do you eat breakfast?

My eating habits are not great, being a smoker (looking to quit soon) I tend to skip breakfast, not eat much during the day and then have a large meal and snacks in the evening. I know this is bad, so am trying to change my eating habits.

Trouble is, if I eat breakfast, I'm really hungry throughout the day. This is one of the reasons my last attempt to quit smoking failed- I ate 3 meals per day and snacks, and put on weight quickly. And it all started with breakfast, which would then make me hungry all day.

Could this be my body trying to adjust? Have any of you had a similar experience, or is it just me??

I'm trying to eat better in the day, but not really hungry in the morning- however now that I'm going to the gym 3 times per week, I should be eating more right?

1) It does take your body a while to adjust to having breakfast- try to have about 300 filling cals and add snacks of about 20-50 cals (think veggies) every hour until lunch (300-400 cals). If you are used to one big meal, your body (or mind) is likely having a panic attack about how long it's going to be until you eat next - seriously, people get anxiety attacks about this, it's why we tend to save food for nighttime- there's an assurance that those calories we consume will 'last longer' because we will go to sleep and burn less.

2) I know this isn't going to be what you want to hear, but I think it maybe far more important that you quit smoking first and then work on the other aspects of healthier living- the smoking seems to inhibit you at many crucial points- when to eat, how to eat, etc. Sorry if it's a misplaced suggestion but it's just my $.02.

Definitely. It isn't just a health thing for me it's the cost. Just paid over £6 for the first time

I know what you mean, but having failed 3 times at quitting smoking (cold turkey, patches, inhaler) I want to ensure that next time it's forever...i figured that making some changes that i find easier first, such as diet and exercise will motivate and inspire me to quit, and maybe by developing these good habits, I can avoid the weight gain that always results from quitting...what do you think?

I have never smoked (or tried to quit) so my opinion is certainly limited, but I would think when you do try to quit smoking it would be healthiest to focus on food in take goals rather than a specific weight because quitting will probably make your weight fluctuate quite a bit (and thus make you less likely to stick with it).

So the short answer, IMO is you don't NEED to eat breakfast, but if you are going to work on your diet first and then try to quit smoking, it will probably be most helpful to start a pretty regular schedule of when and what you eat- to help give you structure when you do quit.

I have you tried reading the Allen Carr Quit Smoking book. I quit smoking this week, granted its not a long time. I've been smoking for about 3 years about 10 cigarettes a day. granted not loads but it was a habit I could not stop and I smoked more during times of stress or socialising. I have tried to quit on numerous occasions but this is the longest I've gone without smoking. I didn't even read the Allen Carr book properly. In fact I had just gone out and bought a new ten pack of cigarettes unopened. I thought, i'll just randomly pick a page and it started talking about this idea of willpower and how smokers believe they have none. This was me, everytime I had tried to quit, I had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that this was just a temporary thing until I failed and had my next cigarette, or until the next argument I had or stressful situation and 'needed' a cigarette. Everytime I tried to quit, it didn't feel like I was going to be successful because deep down I felt like I had no will power. Anyway, so i'm reading the page and it says:

It's conflict not a lack of willpower:
At our clinics: We ask smokers who think they are weak willed: If you ran out late at night, how far would you walk for a packet of cigarettes?
A smoker would swim the channel for a packet. It takes a strong willed person to block their mind to the terrible health risks and continue to smoke.

So I stood there and I thought, I would and have walked entire festivals to find a packet of cigarettes, I've walked in the middle of the night to find an open petrol station for cigarettes, I've ransacked my house for the last cigarette, I've driven miles out of my way for cigarettes. The moment I started to think that actually I was strong willed, I just started to think differently about the whole thing. I walked over to my unopened cigarette packet, opened them and poured water all over them. It's been a week. I'm going to keep reading little bits from this book - but I really think its about an attitude change.

I started a diet around the same time. So perhaps being focused on not eating has in a way masked the cravings. I do eat breakfast, although as a smoker it tended to be a redbull and a cigarette, as awful as that sounds! I find it hard to think of appetising food in the morning and things that are low carb and don't make me feel hungry. I've started eating things, that aren't even breakfast items, like mackerel and tuna....because I know that I will feel full. Instead of carbing out on cereals that are full of sugar!