quitting smoking and quitting food!

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so i've only been dieting 14 days and lost 11lbs, i also thought 7 days ago it would be a good idea to quit smoking as i was going to get healthy by losing weight, why not quit smoking too? much harder than i thought.

has anyone been in the same position and if so, any tips when quitting and dieting at the same time?
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Replies

  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    yes - i've just got back on track both eating and not smoking.

    My incentive is that I've signed up for a Tough Mudder Race in 20 weeks and need to be as fit as possible so stopped both at the same time.
  • gitnfit2
    gitnfit2 Posts: 203 Member
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    Stopped smoking just over a year ago and been working to keep myself in shape. Best advice I have is remind yourself quitting is worth it and find fruits and veggies you like to snack on. Also keeping busy really helped me from eating too much. As it goes into spring and summer here I find myself outside most the time. Good luck on both ventures they are worth it.
  • lsmsrbls
    lsmsrbls Posts: 232 Member
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    Good luck! That would be too much for me.

    It was about a year after I quit smoking before I finally felt up to exercising regularly.

    I wish you every success, though!
  • moonjuleigh
    moonjuleigh Posts: 12
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    I quit smoking after (too many years I'm embarrassed to say how much and how long) and it was hell......lots of celery and raw vegetables helped, with tons of water and........breathing exercises. An old friend of mine calls the breathing exercises "smoking an air cigarette".....breathe in as fast as you can, hold it just a sec, and breathe out slowwww and long..... Some studies have show it is actually the type of breathing we do when we smoke that calms us, and not the drug in the cigs (because it's more of a stimulant.)

    Good luck, I know it can be really hard,.....I live with three other smokers and I kicked them to the back porch in order to be able to quit.
  • amdarosa619
    amdarosa619 Posts: 98 Member
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    Once you start cleaning up your diet, and sticking to it, you will find that you start craving the things that make you feel better, and have fewer cravings for the bad things, like junk food or smoking.
    Naturally, you will have hard days, but I think the two go hand in hand nicely, and you can totally pull it off!!
    Congratulations on your positive change, and good luck!
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
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    Commit lozenges. I found it very easy to quit with them.
  • pinkledoodledoo
    pinkledoodledoo Posts: 290 Member
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    I quit on Thanksgiving (2012) and used nicotine patches. So far so good... it's just a matter of wanting to quit more than you want to smoke. Not much more to it.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Good luck!

    There is some laboratory research indicating that we have limited reserves of motivation and discipline, though--if you try to restrict several kinds of rewarding behavior, you are more likely to fail. So be good to yourself and provide an occasional food treat. You don't have to give up foods you love to be healthier--you just have to eat them in moderation. You cannot really do that with cigarettes (or at least most people cannot; they are actually more addictive than heroin), so there you really should quit cold turkey. Or I would, anyway. [and I did, though it was many years ago.]
  • Jenni129
    Jenni129 Posts: 692 Member
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    If you find it hard to diet and quit smoking at the same time... I would choose to quit smoking first. Been there and done it myself. If you quit smoking, you'll get a lot more out of your exercising. Your lungs will be able to breathe!
  • JuliaLee67
    JuliaLee67 Posts: 149
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    Commit lozenges. I found it very easy to quit with them.

    This! I used the coffee-flavored ones and they really helped, especially in situations where I ~needed~ a smoke but couldn't have one (restaurants, mother-in-law's house, etc.). I have been 100% smoke-free since 2008.
  • michellechawner
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    I quit smoking in May 2010 after being hospitalized with a bad internal infection. I didn't start dieting until March 2011 (been back and forth for 2 years now, started at 167, went down to 125, now I started MFP again at 142, now down to 130)

    It's difficult, but more power to you for doing both. Or at least trying. It takes a lot of willpower!
  • Bridget0927
    Bridget0927 Posts: 438 Member
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    I quit on September 27th 2012, I had already been on MFP a long while and excercising.
    You will be able to do more excercise once you quit even if you only smoke a little. I was a social smoker and would go days without and quitting still made a huge diff in my ability. I will tell you though even if you eat on a diet level you may still gain weight or not lose as fast. I was tracking ev. I eat and still eating at a defecit and still gained 5lbs. Over the course of this year I imagine it will come off but smoking takes a huge toll on your metabolism so quittikng the sooner the better!

