Any smokers out there?

chicpower1
chicpower1 Posts: 169 Member
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
I am determined that I will quit smoking, but realize I need to tackle one issue at a time so I'm starting with my eating habits and exercise first, and then once I feel I have a firm grip on it I will move on to quitting smoking. Has anyone else out her quit smoking after joining MFP and starting their weight loss journey? I would like to be prepared for any unforeseen challenges so I can ensure success. Hopefully hubby will join me in quitting smoking.
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Replies

  • boomboom011
    boomboom011 Posts: 1,459
    i cant wait to hear the responses! im right there with you. I do try to limit myself how many i have per day. Its a bad habit but so hard to tackle. Although I guess its like anything else, if we want to quit bad enough we will. I hate it and love it all at the same time.
  • I'm facing the same problem, but I'm choosing to tackle the smoking first because from previous experience after I had quit for 2 weeks or so my body craved working out to keep up with the energy that hits you from all of the new oxygen levels I'm guessing. I just think working out will be less of a challenge if i quit the smoking first. Good luck to you on what path you choose though.
  • nosey_rosey
    nosey_rosey Posts: 380 Member
    Im a smoker too =/ I really want to quit for my health but I just have serious issues with stopping =(
  • mindysreadyforchange
    mindysreadyforchange Posts: 103 Member
    I smoke! Only at night after my daughter is asleep. I do not smoke around her or when she is awake. I want to quit so bad. You would think that quitting would be easy since I only smoke 4-3 cigs a day. My husband smokes too and I say I wanna quit, but I do not feel like he really WANTS to ya know.

    I will be quitting very soon! I want to get into a work out pattern before I quit because I forsee a weight gain.

    Good Luck to all!
  • vodkaswigger
    vodkaswigger Posts: 467
    I joined MFP as a smoker 2 months ago and have since give up, one of the things that always stopped me trying was that i always gained weight when i gave up, you are right, once you get a grip on the whole food and exercise thing, give it a go, i just gave up cold turkey and overcame the cravings by going out for walks or light runs, the first couple of weeks is the hardest, Good luck xx
  • rubyrenga
    rubyrenga Posts: 402 Member
    I'm a smoker who has tried to quit a number of times. The patch works for me, but I always do the stupid move of thinking I'm over it and can just enjoy one on the weekend...then, of course, you know where that leads. I too am waiting until I'm firmly grounded in my new weight loss lifestyle to try again, but it worries me a lot and my bf nags me about it nonstop. I want to have a child someday, and I want to be healthy for myself, too. So yeah. It sucks.
  • Damn those cigarettes!! At least once a month I quit for a week then start back up again- I get over the worst part, but then I decide to light one up- I'm torturing myself! My husband also smokes so it makes it harder. Im determined to quit too, in fact, I'm quitting tomorrow. I wish u the best of luck!! Add me if you would like and well support eachother!!!! :)
  • mandysue1980
    mandysue1980 Posts: 31 Member
    I also want to quit, I keep telling myself that this is it. Then the craving hits me so hard. Not 20 mins ago I went to get a pack. :( But instead of driving to the store, I walked. My husband qiut 1 year and 1 month ago, he says he still has cravings. I have read that quiting smoking is so hard not only because of the addiction but it's like loosing a friend. I think that is true cause all of us smokers turn to those cigs during times that we would also turn to a friend. Good luck!
  • boomboom011
    boomboom011 Posts: 1,459
    when i decide to quit im going to have to lay off the booze too. Cause as you all know they go hand in hand. It sucks cause my BFFs (2) and my husband smokes and we all hang out together and smoke and drink and cuss! lol but its true. Its going to be very difficult. However, maybe I can lead by example.

    Feel free to add me too! I WILL NOT QUIT THIS WEEKEND but maybe I will give myself a deadline. After Monday, no more. Looks like im going to have a clean house. I can make myself clean something everytime I want one. The wierd thing is I go all day at work without one. But when Im driving to work/home I have a 45min commute and I am so used to sparking up. But then on the weekends its a freaking smoke fest!

    Not to mention how much the damn things cost! Holy moly!

