Went from a pack a day to 1/2 pack a day smoking...

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lexlyn14
lexlyn14 Posts: 290 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I am all over these boards looking for the reason I am not losing weight...I have cleaned up my diet... stuck to working out and always have a calorie deficit...
Then it hit me I recently cut my smoking from 20 cigs a day to 10 cigs a day with the help of electronic cigs...Is it possible that I am gaining weight from lowering my cig consumption???

Has anyone cut back smoking and saw a weight gain? I

Replies

  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    oh i miss smoking.
    BAD.
  • RowenaBernice
    RowenaBernice Posts: 17
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    I definitely gained a little weight when I stopped smoking. The reason is because when you are used to smoking cigarettes it curbs your appetite a little because it is an oral fixation, meaning that it stimulates your mouth and technically keeps it busy. I guess the typical human reaction to not having that fixation is reaching for food to stimulate it instead. That's why there are quit smoking gums, because they satisfy that oral need. If you feel the need to fixate, chew gum, eat mints, or drink water instead. It will help! Good luck!
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
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    It could be that you're eating too little for your body. I don't know what you're eating/how tall you age/age/activity level/anything really, so I can't say, but if you're eating under 1200 cals a day, that's likely the case.
  • Timmmy40
    Timmmy40 Posts: 152 Member
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    I miss smoking too! Smoking can curb your appetite. Kick it all together.
  • americangirlok
    americangirlok Posts: 228 Member
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    I quit smoking 9 weeks ago. Luckily it has been much easier than I would have anticipated- not saying that with any arrogance at all, just that I hit a point where I was like "I'm tired of spending money on this" and "I need to stop." So I made a bet with myself to see how long I could make it and I kept waiting for it to get hard, like all the horror stories I'd heard and it never did. I really believe I had some help from above with this.

    A week after quitting I did realize that food tasted better and I was like the last thing I need is to gain weight, which is something that seems to happen with quitting, so I got on MFP with the goal of mitigating any gain and it's tuned into a 5% weight loss. So for me two good things happened in line with each other.

    But I think that since smoking elevates your heart rate and higher heart rate burns more calories if you had a drop in heart rate from cutting back it's conceivable that your regular daily calorie burn dropped? I'm not sure if there's science that backs that up- but I think it's possible.

    But I do miss smoking! I don't miss my pack a day- but like I'd like to have one once in a while as an indulgence... If they sold them singly I'd probably go have one!
  • annetteajordan
    annetteajordan Posts: 17
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    Yes I quit - 1 year ago as of January 25..... I gained probably 20 lbs over a year and loosing it is much slower than when I was smoking. I read somewhere nicotine interfers the storage of white or brown fat and of course it is a stimulant which aids in appetite suppression, also I always knew I was finished eating after the cigarette (without it I seemed to munch a lot)

    Now for the good stuff - my cholesterol is down, I can exercise a lot more without getting winded, the weight is now coming off. I am not going to be a recovering smoker preaching, but quit if possible. Just lay them down and don't smoke again. Weaning off usually don't work, it is like weaning off any other addictive substance. The addiction center impulses only get stronger ever time you feed them, but every time you want one and don't feed the craving, the impulse gets less and less. Good luck
  • meganw5638
    meganw5638 Posts: 45 Member
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    They sell single cigarettes in the liquor stores in the "shady" part of town, at least around here. :) I'm still a smoker but since I don't smoke in my car, in my house or around my kid, I'm down to less than half a pack a day (and probably less than that since I rarely finish a whole cigarette). I have ulcerative colitis and the absence of nicotine completely can trigger a flare, so I'm still contemplating how I'm going to manage that transition when I do quit. The gum gives me bad canker sores and I tried the patch before unsuccessfully. I may look into the e-cig again . . .

    But to address the OP, when I've tried to quit before I've always experienced a bit of a weight bounce.
  • bethiepoo30
    bethiepoo30 Posts: 16
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    I quit smoking in September 2010...I was around 65 to 70 pounds into the 126 I've lost. It wasn't easy, it took about six months for the craving to go away. I was in the middle of a plateau when I quit and I'm sure that didn't help. But, I managed not to gain any weight. I had just started running and I figured it would be better not to go run four miles and then have a cigarette. Quit if you can, you'll feel so much better.

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