    Also once you have quit for a while you will more than likely find it disgusting which I was really shocked by :-)
    It smells gross to me now I dont crave it I abhor it!
  • kcasey155
    kcasey155 Posts: 968 Member
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    I smoked for twenty years and quit on 7th July 2012. My New Year's resolution this year was to lose the weight I gained when I quit which was about 30lbs. To quit I used lozenges, microtabs, patches and gum. It took about two months from my last cigarette to my last nicotine patch and after 4 months of 'healthy eating' I've lost 14lbs, so am half way back to where I was.

    By doing both at once you can relieve the stress of quitting with exercise and by concentrating on your calorie intake you can potentially distract yourself from cravings. However, note that many tabs, lozenges and gums contain sugar.

    I wish you the best of luck. If you REALLY want to do it you will.
  • Mmmmona
    Mmmmona Posts: 328 Member
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    Carrots, grape tomatoes, fruit. Munch munch munch.

    When I quit smoking it was because I had become disgusted with myself. It was something I was forced to do, not really just something I decided to do and I think that was why it stuck for me.
  • MizTerry
    MizTerry Posts: 3,763 Member
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    When I quit a year and a half ago, my doc told me to either focus on one or the other for a few months.
    Invest in cinnamon sticks. They help a LOT.

    For reference, I smoked a pack a day for 32 years.
  • pwnderosa
    pwnderosa Posts: 280 Member
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    You can totally do it and you will feel amazing I bet very soon! I quit smoking about a year ago and then starting trying to lose weight a few months after my quit.

    Exercise is a great craving killer! I agree with those who posted, be good to yourself and don't diet TOO restrictively yet and be patient with the weight thing. The important thing right now should be getting healthy and building new habits, the change in your looks and fitness level will come in time no doubt if you keep it up. I bought myself lots of nice perfume to celebrate the return of my sense of smell when I quit, it was (and is) lovely!!
  • natasa26ca
    natasa26ca Posts: 107 Member
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    I thought of doing the same but once i quit smoking i found myself eating sooooo much cause i was so nervous and food helped negate it. In other words i dont think i would have been able to quit smoking if i didnt increase my eating and indulge in sweets. That made me go from 115 lbs to 140lbs.

    Now i am trying to lose weight.

    Doing good so far.

    Also everyone i know who quit smoking gained weight.
  • Rotten_Apple
    Rotten_Apple Posts: 58 Member
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    As other posters mentioned, there was a time lapse between when I quit smoking and when I started working on diet & exercise. I used Chantix to quit (even with all the black box warnings) and it worked really well for me - I don't know if it was the pill or that I was just really ready to quit or a combination.

    I put on about 15 lbs after quitting but was already 15 lbs overweight. About a year after I quit smoking I got tired of looking in the mirror and seeing what I saw so I started working on what I was eating. Then about 2 months after that I started exercising. If I had done it all at once I am fairly certain I would not have succeeded. I am not done, I am down 22 lbs but now rather than wanting to lose lbs I want to lose inches and just truly live a more healthly lifestyle.

    No matter how you get there, just remember that you are worth it and you can do it :smile:
  • Mercedespony
    Mercedespony Posts: 162 Member
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    I started back at the gym 2 weeks ago (after 15 years not being there!). I'm 46, weigh in at 206. I smoke a pack a day.

    I have the Champix prescription in my purse to fill, but the google reviews freak me out re: depression. I don't know if I want to fill the prescription.

    I do know I need to stop smoking quickly, in order to keep up with my desired cardio goals. I'm with a trainer 3x/week, but have been trying to do my own cardio 4x/week.

    I think I might call my doctor on Monday and get a prescription for the patch. I'm down weight, but I know I can't get much further with cardio while still smoking.

    As others have said, my focus is becoming healthy again (the weight loss will be a bonus).

    Do you want to start a stop-smoking buddy list?
  • tarriharris5
    tarriharris5 Posts: 74 Member
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    I started back at the gym 2 weeks ago (after 15 years not being there!). I'm 46, weigh in at 206. I smoke a pack a day.

    I have the Champix prescription in my purse to fill, but the google reviews freak me out re: depression. I don't know if I want to fill the prescription.

    I do know I need to stop smoking quickly, in order to keep up with my desired cardio goals. I'm with a trainer 3x/week, but have been trying to do my own cardio 4x/week.

    I think I might call my doctor on Monday and get a prescription for the patch. I'm down weight, but I know I can't get much further with cardio while still smoking.

    As others have said, my focus is becoming healthy again (the weight loss will be a bonus).

    Do you want to start a stop-smoking buddy list?


    You should do the chantix it really works I quit for a year then fell back into it the problem I face now is my ins. Only covers it once in a life time now I'm trying to do it again no success yet! I think we should start a group for people who want to get fit and quit smoking! That would be great support!