Perfect or worst time to quit smoking? (during weight loss)

If you quit you will probably be nervous energy and be able to run or do elliptical trainer more than ever. you can try to fixate on working out instead of eating food during the first few weeks of quiting. If youre like me you will feel super-powered when you first quit and be able to work out more than you ever did before.

On January 1 I was hospitalized with a partially collapsed lung after 38 years of smoking two packs a day (or more). I was put in a bipap mask, and when I tried to take it off I was told it was that, or intubation. I had the mask on for 36 hours before it was first removed, and spent 10 days total in the hospital receiving breathing treatments and multiple blood tests as they tried to decide if I had congestive heart failure, pneumonia, or H1N1 flu. They eventually diagnosed me with COPD and a ridiculous virus that toddlers get called RVS or RSV or something like that. (I blame my husband's great-nephew, age 1, who was sniffling at Christmas.)

When I woke up the first time there was a nicotine patch on my arm, and I was too weak to walk, so the thought of slipping outside to smoke just didn't register. I just kept thinking, "The hospital is like an airplane. You can't smoke on an airplane." I never got upset.

On the way home from the hospital my husband drove me through Wendy's for a single and a small fry. Once we were done, he got out of the car to smoke a cigarette (he still smokes). I waited for the craving to hit--and it didn't. I thought, "I wonder if I can do this." I still was using the patch.

On the way home from the hospital I bought an e-cigarette and when the cravings got bad (usually in the evening with coffee) I would promise myself that if I still felt like I "had" to smoke in 30 minutes, I would smoke it. I never did. I continued to use the patch, all the way to the last (4th week), when I quit using it early because of the skin irritation.

I carried a pack (the one that had gone to the hospital with me) in my purse for 6 months, as a talisman. There is still an unopened carton in my cabinet, from last December. I look at it every day.

Most of the craving, I swear, is psychological. You want the process--the lighting up, the inhaling, etc. So an e-cigarette would provide that. However, for me it would have been a substitute, NOT an aid to quitting. If you can quit without it, I think it's better. Also, until the FDA begins to regulate them, you may not know what is in them.

I had to tote an oxygen tank around for about a month afterwards. I was only 57 years old. Trust me, when you're 57 you don't feel like you're old.

You'd better believe that scared the crap out of me. But I don't and won't think of myself as having quit successfully until January 1, 2015.

It was about 2 months later that I decided to take the money I was saving and hire a personal trainer and start going to the gym with my sister. Then she told me about MFP and I thought I'd try to keep track of my calories.

And 66 pounds later, here I am.

It can be done.

The harm smoking does is WAAAAY worse than gaining 10-20lbs from over eating.

If the forum thing works for you, there is an incredibly informative and supportive forum on about.com. Just google "about.com smoking cessation forum". They also have counters, money saved counters, and the forum is very busy, so any issues you are having you will get immediate support.

I used the forum back when I first started to quit smoking, it was really helpful.

PS - There is no such thing as a good time to quit. You just have to do it, dont make excuses.

The best time to quit smoking is RIGHT NOW.

You'll lose: bad breath, yellow teeth, stinking clothes, damaged lungs, and gain a whole new lease on life.

I lost my beloved father in his 63rd year due to this dusgusting habit. He never got to travel, to enjoy retirement, or to see the farm, which he would have loved. He was a three-pack-a-day smoker. When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer he came home, threw his cigarettes in the trash, and never touched another one. He lived four more years, years of chemotherapy, surgery, morphine, and unrelenting pain.

i stopped smoking heavily while still losing weight three years ago. I put the weight back on, but not due to not smoking. I smoked 40 a day and was 49 when i stopped. After 7 attempts , i stopped altogether with Champix, and i suffer from depression anyway- it did not make it worse. In the UK it is free. You still need a lot of will-will power and i too recommend Alan Carr as i used it as back up. If you want to use Champix and your doctor says it's fine, go for it. Everything has side effects for some people- even water! it is a question of probability. Unfortunately the web is full of people with exaggerated scare stories about everything.They like drama.....

