quit smoking, and gained lots!

I quit smoking a couple of years ago after numerous tries. I finally kicked it this time, as I haven't even craved a cigarette since my last one. However, I didn't gain too much wait luckily. I gained about ten pounds, which I hear is normal due to your metabolism slowing down without nicotine.


I know I'm not much help but I think having some extra pounds is waaaaaaay better then smoking.

I quit back in Oct and gained about 13 lbs in 3 months. I realized that I was putting all kinds of food, mostly chocolate into my mouth just to pass the time at work (I am not a gum chewer). I had the nicotine habit beat, but the oral fixation was still there. Thats when I had to change my eating habits and take baby carrots and celery to work. I also started drinking water through a straw when I was at my desk. That is what helped me out. Also, the nicotine speeds up your metabolism, so when you quit it will start to lower a bit, its important to exercise. (I also found that I can run better too). The important thing is to stay SMOKE FREE!!!! Congratulations to you, I know how hard it is.

I quit smoking a year and a half ago and gained 40lbs. I had smoked for 19 years so it was a real battle for me to quit. Now that I finally have that addiction under control I knew it was time to focus on the weight problem. Tackling one problem at a time worked best for me because I could put my full focus on the task at hand. You can add me as a friend. I'm always here for moral support.

I quit smoking after 7 years. My kids and i made a bet if they quit drinking soda (bcuz i only drink water) and soda has lots of sugar in it that i would quit smoking. So i quit smoking cold turkey it wasn't easy but i found if your gonna crave food while u quit u might as well eat healthy so i ate granola and yogurt, soft peppermints,and trail mix and lots of water. It takes a while to get use to not smoking but u save so much money and i can breathe better and i did it because i wanted to and i am proud of myself. Plus i have found something else to be addicted to exercise (much better).

8 days today and I started drinking tons of coffee to stop eating....maybe that's the problem with my mid week weight gain. Well done on stopping. Apparently it gets easier...I'm still waiting for that myself. :laugh:

Anyone else here quit smoking? I am having a terrible time. I think I have the cravings kicked, but my weight shot up, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to control it! Any advice??

Congrats on quitting! I quit 68 days ago and I gained back almost all of the 15 pounds I had lost through MFP prior to quitting smoking. I'm having a real hard time with it because I have a job that is all sit down and VERY boring. I used to smoke every hour to give me something to do. Now I find myself nibbling ALL the time. I'm having a hard time with it as well.

I quit on Jan 30/2011. I smoked nearly 2 packs/day and quit cold turkey, no medication When I quit I needing things to do around the hosue so I wasn't sitting around craving all day....enter fitness into my life I started playing Just Dance 2 for a few hours a day and still eating what I wanted too (and then some lol). I never gained any weight, but I never lost any either, and it fianlly got the point where I was starting to get irritated that I could play that darn game all day long and not lose an ounce......enter MFP into my life. I never meant to quit smoking AND start working out at the same time. It just happened that my one addiction got replaced with another

Good for all of you for quitting smoking! The few pounds that may result are nothing compared to the short lived life of a smoker

Quit in Dec. No problem used Chantix. The problem was the weight gain. My knees are killing me. I'm way overweight and have to do something so I started a HCG based diet. I've lost 8.2 lbs in 3 days!