Quit Smoking Without Gaining Weight

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paigebolling
paigebolling Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone successfully quit smoking without gaining weight? Over the last couple of months I've lost 18lbs. I started smoking again around a month after the birth of my son in January simply due to so much stress and loss of will power. I started smoking when I was 15 years old and quit successfully when I was 24 without any slips for a year and half. I was so proud of myself and felt so good but I did gain 15 lbs when I quit. I don't remember if I was counting my calories at the time or not. I've came to a point where I simply cant afford the disgusting habit anymore but it has such a hold on me. Plus I don't want to see that scale moving up again. Just wanting to know if anyone has any tips for quitting without gaining weight!

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  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I quit smoking the same time I decided to lose my extra weight.

    A lot of people turn to food when they quit smoking. I decided to get more active. I went for walks/run whenever I was getting a craving and drank a lot of water.

    The reason people gain weight when they quit is because they over eat. It's as simple as that
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    I quit smoking the same time I decided to lose my extra weight.

    A lot of people turn to food when they quit smoking. I decided to get more active. I went for walks/run whenever I was getting a craving and drank a lot of water.

    The reason people gain weight when they quit is because they over eat. It's as simple as that

    ^^^^ This. You eat more, you gain!
  • TheLung
    TheLung Posts: 58
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    The wife and I quit smoking 3 or 4 years ago. I got pneumonia, collapsed a lung and landed in the hospital with a tube in my lung for 10 days. I figured my time to quit was here and I should take advantage of the situation. The horror of not being able to breath was a real eye opener. I figured what happened to me was about like what emphysema was like. I got a bit depressed well a lot depressed and turned to eating lots of peanut butter and candy at work. I am talking at least 16 oz of PB a day and I gained about 40 pounds. So it is up to you if you gain or not. I take full responsibility.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I started smoking again around a month after the birth of my son in January simply due to so much stress and loss of will power.

    Next time try buying nicotine patches rather than cigarettes. Being out of cigs is very stressful for a smoker, which conditions them to think of nicotine as a stress reliever. Knowing that you have a stash of nicotine within easy reach in patch form can go a long way toward relieving stress triggered cravings in an ex-smoker, even if you never actually use them.
  • joshdann
    joshdann Posts: 618 Member
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    Quitting smoking does not directly cause weight gain. nicotine is an appetite suppressant. Going off of it means you will have more appetite... what you do with that increase in appetite is up to you.
  • paigebolling
    paigebolling Posts: 65 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I read online (whether or not its true I'm not sure but sure makes sense) that smoking due to increased heart rate etc. burns around 200 cals a day if your smoking an entire pack a day. Plus the things like increased hunger, better taste, boredom etc causes weight gain when stopping smoking. I'm going to try and burn 200 more cals a day by walking/running/etc or on lazy days that I'm not proud to confess to I will decrease my cals by 200. I really need to quit and will quit whether I gain or not but I needed to hear that it was an option whether I gain weight and not an envitable consequence of stopping smoking!
  • joshdann
    joshdann Posts: 618 Member
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    the vascular stress caused by nicotine will add a few calories per day. I'm not sure if 200 is accurate or not, but I think your plan is a good one. Of course, you will also be able to exercise more and longer once your lung capacity starts to return. That won't happen right away but it will happen within a month or so. Being able to run longer distances is my biggest motivator to quit smoking. Good luck!
  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
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    A crude representation of my weight since November 2008 and smoking status (red = smoker, green = vaper). Could not discern any correlation between smoker status and weight. I am, however, more active on sedentary days when I smoke because I go downstairs and outside to light up.

    weight-from-2009-to-2013-09-11-with-smoker-status.png
  • iamaelephant
    iamaelephant Posts: 14
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    I quit smoking and took up endurance running at the same time. There's no chance I could gain weight even if I tried (which I'm actively doing).

    And no, smoking doesn't burn 200kcal a day. Not a chance.

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