Even as a long term heavy smoker, my lung capacity has increased by 30%, as measured a tt he doctors and yes working out is so much easier after the first 12 weeks of stopping.

E cigs weren't really common back then but they would still deliver nicotine without the crap in cigarettes fro you .
I don't know if it is a good idea "to stop right now" as some posters have said, the evidence is clear that people who plan carefully their giving up are much more successful. Load up on one hundred calorie snacks, make friends with celery, short walks for when you get a craving and save your money for something that will add to your health. All the best!:drinker:

The best time to stop smoking was yesterday. The next best time is today. Stay strong!

I used Chantix and stopped smoking January 25th of this year. I didn't take the medicine for the entire time recommended because I just needed something to help me through the beginning. I started trying to lose weight in April (down 20 pounds), everyone told me not to try to do both at the same time. It has actually worked for me and I love being able to breathe when I exercise. There are many nay sayers out there regarding Chantix, it was a miracle drug for both me and my husband. It does have some side effects but nothing compared to the side effects of continuing to smoke! Good luck.

I haven't read any responses posted, but wanted to say for ME it would have been impossible to focus on both at the same time. I gained about 15lbs when I quit. One of my mottos during that time was "whatever it takes". A year after I quit we made a stressful cross country move, so not smoking was still a fight. Once that was over I easily lost the weight I had gained. By then I knew if I could quit smoking I could do anything!

I love this thread! It's wayyyy better than the "Quitting Smoking!" Group...which might as well be deactivated.

There's nothing in the world that feels better than the moment after you quit when you realize how good you really feel. You breathe better, you run faster, you smell better (both your person and your sense of smell), you taste things better. I think my real moment of clarity was a good 6 months after I quit.

For me it was the perfect time. I quit Feb 2, 2014 after 27 years and I have no regrets. I went cold turkey and never looked back. I was afraid of gaining weight and found that changing to a healthy life style was so much more enjoyable than eating crap and smoking cigarettes. I have lost more weight than I expected, I power walk 6 miles daily and I can breathe without hacking up a lung or two.

Former almost-ten-years-pack-a-day smoker here. I quit when I got pregnant, and almost three years later? I still didn't go back to smoking.

Yes, I'm heavier than I was when I did smoke (I mean, I did gain hella baby weight that I'm working on ditching!)

but! I can breathe! I don't get winded from walking up stairs! I can smell and taste food! My teeth are no longer yellow!
What really grossed me out when I smoked? My upper lip was starting to stain, HURL FOR DAYS.
And! I've been able to save mad money from not smoking anymore!

Depending on your insurance company, some providers offer free smoking cessation programs with free counseling, smoking aids, and other tools.

Sending some PMA your way, you got this. GOOD LUCK!

When I quit smoking (9 years ago, wow!), my doctor told me that, in my case, even as much as 30 pounds of extra weight wouldn't be nearly as harmful as continuing to smoke even another year.

I was coughing up blood and tissue by that point, though, so YMMV.

Quitting is the best thing I've ever done for myself. Whatever weight I did gain, I've taken off since. And then some!

People saying anytime is a good time to quit smoking clearly have never had a cigarette in their lives. Personally I put on a stone when I gave up first time around - and that was using nicotine gum. It was the hardest habit to kick, and it still isn't gone. I still smoke periodically, but I know now I'm not physically addicted - it's a psychological habit I associate with certain situations and alcohol. I can give it up for weeks without problems, then I'll have a few drinks and smoke 20 in an evening.

I don't think it's a great idea right now, chances are it could absolutely ruin your lifestyle changes - the first few weeks are hellish, you're stressed, fed up and ALWAYS hungry. I'd wait until you're firmly into the maintenance zone at least and have some solid good eating habits that have been there for a long time.

As soon as you feel that urge to quit is a good time. You are more likely to stick with something you want, than with something you just think you have to do. Set a date and do it. I have yet to meet one person who says they regret quitting smoking. I quit in January of last year around the same time that I decided to get my butt in gear and get in shape and haven't looked back yet. I have lost around 20 lbs and feel amazing.