Did anyone else have issues after quitting smoking?

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lauramegan28
lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi,
I quit smoking 20 days ago and changed my eating habits and exercise habits about 30 days ago. I know that smoking wreaks havoc on your metabolism. I was just wondering if anyone else had problems with losing weight after they quit smoking. If so did you find a way to fix your metabolism or did it return to normal on its own? If it returned to normal on its own approx. how long does this take? And I know gaining a little weight is better than continuing to smoke but my goal is to lose weight. I'm 5'7 185 lbs and I'm 29 years old.
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  • HopHead28
    HopHead28 Posts: 180 Member
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    I saw no weight gain from quitting. I am just about at 4 weeks now which sounds like we are in the same boat.

    I found I craved food more than normal but I knew that would be happening. In those times I would drink some water and have a small snack. I found that my day went much more successfully when I made sure to include snacks throughout my day. I only had a few days where I slipped up went over my cal goal and it was never more than 100-200 calories.

    Congrats and keep up the great work!
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    I have no weight gain either but I have very little weight loss. And I did a complete overhaul I was addicted to Mt Dew quit cold turkey same day I quit smoking and I was drinking a lot of it. So I figured that alone was probably cutting out 1000 calories a day. And I thought I would lose at least a lot of water weight from all my years of drinking pop. I carry a water bottle with me everywhere I think it helps so much with cravings and the hand mouth routine. I'm still new to this and its only been a month maybe I'm just being too hard on myself will try and add more calisthenics into my work outs but not sure how to log those so I've only been logging my walking.
  • jessspurr
    jessspurr Posts: 258 Member
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    I quit about five months ago and have gained about 17 pounds (after losing 50) the year prior to quitting. So, in the first 6 weeks or so I did definitely eat more. I was sad about quitting and felt just really awful emotionally. It was like the death of a friend for me. I felt like life was never going to be the same. It's not perfect now and I still have those feelings almost every day, but they are fleeting. After the first six weeks, my eating went back to normal (or back to what would have been maintenance if I was still smoking) but I continued to put on weight. So, smoking did increase my metabolism by quite a lot. My metabolism is not damaged now, it is just the as a non-smoker's metabolism. I just have to eat less. Which kind of sucks, and some days I feel like I'm getting doubly screwed (can't smoke AND can't eat as much as I used to). But being a non-smoker is pretty awesome. We will get used to eating for our normal metabolisms! Congrats on quitting!!
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    I gained 7 lbs overnight the first day after I quit cold turkey. It was all water weight, my feet and legs were painfully swollen to prove it. After a few days, the bloat evened out.

    I am pretty sure my metabolism was slightly higher when I was smoking but not by much. I decided to eat maintenance+ for a while around the time I quit and I was maintaining my weight eating 2500 calories a day, and after I quit I had to lower to 2200ish for maintenance. I quit 3 months ago, and am currently back at a deficit, losing on 1700 a day.

    For reference: I am 31, 5'4" ~169 lbs at the moment, and I lift heavy 3-4 times a week and do about 1 hour total weekly cardio (15 mins elliptical warmup every time I lift)
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    @jessspurr Thanks I definitely get the feeling of a friend died! But my kids are so proud of me and motivate me everyday my whole family really which is really encouraging. I just didn't realize I weighed as much as I do until I went to the dr to get chantix to quit smoking. So it was a real wake up call for me. I right then said ok I cannot gain weight from quiting smoking. So I overhauled everything to combat with lack of metabolism! 5 months is an awesome achievement!!! Soo way to go! WE WILL definitely get used to it!
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    I didn't see the "death of a friend" thing, I felt the exact same way. To the point that I had to leave work early one day the first week because I couldn't stop crying. People who've never smoked have no idea how hard it is to quit on an emotional level.
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    @levitateme wow 7 lbs I always carried a lot of water weight (Mt Dew Addict) but I believe the 5 lbs I've lost from start point on here are water weight from quitting soda all together. But Its so wonderful to know I'm not alone and that it is possible to lose even though my metabolism isnt where it was while smoking. Thank you so much for the post. 3 months way to go I'm only 20 days smoke free so still just getting started :)
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    @levitateme Yes emotionally I think its harder to quit smoking then it is physically I was able to break habits pretty easy but when I was done or fighting with my SO i no longer had ciggarettes to turn too so it was rough for the first week but after that things seemed to stablize a little better. Still a battle though just now one I know I can get through!!
  • bullofheaven
    bullofheaven Posts: 32 Member
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    Anyone who wants to quit smoking or is having trouble quitting should read Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking." The book works.

    With this all said I don't know what happened to my weight when I quit smoking, I was still a fat guy though.
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
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    bullofheaven wrote: »
    Anyone who wants to quit smoking or is having trouble quitting should read Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking." The book works.

    With this all said I don't know what happened to my weight when I quit smoking, I was still a fat guy though.

    It doesn't work for everybody. It didn't work for me.

