Quitting Smoking While Losing Weigt

Orphia wrote: »

How are our new non-smokers doing?

Cheering for you, guys!

60.8 smoke free hours here. How was your day, @ohgeeque ? I am a crabby mess. Driving past convenience stores just makes me grit my teeth and pop a nicotine losenge. I feel guilty about using them, but there is nothing about smoking I don't feel guilty about. So I feel less guilty. Sort of...I have not told my husband that I quit. I know that sounds weird, but I have always failed before. No need to get his hopes up yet.

I was so distracted & cravey last night that I didn't even finish my workout at the gym. That was disappointing; I was really hoping exercise would get my mind off things. Hopefully tomorrow's workout will go better.

It is super nice of you to ask, @Orphia

Some of you have nerves of absolute steel..... Serious kudos.

ogmomma2012 wrote: »

I went the prescription path. One month on Chantix, can't even think about smoking ever again. Sometimes I think about smoking like a long, cherished memory, but I'll never go back, too disgusting to my mind now to consider picking it up again.

This is what I did as well. I started the medication and by the end if the first week I was down to 1 or 2 cigs a day They didn't even taste or feel good anymore. By the time my quit date rolled around it was no big deal to give it up because the Chantix took all of the fun/relief out of smoking.

My other tip would be when you feel tempted just remind yourself that you don't smoke. Not that you quit smoking but that you simply don't smoke. When people first quit and they are offered a cigarette they will often say "I'm supposed to be quiting" opening up the door to caving in and smoking. If you say "no thanks, I don't smoke" you leave the door closed.

I have been quit for almost 2 years.

ohgeeque wrote: »

Thank you, all of you. You have given me some very important insight. I think it will be very helpful. I'm going to quit tomorrow. Go to bed a smoker and wake up an x-smoker. I have gum, water, and celery sticks. I took the day off from work, I plan to clean, walk, walk the dog, knit, read, clean some more.

Like weight loss, it will be a process that takes more than one day and like weight loss if I never start I'll never finish.

Right now, I'm an addict but I won't be one forever.

Thank you again for your help and good wishes.

You will always be an "Addict" you just won't be an active one.
I am a former smoker, but will always be an addict because all it will take is 1 cigarette to get me smoking again...and I know this. I tried several different ways to quit smoking, but Chantix was my life saver.
Recovering
Former
On the Wagon
pick what ever word works for you.

You can do it. Just pick whatever method works best for you. Part of smoking g for me was the hand to mouth habit. I was mildly successful with the nicotine gum, but I chewed it so much that my jaw hurt really bad. I switched to a vaporizer (and use the yummy candy tasting eliquids) and I'm at 8 nocotine now. It's been over 2 years cigarette free. It probably has helped me not to crave sweets as well. Now the smell of them being smoked or the smell on other people's clothes make me nauseous.

ohgeeque wrote: »

I have lost 20 pounds, about a third of my goal. With that loss I am already feeling much better but my original plan was to quit smoking at 25 pounds. However, as I near that point I become more concerned about the effect it will have on my weight loss progress. That is stupid. I know that to stop smoking will be a greater benefit to my health than losing more weight. I am trying to build a better me.

I want to quit. I want to quit now. I need to know what to expect and how to counter it.

So, has anyone quit smoking recently? Do you have any warnings? Any advice? Tips?

Help.

I quit 6 years ago and it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life BUT it was also the best thing I ever did as well. I tried many times before that with gum, patches and or cold turkey. I used to smoke almost 2 packs of menthol a day.

What really worked for me is the combo of the patch with the occasion piece of nicotine gum. Be very careful to not have too much nicotine but it really helps you get through the intense cravings. I did that for about a week and then stopped the gum and started chewing like 4-5 packs of regular mint gum a week. It was crazy! haha! I went through the full 3 months of patches in which each month you had less mgs. This was 6 years ago but I remember we bought ours at target and it was the store brand. I think that was the best price of most of the stores out there. Also, in my state, Maine, has a program they will give you patches for free. You might want to check that out in yours. My husband only used the nicotine patches the first month then stopped and he had a much harder time not smoking for the next year but he stayed strong and he is still a non smoker. I truly believe that you need to follow the program through because I had very little to no cravings after that.

I think the turning point for me was when I was driving in my car and dealing with something (I cant even remember what it was) and I wanted a cigarette really bad. I just had this thought "Cigarettes are not going to take this problem away, the problem is still going to be there after I smoke so its not the solution" and that was my go-to thought anytime life got a little crazy.

Also, when I was on the patches after a while I found that my mood leveled out because I had a continuous stream of nicotine in my system. I didn't have those moments where I got stressed out and was wondering when I would get my next fix. That was pretty freeing.