    UGH! Lets show some support for the Puff Puff Girls out there! lol
  • Nanadena
    Nanadena Posts: 739 Member
    I quit smoking in January 2007. Yes, I gained quite a bit of weight, that is why I am here. It was quit, or do not breathe. I feel so much better and can now run, walk for hours or anything else. Plus I have lost more weight than I put on.
  • kklindsey
    kklindsey Posts: 382 Member
    i would love to see any input on this. I lost all my weight 3 1/2 years ago and then tried to quit a few times but find i eat too much and my weigh goes up which adds extra stress and haven't been able to figure out how to quit smoking yet.
  • Mandam1018
    Mandam1018 Posts: 70 Member
    OMG, it is like everyone here is telling my story! I have to quit! I am having surgery in two weeks and they said I have to be smoke free for two weeks prior. Needless to say, I have been trying for three weeks now. My husband smokes and I only smoke 2 before work and then after work. My husband "won't" quit, don't know why but he won't and I want to so bad but need his help! We need to set up some kind of support system on here to help each other through the cravings. Wednesday I even made him take all the cigs out of the house with him when he left and it mentally drove me crazy and I actually drove to the store to buy more when I don't even smoke during the day anyway!
  • boomboom011
    boomboom011 Posts: 1,459
    my sister started getting these lozenges from wal-mart and they helped her quit an almost 2 pack a day habit. Now she has a lozenge habit! :noway:
    But its still cheaper and she hasnt smoked in a while and she preferes the lozenges to the smokes. She swears by it.
  • artificialdream
    artificialdream Posts: 24 Member
    I quit cold turkey (2 years ago), after 7 years of countless... failed attempts.

    "If I can do it - YOU most certainly CAN do it" - and I mean that!

    You just have to do it - by not doing it.

    It's only as tough as you make it. You'll feel amazing when you stop - and before you know it, you won't believe you were once a smoker. Things will taste different, things will smell different - you'll even smell different - in a good way. ;)

    Try and replace smoking with a Healthy Habit whenever you get that 'urge'.
  • im going to try quitting again when this pack runs out. I made a 7 day countdown like i did for my weight before and what kept me goin was markin of the pounds i lost so im doing enough hours for 7 days with 3 boxes on each number by the end it will be a countdown for 3 weeks when all the boxes are checked. 168 hrs total 3 times.
  • I quit almost two years ago. While my husband was still a smoker. It was really tough! I just did it cold turkey, and played mind games with myself. I kept telling myself that little rolled up tobacco wasn't my boss, goofy stuff like that. My only word of advice is you are never a non-smoker, just an ex-smoker for a long time. I STILL sometimes think about smoking, though I never will. Also, I calculated how much money I spent, saved it for the first 2 months, and bought a dooney and burke purse lol.
  • chicpower1
    chicpower1 Posts: 169 Member
    Thanks so much for all your input! I've hesitated to post this because I was afraid of being judged. Logically I knew there were smokers on MFP, there HAD to be, but we're all working on doing good things for our bodies and I'm so ashamed of my habit. I stopped in April 2010 when I found out I was pregnant. Quit cold turkey that very day and just never picked another one up. It was so easy! Of course, that was due to the fact that I felt there was no other option. I would NOT feed my baby that nicotine. My husband continued on with his pack a day habit. After the baby was born I swore I wouldn't go back to it, but being up all night exhausted and caring for the baby by myself (hubby works, I don't) started to get to me. My husband's ciggs were always right there, laying on the counter and one night in the middle of a really bad colic fit I just couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed one of his cigarettes and have been hooked since. I'm so angry at myself for that! I'm back up to a pack a day habit and, just like many of you, I have a love-hate relationship with them. I LIKE the taste of them. I LIKE the nicotine buzz. I LIKE the smell of the smoke. I LIKE feeling it in my hands. :smokin: My husband keeps saying he is going to quit as well but hasn't found the courage to do it yet. He just doesn't want it bad enough. I think if we quit together it would be alot easier because the darned things wouldn't be in the house. I'm under great conviction for it now. I've come to realize that everything I have, everything I own, belongs to God. GOD gave me that money, GOD gave me my home, GOD gave me all my possessions and I'm spending HIS money to destroy my body. I could be using that money to help others in need. I've learned to coupon and have started a supply bank for my church with my extra goodies. My cigg money could be going to increase the supply bank. UGH.

