Tips for Dieting while Quitting Smoking

I was told that it is EXTREMELY difficult to make two such drastic lifestyle changes.

With the fear of dropping the ball on both.. I have chosen to take this perspective..

I lose weight a little at a time.. then I shall cut down on the smoking a little at a time.
Cold turkey and dieting are a crazy combo.

I'm a tough broad, but even I can't do THAT! lol

That's kind of what I've been doing. It's the most difficult when I have nothing to do so I've been trying to stay active and it's helping a lot.

Run. You'll notice that the less you smoke, you better you feel running.

Slow and steady would be a better idea as well. I switched from smoking to chewing in 1 day (gross I know, but stay with me...). Because it was a cold-turkey quit of smoking, I had actually developed exercise-induced asthma, which has since gone away.
It wasn't the end-of-the-world for me, but it did have me worried for a while.

Brushed my teeth. I smoked for 15+ years and quit cold turkey little over a year ago, everytime I wanted to smoke I brushed my teeth...it kept me from wanting to 'ruin' a clean fresh mouth with that nasty cigarette.. Best of luck to you or quitting its not an easy journey, however I gained 7 pounds and I will take that 7 pounds for a few more moments of life here on earth over smoking anyday. xx

I'm going to wait a little longer before I attempt to quit smoking, I know I have to. It was actually a promise to everyone that if the world didn't end Dec 21st, I'd quit LOL! So I'm going to get into the rythym of diet and excercise, get to half my goal weight which is quickly approaching then try.

Want to quit by spring, that's when I'm going to start running

Quiting smoking is easier than losing weight IMHO. 30 days and the everyday battle of not smoking is behind you. you will experience occasional intense cravings for the remainder of a year, but the quickly become rare.

My advice is address the smoking first, that should be your priority it is usually the most pressing health issue, and once addressed it should make exercise / weight loss addressable.

When quitting smoking try to not over eat, don't replace the cigarettes with high calorie snacks. Sunflower seeds are a good way to help deal with the oral fixation without smoking. Veggie sticks ... are another good snack that won't kill the wasteline.

Working out is a great way to handle the stress, It will quickly dispatch with a craving, and leave you feeling fulfilled instead of regretful

Once you are past the initial difficult period (30-60 days) focus on the diet (this is a much longer process)

I quit smoking 7 years ago, and lost weight at the same time. It is doable, and quitting smoking is probably the best thing I ever did!! When you are in the first part of quitting it seems like a really intense struggle, in hind site it is not that bad

This is the difference quitting smoking made in 7 years.
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 44616
Lifetime Saved: 11 months, 10 days, 19 hours
Money Saved: $9,033.12

Best of luck!!

For some reason, being the reverse of most people, smoking to me was eating more, so when I stopped smoking on January 2nd, lots of food habits disapeared. Doesn't mean I don't have rages, the way I found to control them is deep breathing, going for a walk, keeping my mind busy, trying to replace the smoking after dinner with doing something else (dishes, etc.) Doesn't work all the time, my mind doesn't always help.

Don't talk with your mind, it's an addiction and it will always give you the easy way out answer. Not the first time I try stopping, so I know how this works. It gives you the 'it's only one' argument and then one can turn into two, into three, etc. I don't have any cigarettes at home and they don't sell them out of packs. I know where I can hang to get one at work and I just don't go there anymore.

Hope this helps.

Im trying to quit, but i smoke 5 cigarretes a day and im very disciplined with it. I only smoke after meals and with the morning coffee. Im focused in loosing the habbit first and then the addiction. I smoke every three hours the same time as i eat. But if you already were able to not smoke for somedays, dont start, cos you did the most difficult part of the process . Gradulations, as long as you dont eat to much crappy food you wont gain weight.

Not to be harsh, but you are just prolonging your pain. Quit already and be done with it.

Once you are 100% off the cigs the cravings go away completely!!! Cutting back and cheating just drags out the process and makes you experience more cravings

when i quit smoking I had a simple formula. every time I wanted a cigarette I had a hero sandwich instead. It worked, I quit smoking 14 years ago. However, now I am really pretty fat. So... my advice would be to replace the hero sandwiches with butt clenches or some pushups. really all you have to do is replace the habit with something else

Ask yourself to make at least 5 reasons that you want to quit. And they can't just be reasons you'd hear in health class, they need to be reasons from your heart why you really want to quit. Then think of any reasons you would want to continue smoking. If you have more reasons to continue smoking than to quit you're probably not really ready to quit. But if you do find 5 reasons close to your heart to quit you should start working out a way you'll do it. Start by setting small goals for yourself just as you would when you are losing weight. You probably know how much you can smoke each day so add all the cigarettes you smoke each day up for one week, then set a goal that you'll come under that amount next week. After you stop smoking completely you'll probably have cravings for a smoke and this is what I did. I didn't tell myself I couldn't have that cigarette my husband or mother offered me I would say yes you can have it if you want it but first just think of the 5 reasons you quit, if after that you still want it then those reasons aren't as important to you as smoking is. So I'd mentally go through my list of reasons every time I wanted a smoke. Don't tell yourself you CAN'T have a cigarette tell yourself I don't want that cigarette. Here's a couple reasons why I wanted to quit and haven't had a smoke for five months: 1) I wanted to get fit, somehow in my mind I can't imagine myself being healthy exercising eating right and after that go have a smoke, it just didn't fit together. 2)I didn't want my children to take after my bad habits, and children do they get curious and that curiosity will lead to trying it and that's how smokers develop.3) I didn't want to be like my mother, I love her but she's delusional about cigarettes and her health always having an excuse for hacking each morning and it never has to do with smoking. 4) I didn't want to be labeled "smoker" I hate labels and that's the worst to me. 5) I didn't want to make my children sick by smoking near them and being a stay at home mom I always have them with me and no matter what that smoke would reach them. 6) I know I said five but I ended up making more. My sixth reason is because I don't like addictions of any kind. I didn't like being addicted to cigarettes or pop or fast food, so I had to cut them from my life because addictions in my mind make people weak and my biggest fear is being weak.

So that's how I quit.. I honestly believe because I have been a smoker that you only quit if you want to quit. If you really want to quit you will but if you end up smoking again then obviously your reasons to quit aren't as important as your need to have a cigarette. It may be harsh but it's true. Good Luck!

I quit smoking October 31st. I used the patch for the month of November, but that's it. I was actually a little suprised that 1) I really did manage to quit this time (figured I wouldn't) and 2) it was unbelievably easy this time. I guess that just means that I was truely ready this time. I am now working on my weight. Something tells me that this isn't going to be as easy as quitting smoking!