Quitting Smoking

I quit smoking 8 weeks ago after numerous attempts over the past 20+ years. Last summer I quit for 7 weeks (but there was quite a bit of slippage) and my binge eating got out of control and I gained 25-30 lbs. I resumed the smoking because I couldn't handle the weight gain or constant daily binges.

This time around I got my eating under control for the most part before I quit. I tried a trial of Weight Watchers which is a little more lenient in logging food as far as counting calories. I found a medically supervised university study for smoking cessation that I could participate in. They provide my medications and patches and in return I go for visits every so often and submit to saliva nicotine samples, exhaled CO testing and fill out questionnaires about my cravings and such. I feel this made me more accountable because I knew if I slipped and lied it would show up on my test results. I gave myself a week to adjust then started logging everything I ate except for freebie days every so often.

I gained around 8lbs this time, but I quickly lost that when I really got serious with the logging and started a running program. Also in the beginning I was very bloated, had water retention and severe constipation for the first 4-6 weeks. After that started to subside, I felt much better and my clothes fit better. Sometimes it felt like I had gained 20 lbs because of the bloating, BUT THIS DOES GO AWAY!! Do not that scare you away from quitting.

Find something to keep your hands and mouth busy. I worked yarn crafts (knitting and crochet) until I had a knot in my hand. I have chewed my weight in gum and have drank enough water to fill a large lake. Find a hobby that really interest you and learn all you can about it. It is all about distraction and diversion when those cravings hit.

I am much happier now that I have quit. I didn't realize that I wasn't as happy as I could be until after I quit. I have more energy. I want to live a healthier life and do all that I can to get that. I still eat junk and not so great things. I have a sweet every day. It keeps me sane lol. Some days I go over. I am not going to beat myself up over unless it gets out of hand, then we have a problem.

I am now on the lowest dose patch and I am scheduled to come off those and the medication in 2 weeks. If worse comes to worse after I finish the study, I will go buy patches before I buy another cigarette. This time has been much easier, but I can't say it has been a walk in the park. I have had my bad days where I could have eaten a cigarette. Then I have had days I didn't think about it at all. I have had days I forgot to put on my patch and been okay and days where I had to wear two just to get through the day. I seldom think about smoking now, I think about being smoke free more. Sometimes I feel a little lost, kind of like I forgot something. My tech at the uni says this is just another withdrawal thing and that I haven't completely learned how to replace the smokes. But I swear I think at times it just makes me feel scattered brained.

Good luck to you. Trust me, you will be a whole lot happier being a nonsmoker even if those first few weeks/months are a little rough.

I'm planning on quitting the next week, so far I've bought an ecig and am weening down from almost a pack a day..
Whenever I think about whether or not I'll gain weight, I try to remind myself that I'll be able to do cardio so much easier without a bunch of junk of in my lungs I'm planning on putting together little bags of veggies to snack on while I'm driving since that's mainly where I light up.. It'll be tough but we can do this!!

I quit in October using an e-cig and didn't gain any weight.

Me too! E-cigs are the way forward. I get some yummy flavours too like cherry and cola, they somehow satisfy sugar cravings... 2 birds with 1 stone