    When I reach the point that I feel I've got my eating habits under control (I've only been at this for 10 days) then I'll post for a support group and perhaps several of us can try to quit together. Good luck to those of you who are already chosen a quit date!:heart:
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
    I haven't quit smoking, but I have cut back a lot since I have been exercising regularly. For me exercise just seems to naturally decrease my desire to smoke, although I really have no desire to quit at this point in my life.
  • Brownski860
    Brownski860 Posts: 361 Member
    I quit cold turkey on the evening of Dec10th. I had ran out of smokes and it was too late and cold out to makea trip to the gas station. I have been smoke free since. What worked for me was little goals. Getting through the weekend, making it until tuesday.. Going for a walk after meals. My biggest temptation is in the car... getting stuck in traffic always made me ight up. Now, I keep a bag of jolly ranchers in the car instead. I couldnt get a grip on my eating/exercising lifestyle until I quit. That was number one. I knew that if i could quit smoking and BE successful, than theres no excuse i cant lose weight too! You CAN do it!
  • lgladybug
    lgladybug Posts: 68 Member
    I'm a smoker and it's sooooo hard to even think about quitting especially while trying to control my eating.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I smoke a couple a day (more if alcohol is involved!) and know I really should quit. My plan is to reach my goal weight then tackle the cigarette addiction. One issue at a time is all I can handle!
  • jridgway49
    jridgway49 Posts: 79
    I'm in the same situation, going to be 50 in July, feel I need to get the weight down before I try to quit smoking, please add me as friend, I'm new here thanks
  • artificialdream
    artificialdream Posts: 24 Member
    :happy:
  • artificialdream
    artificialdream Posts: 24 Member
    I quit cold turkey on the evening of Dec10th. I had ran out of smokes and it was too late and cold out to makea trip to the gas station. I have been smoke free since. What worked for me was little goals. Getting through the weekend, making it until tuesday.. Going for a walk after meals. My biggest temptation is in the car... getting stuck in traffic always made me ight up. Now, I keep a bag of jolly ranchers in the car instead. I couldnt get a grip on my eating/exercising lifestyle until I quit. That was number one. I knew that if i could quit smoking and BE successful, than theres no excuse i cant lose weight too! You CAN do it!


    right on!
  • shellshell43
    shellshell43 Posts: 116
    I quit cold turkey on the evening of Dec10th. I had ran out of smokes and it was too late and cold out to makea trip to the gas station. I have been smoke free since. What worked for me was little goals. Getting through the weekend, making it until tuesday.. Going for a walk after meals. My biggest temptation is in the car... getting stuck in traffic always made me ight up. Now, I keep a bag of jolly ranchers in the car instead. I couldnt get a grip on my eating/exercising lifestyle until I quit. That was number one. I knew that if i could quit smoking and BE successful, than theres no excuse i cant lose weight too! You CAN do it!

    Wow, I can't believe how much alike we are in our quits. I also ran out of cigarettes but I had such a busy night helping my son with homework I didn't make it to the store to buy them...I then ran late the next morning so again didn't stop to buy any...that night was a Friday so I decided (just because I seemed to be doing okay without them) to see if I could make it until Saturday morning...Saturday morning came and my husband an I did some plumbing and I was pretty busy and distracted so again decided to see how long I could go...I set a goal of Tuesday- that would make 5 days with no cigarette, and I did.

    I always told myself that I could go buy them any time..that seemed to take the pressure off because it wasn't an official quit. But after I made it over 4 days I realized I no longer had any nicotine in my system and t then it was all about breaking habits from then on...so I decided I HAD quit.

    I too used an occasional Jolly rancher but mostly, I sucked on a straw cut to the size of a cigarette and I also did jumping jacks when I really really craved. The first day I did 600 jumping jacks- 25 every time I had a really bad crave. By the time that Tuesday rolled around and I made it to my goal day, I realized I had actually quit. I was no longer using the straw by then or doing the jumping jacks. That's when I realized I would needed to make sure I didn't make a habit out of feeding myself (even if it was just a little jolly rancher) every time I might crave a cigarette. So that's when I started to exercise to fight any weight gain I may get from the quit as well as to try to drop a few pounds that I was putting off because exercise was not so easy when my lungs were still smokers lungs.
    My biggest hardest time to get over the crave was when I talked on the phone...that was the worst, I was very short on the phone and explained to my family and friends 1) number one- please do call me because I had to get over the habit 2) please understand if I make the conversation short on occasion because sometimes it was too much and I'd have to get off the phone...I am fine with that now...no problem gabbing...

