Darling I completely understand your situation. My story is reversed however. I wanted to quit smoking, but was concerned that I would put MORE weight on. My Dr. prescribed me Chantix, which I had to quit taking because I was not sleeping except every 3-4 days. I would literally lay in bed awake all night long trying to sleep. Now, on that 3rd or 4th day I might crash at like 6:00 pm, and sleep through 10:00 am the following morning, but then the cycle would start over. So I am still smoking(about 10 cigs/day, down from a whole pack a day), and waiting for a program to send me the Nicoderm patches, that I've had success with before. One thing that I have learned about quitting, is you have to be ready to quit, which it sounds like you are. See if your place of employment or health insurance offers any type of assistance with quitting. It helps to have someone to talk to, especially if they have been in your boat before!

You can do this. Add me if you want, and I'll be your quitting support as well.

You got this, and God bless!

iLoveMyAR15

The best advice i can give you is you need to be ready. Not kind of ready or sort of ready but REALLY ready. I smoked for about 25 years and quit last summer, cold turkey. Havent looked back since. I'm back here on MFP because i did gain about 20 pounds. You can do this, seriously. I know it sounds cliche but "if i can do it, you can do it"

mrowrmeowmrowr

My biggest problem is in the car.
A friend suggested I buy a bag of sunflower seeds and focus on cracking each one individually.

I mean, you can just spit them out if you don't want the calories!

For_the_Last_Time

Check out Allen Carr's easyway to stop smoking. I have been a nonsmoker for a week and 2 days now:) First time I have been able to quit without being pregnant. Good luck!

bcattoes

Discuss this with your doctor. I've known a few people that used the drugs to quit (two used Chantix, one used Wellbutrin). My husband is currently trying to quit using the Nicotrol inhaler. He is not out of the woods yet, but he has not had a cigarette in almost 3 months which is HUGE for him.

Good luck!

svatcher

Hi jeanababy2,
I lost 35 pounds a couple of years ago and after losing my weight I quit smoking. I used champix to help ease the withdrawal symptoms. During the quitting process I ate and I ate and I did not work out. As a result I gained all my weight back and started smoking again. I told myself or I should say I justified my smoking again with the fact that I could not afford to gain more weight. So I am back at the gym and I am eating healthy....goodbye chips, chocolate bars and sodas.
My new plan is to lose 35 pounds plus the 7 pounds already lost and then to do the quit thing again. But this time I plan to continue with the gym and healthy eating. And I suppress my hunger with cigarettes and coffee.
But before I lost my weight I was smoking and eating very badly.

AmandaWalt628

The best advice i can give you is you need to be ready. Not kind of ready or sort of ready but REALLY ready. I smoked for about 25 years and quit last summer, cold turkey. Havent looked back since. I'm back here on MFP because i did gain about 20 pounds. You can do this, seriously. I know it sounds cliche but "if i can do it, you can do it"

THIS!! I quit January 1, 2013 and started my healthy eating habits and working out on January 3, 2013. I am down 17 pounds since then. But, the biggest thing for me was that I was READY. I was disgusted by smoking. I had tried to quit numerous times before but it never stuck. I haven't looked back. Haven't craved a single cigarette. Good luck!!

gpstrucker

Check out those electronic cigarettes. It's just water vapor and nicotine (nicotine is addictive but it isn't a carcinogen). Many people have managed to quit smoking cigarettes using those things.

Me, I just switched to smoking pipes, which is far better in terms of tobacco quality and the fact one doesn't actually inhale the smoke.

You may also want to check out the QuitNet website http://www.quitnet.com/ . I personally know several people who have quit using that site.

VickiDiane22

I stopped last July. I used Nicorette Lozenges. I was working at the time so every break I had a lozenge and every time I wanted to light up I had a lozenge. Just following the directions on box. It worked. They don't have the side effects. Good luck!

strawberrytoast

I think you have to really want to do it! Join the stop smoking forum and read lots of the stuff on there.

This is the most true statement I can think of- thinking about giving up is actually harder than actually doing it.

(Ex smoker)

lrussell0402

I went cold turkey over a year ago with no backsliding (even though I wanted to!) but I think you'll only be successful if you TRULY want to stop. I had a stop date and time and the hardest day was the first day...and I still have days that I would LOVE to have a cigarette but those are few and far between.

You CAN DO IT!! ...Smoke film covers up medical issues...as soon as mine cleared I discovered thru 3 trips to the ER that I had acid reflux, esophagitis, and a hiatal hernia...

bsmithmia

My advice is to get yourself out of the familiar situations where you get the urge to smoke if you can. For example, people who you smoke with at work - ask them not to ask you anymore. Clean your car and remove the ashtray to remind yourself you aren't smoking in the car anymore. Remove the ashtrays from places you smoke around/outside your house. Get a calendar and mark off the days that you haven't smoked. You should track it just like your food to get you past the first 6 weeks.

