Maintaining Weight and Quit Smoking

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Spiderkeys
Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Now that I have reached my goal and showed myself I can successfully maintain, I like to try the final step for a healthy lifestyle, But too sure how to go about it, I don't want to put on all the weight i've lost just because i'm not smoking, should I take of 250 calories of my limit since I heard smoking burns about 250 calories per day?

And has anyone successfully managed to do without effecting their weight?

Just like to know if it's possible...

Replies

  • professormudd1
    professormudd1 Posts: 59
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    I quit a pack/day habit about 5 months ago and put on about 10 lbs in a month (mind you I was not being conscientious of my calories). To be honest I do not know how many calories smoking burns, but NOT smoking allows you to have increased physical activity in the gym. Perhaps rather than adjusting your consumed calories, you try to burn more and more. Let fitness progress help you avoid gain and help keep you motivated. Just my thoughts.

    I commend you on your choice. Remember, it is as simple as saying "No" to yourself.
  • sbarella
    sbarella Posts: 713 Member
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    To be honest I do not know how many calories smoking burns, but NOT smoking allows you to have increased physical activity in the gym.
    This. I quit smoking two months ago. I struggled with all sorts of cravings at first... and pretty much lost the battle. I gained 5-6 lbs. Now the cravings are gone (I may still crave chocolate/pizza/whatever from time to time, but it happened before quitting too) but I can workout harder and longer. Guess what? I'm losing weight!
  • snappyapples
    snappyapples Posts: 76
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    I quit smoking about 5 months ago, and I gained quite a bit of weight (about 20 lbs). My dad had also just passed away from lung cancer (why I quit) so I was very depressed- stress eating and not paying attention to what I was shoving in my mouth. I'd recommend keeping a lot of baby carrots and celery around to help :)

    Good luck! And remember, the weight comes off a lot easier than reversing the bodily harm smoking causes.
  • motivatedmartha
    motivatedmartha Posts: 1,108 Member
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    I gave up smoking Feb 2013 - for the first 6 months I used an e-cig ( purchased on line from Jac Vapour ). They were brilliant and I was able to cold turkey real cigs. I started out using very low nicotene filters but you can purchase them to reflect what you smoke now and gradually reduce. Apart from feeling a little silly at first I found it a painless way to quit and started to feel the benefits straight away. Added to this - after the first few months I reduced the frequency of use without even thinking about it and now don't use it at all. No weight gain and not other side effects.

    Good luck with your quest for healthier lifestyle - whichever method you use to quit :drinker:
  • tetyanawheat7
    tetyanawheat7 Posts: 5
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    yes take it off
  • gistj78
    gistj78 Posts: 7 Member
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    I did not gain any weight when I quit smoking. For me it was easy to quit because I did not want it around my son. I wouldn't even hold him after I had a cigarette which was very hard for me so it eventually became easy for me to quit. The hardest was in the car and after I ate. In the car I had sunflower seeds that I would have so my hands and mouth would stay busy. I also would chew on straws. Those helped me tremendously! Good luck!
  • Hikr56
    Hikr56 Posts: 128 Member
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    Short answer: Yes! I think reducing your caloric intake ahead of time is a great idea.


    I lost 60 lbs during the summer of 2012. Stopped smoking in late Nov of that year and regained 30 of those in
    about 6 months time.

    Good for you looking to quit. For the record, I'm glad I quit - even if it it did cost me 30 pounds of fat! :)
  • YoshiZelda
    YoshiZelda Posts: 340 Member
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    I didn't gain any weight when I quit smoking 4 months ago. Which surprised me. I track my cals and such so I know how much I'm consuming. Gum helped with the cravings and kept me busy. My brother quit a little while after me and says that hard candy and nuts such as almonds or cashews helped him. The first week is the worst, it gets a bit easier from then on, at least that's how it was for me. Good luck you can do it!
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
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    My Doctor prescribed me with Nicotine Patches, I wore one for half a day to test if it would reduce my cravings, it didn't, my mental habit of needing to light up and keep my left hand busy, just kept making me light up, i had to remove the patch cause I was worried of a nictoine overdose, but considering to try it again, because I think the patches might prevent weight gain, it mainly the smoke and tar I need to get out of my system to save my teeth and lungs than the nicotine in my blood.