    I feel so much better now..and total weight gain from the quit so far(it's been almost three months) has been 1 pound but I am also not as dehydrated as I was when I was smoking so that one pound just may be my natural water weight coming back to a healthy level.
    I would encourage anyone who is smoking to try to quit for at least two weeks...really, you may find that you feel like a non smoker in no time at all...I actually can't believe I ever smoked..as crazy as that sounds...I am so over it that I never even crave at all....
  • albali
    albali Posts: 225 Member
    Hi
    I started on here May 2nd this year and came across the site because I had just given up smoking. I knew I had to do some fitness/exercise/dieting as soon as I stopped as I didn't want to put on (more) weight! I have found giving up this time much easier as I had all this logging and exercise to concentrate on (lol)~!! I smoked 15 or more a day for 22 years, would wake up with horrible back and chest pains and always felt bad! Yesterday I did the second day of C25k and found it easy! That is a miracle for me!! Please stop... you really won't regret it. Only good things will happen to you.
  • jujubean1992
    jujubean1992 Posts: 462 Member
    i'm a smoker... i'm slowly cutting back how many i smoke per day and hopefully i'll just stop one day but it's hard when everyone around me smokes!
  • laurad1406
    laurad1406 Posts: 341
    I quit cold turkey (2 years ago), after 7 years of countless... failed attempts.

    "If I can do it - YOU most certainly CAN do it" - and I mean that!

    You just have to do it - by not doing it.

    It's only as tough as you make it. You'll feel amazing when you stop - and before you know it, you won't believe you were once a smoker. Things will taste different, things will smell different - you'll even smell different - in a good way. ;)

    Try and replace smoking with a Healthy Habit whenever you get that 'urge'.

    same! I told myself I wouldnt smoke in 2011, my last cigarette was Dec 31st at 11:30pm! it absolutely is tough...but you just have to NOT do it. And everything above is completely right, your sense of smell and taste come back, and I personally was SHOCKED at how strong the smell of cigarette smoke actually is. I thought as long as I sprayed myself with some perfume and popped a piece of gum I'd be fine....WRONG. you CAN do this, absolutely! Once you start working out, it will go hand in hand, you'll realize how much easier it is to run and work out sans cigarettes. Good luck, and please let us know if you need ANY help!

    (oh, and this is cheesy but helped me, I got a pack of post its and wrote a "count-up" if you will, every morning I peeled one off (i.e. this is day 4 without a cigarette) and rewarded myself at certain goals. Make it public that you're quitting too, people are SO motivating!)
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    I quit cold turkey 2-1/2 years ago after being too sick to smoke for 4 days. This is my 3rd real attempt at quitting smoking after smoking for 20 some years (I always quit when I got pregnant, but as soon as the baby was born, I would pick it right up again - I don't count that as quitting because I really wasn't quitting....I was just waiting for the time for my next cig...after the baby was born).

    The first time I quit smoking I exercised a lot and that made it a lot easier on me. I lost weight and felt much better. This time around I didn't exercise and I gained 30 lbs (which I am now trying to work off)....so I am back to doing what I should have been doing all along...exercising and taking care not to light that cig.

    My biggest problem is that I picked up a cigarette and smoked it lol. Now I truly believe that one cig will do me in so I avoid it at all cost...no matter the craving - and I DO crave it a lot. One cig will tear down 2-1/2 years of sweat and tears.

    Good luck to you. I hope you do well. I do not consider myself a non-smoker....I am a smoker who chooses not to smoke. Big difference :smile:
  • AngieM76
    AngieM76 Posts: 622 Member
    I quit cold turkey (2 years ago), after 7 years of countless... failed attempts.

    "If I can do it - YOU most certainly CAN do it" - and I mean that!

    You just have to do it - by not doing it.

    It's only as tough as you make it. You'll feel amazing when you stop - and before you know it, you won't believe you were once a smoker. Things will taste different, things will smell different - you'll even smell different - in a good way. ;)

    Try and replace smoking with a Healthy Habit whenever you get that 'urge'.

    same! I told myself I wouldnt smoke in 2011, my last cigarette was Dec 31st at 11:30pm! it absolutely is tough...but you just have to NOT do it. And everything above is completely right, your sense of smell and taste come back, and I personally was SHOCKED at how strong the smell of cigarette smoke actually is. I thought as long as I sprayed myself with some perfume and popped a piece of gum I'd be fine....WRONG. you CAN do this, absolutely! Once you start working out, it will go hand in hand, you'll realize how much easier it is to run and work out sans cigarettes. Good luck, and please let us know if you need ANY help!

    (oh, and this is cheesy but helped me, I got a pack of post its and wrote a "count-up" if you will, every morning I peeled one off (i.e. this is day 4 without a cigarette) and rewarded myself at certain goals. Make it public that you're quitting too, people are SO motivating!)


    I am afraid to make it public again. I have tried and failed so many times. people will just think "oh she is at it again"
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