I quit cold turkey at the beginning of November and the hardest part for me was the first 6 weeks. You will have cravings for 2 - 3 weeks and they get better and then one last round of cravings between the 4-6 week mark. But as someone mentioned above, YOU HAVE TO WANT TO QUIT. IMO you sound like you know you should but you're not ready to stop.

Just think about it, why would you go thru the trouble of getting healthy and only do it half way? Go all out and make the necessary changes and your body will pay you back by losing weight and you will feel 100 times better when doing exercise and day to day activities. Just do it - QUIT SMOKING! Good luck!

jimcarey24

I quit smoking 7 years ago after being overweight (289lbs) and diagnosed as a type II diabetic. I really struggled to quit and finally I went to my doctor for help and she put me on "the pill". At the time my health insurance provider wasn't covering Zyban and I couldn't afford the $80.00+ so she prescribed Wellbutrin - same drug but marketed as an anti-depressant, and covered by my insurance. I quit within 12 days of starting with no cravings, and haven't looked back since.

As for dealing with food cravings, it's really about making sure you have healthy alternatives around. Make sure that the bag of potato chips isn't in the house but the celery/carrot sticks are. If you're in the car, put some bubble gum in your purse and make sure you take a bottle of water - sipping on water helped me through some of the rough spots.

Best of luck, I really hope you quit because it's definitely the best decision you could ever make.

Cheers!

theCarlton

I'm pretty sure there's no easy way out of smoking, just as there's no easy way out of losing weight. You must change - no excuses. It doesn't matter if you put on weight from quitting; you're strong enough to lose the weight again.

Linda5678

I have smoked for 37 years. I quit one time using Chantix for 1.5 years but started smoking again, slowly at first, just at social gatherings where there was alcohol, then before I knew it I was back to smoking a pack a day. I turn 50 in June and I need to quit smoking and lose 50 lbs. I decided I was going to do this for myself. I bought Nicorette Gum, joined MFP, started exercising and eating healthy everyday. In 7 weeks I have not had a cigarette and in 3.5 weeks I have lost 11 lbs. I feel great and I have no plans on going back. It is one day at a time, but there is a last time to quit for everyone we just need to do it one LAST time! All ex-smokers know what we are going through but that is how they became ex-smokers. It is a struggle, but it is going to be worth it. Do it for yourself, and know you aren't the only one struggling it was just as hard for them to quit as it is for us, we can do this!

mmm_drop

Check out Allen Carr's easyway to stop smoking.

This times a hundred!! After I read this I had no problem quitting my more than 15 year habit and haven't looked back since!

kelleygi

I am 44, 5'7, 35 lbs down to 150, try to run/walk 3-4 times a week plus lifting. I smoke and have no plans to stop. I smoke generally less than half a pack a day. I just plan when to smoke so that it will not effect my workouts ( even more than they do anyway! ). I just figure I have given up most of my "fun" bad habits like crack, the porn industry and nightly Tequila bouts.....A gals gotta hang on to SOMETHING!!! :smokin:

claire_donegal84

I am still smoking too - while it doesn't hinder my breathing (yet) I know eventually it will. We've lost 3 family members in the past 3 months at fairly young ages - all due to smoking. My uncle was 67, my aunt was in her low 50's and my other uncle was in his early 60's.

3 family members due to smoking..... please stop... or your other family members may be adding you to that list in the future.
My uncle was only a few years older than my dad and he died recently from smoking related heart disease etc...he looked 30 years older than my dad just before he died, it was so scary... and entirely smoking induced.


You're young... you're here making so many positive decisions about your daily life & health... so quit... just quit... you ***can*** do it!!!!!

BreeNJesse

Check out the halo e cig online , best investment EVER! Haven't smoked in over a year, 25 year smoker

allshebe

I quit smoking close to 20 years ago. I did it cold turkey with the help of a 4 session class offered by my husband's employer. One thing they suggested in the class was to replace smoking with a "substitute" behavior. There's always chewing gum, but I'm not that fond of gum and one's jaws get tired after a while. One of their tips was to chew on cinnamon sticks, which is what I did and it worked for me. Not really any downside, other than cost (and I think cinnamon sticks might be cheaper than nicotine gum and the like) - tastes good, good for your breath, no significant calories. Also shaped like a cigarette, a bit, so get the same hand to mouth "satisfaction". As everybody else has said, you have to be totally ready, though - and recognize that like with true alcoholics, the addiction never really goes away - you're simply deciding not to smoke this minute, hour, day, year....