    Having said that, I agree with you in that it's a good book to read. It might be all somebody needs to permanently quit smoking cold turkey. And it gives you a great way to put things in perspective. If the book works for you, you won't feel like you've lost a friend when you quit smoking, you'll instead feel like you've gained all sorts of benefits.
  • jessspurr
    jessspurr Posts: 258 Member
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    bullofheaven wrote: »
    Anyone who wants to quit smoking or is having trouble quitting should read Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking." The book works.

    With this all said I don't know what happened to my weight when I quit smoking, I was still a fat guy though.

    A million times this. That book worked for me so well. It just made so much logical sense. I HIGHLY recommend it even though you have already quit. It's actually free on-line somewhere. It was so so so good. I was hoping Allen Carr's book on weight loss would be as good, but not so much.
  • veronakings
    veronakings Posts: 116
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    I quit smoking about 2 weeks ago and I already feel light years better. I am avoiding the scale but sweet jesus I started RUNNING. and I can do it! I took my dog for a 30 minute run last night, no problem. also, food tastes better! so much better! I feel like I am eating a lot less because I am more satisfied. I am so unbelievably stoked about this that I don't even care about weight gain. anyone else feel this way? if I gain a few pounds I will certainly be able to lose them when I can actually move my body and think clearly.
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    I do feel better don't feel so conjested and everything smell is way stronger I agree if its just a couple lbs I don't mind but if its 10 or more I might be more apt to go back to smoking just to have a higher metabolism I'm hoping I wouldn't be that stupid but if it was a significant amt of weight I probably would be that stupid
  • veronakings
    veronakings Posts: 116
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    haha no you can do it! try doing stuff you couldn't do as a smoker! does your gym have a pool? I could barely swim 50 meters while I was smoking. or whatever it may be. and I think that smoking increases metabolism in like a super unsafe way that just is straining your heart. if you add extra exercise or idk healthy snacks you can raise your metabolism in a sustainable way that aint killin ya! don't worry about extra weight atm!!! in like a year or so you will be so much better off.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    Smoking does not wreak havoc on your metabolism. That's a myth. What it does do is develop a habit of putting something in your mouth, and then when you quit, you still have that urge. This is why some people gain weight...satisfying the oral fixation. It has nothing to do with metabolism.

    Things you can do to avoid this: get some healthy low-cal snacks you can put in your mouth. Chew gum. Drink water and talk a walk when you get the urge.
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    Actually u are wrong nictotine does increase your metabolism my doctor even told me this and you can find other studies that state this as well so when you go from having an increased metabolism to a decreased metabolism and don't change your diet at all you will gain weight! And I don't eat anymore than I did while smoking I wasn't asking what to do to not gain any weight because I haven't gained anything I'm just stating it takes me longer to lose weight now than it did when I smoked. I'm trying to lose weight and I cut back a lot and I'm still not losing as much as I thought I would be losing but I'm getting the hang of it.
  • lauramegan28
    lauramegan28 Posts: 36 Member
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    veronakings wrote: »
    haha no you can do it! try doing stuff you couldn't do as a smoker! does your gym have a pool? I could barely swim 50 meters while I was smoking. or whatever it may be. and I think that smoking increases metabolism in like a super unsafe way that just is straining your heart. if you add extra exercise or idk healthy snacks you can raise your metabolism in a sustainable way that aint killin ya! don't worry about extra weight atm!!! in like a year or so you will be so much better off.

    Yes I can definitely do more than I could a month ago today I ran up 10 flights of stairs still got a little winded but I wouldn't have made it two flights a month ago!
  • MrTolerable
    MrTolerable Posts: 1,593 Member
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    it didn't make me gain any additional weight at all - in fact I felt much more energetic and 'clean'.

  • veronakings
    veronakings Posts: 116
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    you are right, smoking does increase your metabolism, but it's because it speeds up your heart. I just read a summary of this clinical study re: smoking and metabolism, and apparently smoking a cigarette increases your heart rate about 10 bpm, which is like adding 90lbs of weight to your body. so yes, it DOES increase your metabolism, but it's not good for you, or your heart or truly any aspect of your life. exercise increases your metabolism! housework will speed metabolism! yard work! whatever.
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
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    I quit almost 6 years ago, after a 20 year pure addiction to nicotine. I had myself all set up for success with stress balls, worry stones, gum, candy, you name it. I needed none of it I was a pure junkie! BUT what most resources DON'T tell you is that smoking releases blood sugar, so that you don't feel like you need to eat. I could live on coffee and cigarettes all day. When I quit, I actually found I needed to eat REAL food!! It was a shock to me! I would actually need to eat every 2-3 hours at first. It took some time, but I was able to wean myself off that, and now I can go much longer. I have gained a lot of weight but can't blame it on that. When I first quit, I started running, which really helped me both lose and be motivated not to smoke again, plus it gives a bit of a high that can replace that smoking high.

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