    Just Nicotine replacement therapy (including e-cigars) probably just extend the torture, than cold turkey, where you just have to get through the first 3 days before the cravings go downhill.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    I started trying to quit smoking in 1998-1999, quit on and off for 5 years, got addicted to the patch, the lozenges, the gum...finally I quit for good cold turkey in 2004.

    You can breathe, you can taste food, you have a lot more energy, you don't hack crap up every morning.

    Yes, there is an after quit bounce of about 15 lbs. after 2 weeks or so, just work out more and you won't even notice.

    If you want to know how I did it spiderkeys, I meditated every night for about 2 weeks to get psyched up, then I just stopped. I kept meditating for another couple of weeks, then end, I never smoked again and now I can't even stand being around cigarette smoke (about 80% of people who quit become allergic to the smoke after a while).
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    .

    Just Nicotine replacement therapy (including e-cigars) probably just extend the torture, than cold turkey, where you just have to get through the first 3 days before the cravings go downhill.


    No they don't, e-cigs are kind of amazing when it comes to quitting smoking. The vaporizers (not the crappy ones that look like fake cigarettes and light up at the tip) made quitting nearly effortless for me. I'd recommend them to anyone who was having a hard time quitting.
  • shortrest
    shortrest Posts: 11
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    No one's solution will be exactly yours. We all have to go our own path. My path was cold turkey. Ripped that band-aid right off. Quitting was hard. Hardest thing I've ever done, but I just decided. I decided I was too intelligent to let them control my life. Every minute of my day revolved around when I was going to smoke my next one. It was ridiculous. The cravings were there. But, the cravings couldn't buy a pack, or open that pack or put one in my mouth or light the end or inhale the smoke. It was just an urge. An urge that passes.

    I also downloaded an app that kept track of money saved and cigs not smoked. That is almost a little victory dance every time I look at it. I gained about 8 pounds in ten months. After that I felt better physically and it has been so much easier to move my body without getting winded. Because my physical health is better, my weight loss is so much easier this time than any other time I've tried. I just FEEL better. Plus, I now feel bad for how bad I must have smelled all those years to everyone around me. GAG.

    Good luck to you!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    My Doctor prescribed me with Nicotine Patches, I wore one for half a day to test if it would reduce my cravings, it didn't, my mental habit of needing to light up and keep my left hand busy, just kept making me light up, i had to remove the patch cause I was worried of a nictoine overdose, but considering to try it again, because I think the patches might prevent weight gain, it mainly the smoke and tar I need to get out of my system to save my teeth and lungs than the nicotine in my blood.

    Just Nicotine replacement therapy (including e-cigars) probably just extend the torture, than cold turkey, where you just have to get through the first 3 days before the cravings go downhill.

    I have talked at great length to my Dr Aunt about this...

    She agrees nicotine replacement is just torture on your body...it slowly decreases the cravings yes but over such a long period of time you are in a constant state of withdrawal which can make it harder.

    Her suggestion to me...quit cold turkey...:noway: because in 72 hours nicotine is gone.

    http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/quit-smoking-timeline

    This is a great slideshow on the benefits of quiting and their timeline.

    I do hope I can join you all ex smokers some day...:drinker: maybe....:blushing:
  • katro111
    katro111 Posts: 632 Member
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    Chantix. It's been a miracle-worker for me!
  • lisaanne1369
    lisaanne1369 Posts: 377 Member
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    I joined a gym and then two weeks later quit smoking, I did not gain a pound.

    5 years later I am 20 pounds lighter. I have ran seven 5-K's and have placed first in three of them.

    I feel great, good luck and best wishes.
  • ashleycde
    ashleycde Posts: 622 Member
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    I stopped smoking a month ago at the same times I started working out and eating healthier. Sure, I've caved a few times in between and had a cigarette, then I always end up feeling a million times worse the next day (agitated, incontrollable urge to snack, agitated again, anxious as heck) so that feeling really helps you remember why you don't want to cave again. I would suggest quitting cold turkey as opposed to using nicotine products, and keep healthy snacks on you at all times (I've been munching a lot on raw carrots, clementines, and mango) to help curb those cravings.

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