As far as not eating too much, especially sugar, there are some really yummy sugar free candies out there. I love sugar free jolly ranchers that are 35 cals for 4 of them. SF candy has come a long way and doesn't have that nasty aftertaste like they used to years ago. Popping one of those in your mouth instead of diving head first into a cake is the way to go haha

atypicalsmith wrote: »

Ms_LisaKay wrote: »

Orphia wrote: »

How are our new non-smokers doing?

Cheering for you, guys!

60.8 smoke free hours here. How was your day, @ohgeeque ? I am a crabby mess. Driving past convenience stores just makes me grit my teeth and pop a nicotine losenge. I feel guilty about using them, but there is nothing about smoking I don't feel guilty about. So I feel less guilty. Sort of...I have not told my husband that I quit. I know that sounds weird, but I have always failed before. No need to get his hopes up yet.

I was so distracted & cravey last night that I didn't even finish my workout at the gym. That was disappointing; I was really hoping exercise would get my mind off things. Hopefully tomorrow's workout will go better.

It is super nice of you to ask, @Orphia

When you quit smoking cold turkey, without any aids, the nicotine is COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM within 48-72 hours. After that, it's all mental. Popping nicotine lozenges, using patches or Nicorette, or swapping to e-cigs just prolongs the agony because the nicotine still rules instead of YOU. If you really want to quit, you HAVE to get the addictive agent - nicotine - completely out of your system. It doesn't take that long. Two days for me, and I smoked two packs of cigarettes for 35 years. I cried for a week after I quit because after the first couple of rough days, I was so damned free and wished I had done it years before.

This is a true statement; nicotine will clear from the body in 48 hours or so without renewal.

This does not mean that the pleasure centers in the brain stop seeking their boost in 48 hours. Indeed, they cry out ever more loudly. Day 3 of a quit attempt is always the hardest for me and the day I most often falter. I am almost -guaranteed- to falter on Day 3 when I go cold turkey.

But so long as you stick to medical facts & your personal experience and stop (just) short of telling the rest of us to accept that we are powerless over our addictions and we need to turn our helplessness over to the Higher Power of Our Understanding, I guess I can't take too much offense at your proselytizing.

How was your weight after quitting? Did you keep the weight off? OP & I (and others on this thread) are curious about cessation & losing weight. Any experiences to share?

I quit smoking cold turkey 18 days ago, I started exercising 13 days ago and started dieting 10 days ago. It can be done all at the same time and if you're watching what you're eating, it shouldn't affect your weight loss. I experienced rather strong nicotine cravings but I sort of rode them out with cherries and other fruit. However, I did stop smoking last year for four months using nicottine gum and I would really recommend it as it will take the cravings away and you won't think about food as a way to cope with them. I didn't gain any weight then. But, I only used gum when I indeed had a strong craving that I couldn't resist so I basically used 7-8 gums during the first week and then threw them away. I didn't want to prolong the nicottine addiction and wanted to get it over with. This time around, I went cold turkey and felt everything, from absolute rage to crying a river to pride etc. but I knew it was just my hormones which were being messed up. Last craving I had was basically on day 10 and so far so good. The advice I can give you from my experience is - your own mind will insidiously try and trick you in every possible way to have just one more ciggy = ignore it. The first few days will be difficult but it will be difficult now, and if you cave in, then it will be difficult the next time you try to stop. It will always be difficult, so you better just get it over with. It takes a week of persistance, and then everything will be much much easier to deal with. My mistake last time was that, after 4 months, I just wanted a puff.. and then I started smoking again. Good luck and just be stubborn about it. Sorry for the long post

I am 163 days cigarette free as of today. Yes I am vaping so it does make it easier than cold turkey.

I recommend vaping as you can lower your nicotine.

Based on studies I've read nicotine isn't as addictive as some of the other chemicals in cigarettes...something to think about. Most if not all studies involving nicotine were in conjunction with cigarettes...think about it.

Anyway for those thinking of quitting or trying to and feeling like failures...try vaping...just make sure your "juice" is from North America and from a reputable source. Do not order it online from China or some place like that.

I loved smoking...the social part, the "break" part etc now I have all the emotional aspects of smoking but without the 4000 known chemicals going into my now healthier body.

I even run now....working up to a 5k and guess what ...my lungs can take it.

When I quit smoking 4 years ago, my doctor knew it would be a very big struggle for me. When I asked her about potential weight gain, she said, "Let's deal with one thing at a time." Just recently at my physical four years later, she said, "Okay, *now* it's time to deal with the weight issue!" LOL. I joined MFP that same day.

Not saying it's impossible to lose weight and quit smoking simultaneously, *but for me*, it would have overwhelmed my resolve and probably caused me to fail on both counts.

Knowing your weaknesses is your strength.