quitting smoking

Good for you!

I quit a year ago (for about the 5th time) and started MFP at the same time. I did lose 20 pounds, but gained it all back over the winter because I was stressed, lazy and hungry! But, this time I stayed OFF the cigarettes. I'm back again to take the pounds off and will keep coming back til I keep them off, just like the cigarettes.

Quitting smoking does not automatically mean you will gain weight. You'll only gain if you turn to food instead of cigarettes for comfort. Look at this as a great opportunity to improve your overall health. While you quit smoking, eat healthier foods and exercise more.

Good luck!

I haven't had a smoke since 12/31/10 and since then lost 20 pounds of fat and gained a lot in muscle. It's possible!!

This is my second time at quitting, I started up again for six months, after quitting for 1 yr 8 mos, because I was SUPER stressed.

I gained a LOT of weight the first time but did not have MFP and was not active at all. I'm on day 5 now and still going down and feel more aware of things this time.

Just make sure you stay active and keep logging. Good luck!

It's been a year and a half for me, and it was the best thing I have ever done! It wasn't easy to quit after almost 20 years of smoking. I used to get winded just walking upstairs at work, and my lungs were so bad first thing in the morning. You have to work very hard to not trade the cigarettes for food, but it's all in how determined you are. I totally credit the patch with helping me transition. Now when I'm around smoke, it completely disgusts me. I had no idea just how revolting I smelled all those years. Now I smell good, saving lots of money, and I can RUN up stairs with no problem. A few pounds gained at first when you're struggling can be taken off, so that is not the end of the world. It's so much better thant the alternative.

You just have to remember that quitting smoking doesn't make you put on weight, only eating more does that!! There may be a metabolism factor depending on what you read but it is minimal.

It is really tough sometimes though to not feed that craving with food. I would try to keep super low fat snacks available as much as you can, carrot sticks, fruit portions, that sort of thing and chewing gum may also help.

Also, when you get that craving to smoke or eat, try to do something to distract yourself, exercise is good of course but even picking up a book, a crossword, come on-line and look at some posts, anything to just put your mind elsewhere for a while.

I gave up 19 months ago and I did put on weight (about 9lbs) so the advice above is from lessons learned. The weight gain kick-started me into making an effort at losing though and I have lost 32lbs in the last 11 months.

DON'T let worries about weight stop you from quitting, it is so worth it!!

Good luck...u can do it!!

I've lost 30kg (66lbs) since giving up smoking in July last year. I quit using nicotine replacement products (which I'm still using, but that's another issue).

I smoked from the ages of 15-45 (off and on), my mother died of emphysema and I could see myself going the same way. I've nursed people who've died from that and let me tell you, it's not an easy way to go.

I now exercise vigourously six days a week and feel better than I have for a long time. I love not smelling horrible - I was always paranoid about stinking before and hated my hair and clothes having that eu de ashtray vibe to them. Can't stand smelling it on other people, either.

Anyhoo, long story short. Weight loss after quitting is entirely possible, as with all things weight related, it's within your grasp if you truly want it.

I am 2 months into life as a nonsmoker. Someone posted this in a similar quitting smoking thread. It made it very easy for me.
http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

Cheeseburger85 wrote: »

The biggest point in the book that made it easy for me to quit was recognizing the fact that I am not giving up anything. I am freeing myself from a nicotene addiction that is killing me. Read it with an open mind. I found it tough not to be cynical at first but then opened myself up to it and let myself be more or less brainwashed. I will never smoke another cigarette and I am excited about that.

A year ago i started that same book. It cost less than three packs of smokes. Sunday marks my 1 year anniversary since i quit smoking.

Cheeseburger is 100% correct; i would only add to it that the difficulty smokers have in quitting is because as smokers, we develop patterns of thinking and behavior to reinforce the importance of smoking in our lives. When you don't address those patterns and you just force yourself to quit, you are frustrated. The book helps you recognize the patterns, and the "brainwashing" Cheeseburger describes is actually "deprogramming" the brainwashing that we accepted when we started smoking.

Here's the greatest pitch on this book - don't worry about quitting smoking. You are supposed to keep smoking while reading it. So go out and buy a pack of cigarettes AND the book. Just commit to starting and finishing the book, and that might well be the last pack of cigarettes you ever buy.

Edited to address OP's specific question: No, stopping smoking itself will not cause weight gain. Many quitters replace smoking with other habits, such as mindless snacking. Weight gain is from calories in exceeding calories out, right? The book will help you quit smoking without picking up replacement habits.

It also had two incidental effects that helped me actually lose weight:
1) quitting smoking was a long term goal, and one i had failed at several times before. Once i saw how easy it was to quit with nothing more than the proper mindset, taking on weight loss seemed much less daunting.
2) i quit smoking by being mindful of my unhealthy patterns of thinking and behaving. It didn't take too much longer to realize that i simply needed to be mindful of my diet to get health.

I started using MFP to track my diet, saw how bad the habits were, and have used the MFP logging to reign in and develop better habits. Still have a considerable amount of weight to lose, but i'm 30 lbs down so far, and feeling so much better in my life that i know i'll get there just be being healthy NOW.