DesireeAshley90

Okay I know how hard it is to quit and having had grandparents die from lung cancer, my mom refused to quit after 25 plus years of smoking. Listen, have you tried electronic cigarettes? My mother is the most stubborn person out there and she tried everything from nicoderm to chantix to every pill and aid she could find and she couldn't quit. She tried an electornic cigarette one day and never looked back. She has had three physicals since (three years cigarette free) and her blood oxygen level is normal and the doctors tell her she's the healthiest they've ever seen her. I myself have an electronic cigarette and though I don't vape as much as she does, it does not affect my breathing or exercising at all and I jog a lot. I have also lost 26lbs. If you have anymore questions feel free to message me but you might want to look into this. It can also help you quit smoking altogether AND it's cheaper.

kerri55345

I quit six months ago. I agree with many posts. You have to be absolutly ready. Not kinda, not sort of.... REALLY DONE! I woke up every morning after I quit and said to myself, I choose to not smoke today. i didn't worry about tomorrow, or the next day, but for that day, i was not going to smoke. The first 2 weeks pretty much sucked, but after that it got better and better and better.

Set a date, get some nicotine support (gum, chantix, lozenges) and you can do it. I wont be easy, but you can absolutly do it and be smoke free.

Hugs!

Rocknut53

I have never smoked, but my husband did for over 40 years...until May 17 last year when he went to the dr for a physical and found out that 100% of his brachial artery coming from his heart was blocked. He had only 50% blood flow to his brain (the body is remarkable in that it was keeping minimal blood supply to his left arm by "borrowing" it from vessels going to his brain). The only actual symptoms he had was lower blood pressure in his left arm and occasional minor dizzy spells. The vascular surgeon attributed most of his problems to his nicotine habit and $32,000 later his artery was opened with a stent. He quit smoking that day and hasn't had a cigarette since. Once he realized that his life was in real danger from his smoking it was easy to make that decision. You are young and have a chance to change and improve your life, do it.

suewestcountry

I smoked for many years when I stopped 3 years ago I did it without any help and have never thought about it since however I put on 3 stone which I am am now losing. I have no breath at all and am suffering from emphysema due to smoking. I would sooner be fat for a while than dead. Thats the bottom line.

Lonewolf1507

The general rule coming from here is that you need to be ready to quit, I started living cleaner and healthier in February 2012 but still smoked till November. By then I had lost around 80 lbs and felt I had the eating and exercise part down, also 4 days later I was going on vacation in America to a non-smoking house, now 150 days smoke free with only occasional thoughts about having a cigarette. One thing that I think has helped was having lost so much weight I had to buy new clothes and went a bit wild on Black Friday sales, replaced just about everything, so there are no smoke smelling clothes around.

Now I am also getting the ex-smoker problem that I don't like someone that has just had a cigarette being to close to me because of the smell :laugh: so maybe that will also help keep me away from going back.

If you wish to add me to your friends list for extra motivation/support for both weight loss and quitting smoking I will be happy to help.

Andy

ashleylynn8888

My own 2 cents: I'm not sure if you're opposed to going the medical route or not, but I tried Chantix a couple times and quit successfully for a few months but the cravings always became overwhelming and eventually I started smoking again each time when the pills ran out. In January I was put on Wellbutrin and I have found amazing success. Not a single craving. The thought of cigarettes repulses me now.... even when drinking- when my temptation was the worst and always got the best of me in the past. I am 100% positive that I'm officially done smoking for good this time. I highly recommend talking to your doctor about whether or not this may be an option for you. Good luck!!

Shelby1582

I smoked for over 10 years and quit for good exactly 92 days ago. It was hard but really after three weeks it was fine and it was the best decision I ever made. I was afraid to quit because a. I didn't really want to even though I knew how it was killing me and b. I didn't want to gain weight. Then I decided it was time and I just had to do it. I told myself one day without a cigarette. That's it, just do one day, and I did and kept repeating it. After a week smoke free something stuck in me and I became determine. You can do it!!!

The top things that helped me were the Livestrong quit app if you have a smart phone and the website whyquit.org. I like the Livestrong app, (get the paid one) becuase it's a whole community on there and they are very supportive and going through the same things you are. If I had a craving I would get on there and see so much encouragement and look up to the people who had been quit longer than me. I'll look for you on there, same user name Shelby1582.
Whyquit.org- just read it. I knew smoking kills and causes cancer but when I read the heart wrenching stories of women who were only a few years older than me and they chronicle in detail their battle with lung cancer, losing everything, what they wish they had done differently and the pain they are in. It's so sad. I didn't really think that smoking affected people until later in life but it does. It can even cause rectal cancer and you will have to carry a poop bag around with you forever! Check it out, I went home crying after reading it and regret every cigarette I ever smoked.

I support you, you can quit smoking. I used fruit flavored Nicorette gum for a couple days and the e-cigarette for a few weeks then weaned off of it. Once the nicortine leaves your body you won't physically crave so that helped alot. I think that's why the patch is harder, because your body is constantly in a state of withdrawel. Whichever method you choose you can do this and stay strong!