Should I Start exercising?

Start now. Your friends are giving bad advice and I don't even know how you get your body "ready" for the gym. If you're working out as you lose the weight it will definitely help with any loose skin or those types of issues rather than getting skinny fat and then trying to work out.

Sure. And if you have no idea what to so look into StrongLifts, Strong Curves, New Rules of Lifting for Women or Jamie Eason over on bodybuilding.com.

This thread explains why I recc'd those workouts:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/977538/halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky/p1

Definitely exercise! It will make you feel better, and give you some wiggle room in your calories when you can be as accurate as you would like.

If you are trying to quit, however, I think you should forego calorie restriction. I quit cold turkey, just gave it up one day. I tried quitting about 4 times before, and 3 of those times, I was dieting. The other time, I wasn't, but I was not working out.

When I finally quit, I allowed myself to gorge on anything I wanted. The price of the cigs canceled out the price of the extra food. I gained 20 lbs. But guess what? I exercised that entire time to keep the weight in check.

My motivator was that I could work to reverse the weight gain MUCH EASIER than work to reverse the negative effects of smoking. Unless you are morbidly obese (hundreds of lbs beyond overweight/obese line), being obese and not smoking is healthier than being overweight/obese and smoking. I dont know your stats, but that curve gets better the less you weigh.

I still exercised, but I didnt track calories. After about 3 months, cravings stopped, excess eating slowed, and then I got to my nutrition. It is EXTREMELY difficult to restrict calories while quitting smoking, because you take out a major outlet. Cigarettes are an appetite suppressant, so when you quit, your metabolism speeds up. That is a good thing for your body, in many ways, but it also makes you ravenously hungry. In my experience, munching on celery sticks and carrots all day wouldn't cut it. I needed hearty food.

If you want to quit, quit. Still exercise, but do not restrict calories. You will gain weight, but whats 20 or 30 lbs that are completely temporary compared to a lifetime of accelerated, sometimes permanent and terminal health problems and inhibitions due to smoking?

Best of will to you!

Try to find a locally owned gym; the staff is usually friendly and more apt to help you get started and assist you w/correct form when you start lifting weights. Quitting smoking is hard (but you can do it); hubby & I quit a long time ago; I think it's harder to quit now than when we did (we "ran out" of cigarettes).

There's absolutely no reason to wait. However, do strike a balance between pushing yourself too hard and not pushing yourself hard enough. Might want to take a few sessions with a personal trainer. You may get at least one free one for joining the gym.

Exercise. There's not necessarily a reason to join a gym yet, though. You can simply start out by walking.

Insanity is a good workout but it is for people that are already in shape. If you haven't exercised in awhile I would start off walking or slow jog and work your way up depending upon how comfortable you are with it. I personally don't think its wise for people who never exercise to all of a sudden go overboard on it to lose weight. Because if you're not an exercise type person eventually you'll stop and then gain the weight back because you relied on it too much. If you love to exercise go for it...but if you see exercise as a chore then just do an easy moderate excerise routine. Something that will get you into shape a little bit but does not play a HUGE factor into your weightloss. That way when you stop its not going to have such a huge impact on whether or not you gain or lose weight.

Here's another thought. Weight Watchers brings up exercise on week two or three. I think this is because they want the participant to get that initial blush of success, losing weight by restricting calories. Exercise is wonderful and I enjoy it much more than dieting. I find the results are much more tangible and direct. That is, if I work out today I'll be a little more sore tomorrow, and by the third day, a little stronger! Win!

BUT

Suddenly adding a lot of exercise bumps up the appetite and also may result in temporary weight (not fat) gain as the muscles swell a little from water weight (repair). So the poor dieter, who has eaten "clean" for two whole weeks, worked out like an insane person every day for an hour, sees a GAIN at the scale, and, hangry, is ready to QUIT. That's it; poutine, ice cream and sugar soda in front of the TV.

I say approach exercise slowly. Try lots of different routines, clubs, sports, and classes, and find something you really enjoy. Make sure it's not just about weight loss but about increasing your strength, mobility, health, and fitness.