Smoker/heavy eater

I quit smoking many years ago after a doctor friend of mine got my attention with a vivid description of what happens to your bloodstream and your heart and lungs every time you take a puff. I don't know of any way other than cold turkey. It's also true that the temptation to munch food when you can't have a cigarette is incredibly strong. Honestly, I don't know of any way to start eating less food than the cold-turkey method, either, though pre-logging absolutely all my food on this site helps. It's awfully hard to munch on a bag of potato chips if you have to look it up and write it down first. I will say that, having been here for four months, although it was a slow process, I did gradually lose the munching urge, that sense that I just had to be chewing or drinking or messing with something with my mouth at all times. It's hard to believe that that impulse will ever go away, but it does if you set your mind to saying "no" to it long enough.

Of course, then you have to watch out for other impulsive behavior, like buying things. :-) There never will be any substitute for self-control.

I quit smoking about a year ago. My biggest piece of advice would be to not tackle both things at once. Pick one, then a month or 2 later, start the next thing. Both are major changes in lifestyle. I would recommend stop smoking first. That way you'll be able to exercise when you are ready to start that. Gum, sunflower seeds, hard candy, dum dum lollipops all helped me. You can still log all the food you eat, but just tackle one major change at a time.

Hi, figured I'd throw in my two cents worth, cause in about two weeks I can proudly say I've been smoke free for a year.
I'm currently 24 and previous to quitting I had been smoking for a whooping 8 years. (Yikes!) Most of that time was spent with a solid packet a day.
While I wasn't serious about losing weight at the time, I certainly didn't want to fall in the trap of gaining even more. But I gave myself blanket permission to eat whatever I wanted for a week and told myself not to feel guilty (which I still did, but it wasn't as bad).
I went to the store to buy most of what I'd need for the coming days, as well as my last pack of cigarettes. I smoked the whole pack that day, like any other day, went to bed and more or less bunkered myself inside for the next three days.
The first three days or so are the worst since this is your body going into withrawal, then it just tapers off and becomes easier by the day until one day you walk by someone who's smoking and have no idea what the hell you were thinking cause that smell is absolutely terrible. Huge lightbulb moment.

In the immediate aftermath, I remember snacks being very important so I recommend stocking up on fruits and veggies you like to eat. It gives your mouth something to do.
For the first few weeks, avoid smokers or places where smokers hang out. It might sound drastic, but I remember my first dinner at my dad's house (he's a smoker) as being quite tough to get through when I was about a week and a half though.
Be very strict with yourself when it comes to cigarettes, but be more mellow with everything else. Your body will thank you for it later. Keep in mind why you quit.
Keep track of the money you save and maybe plan to get yourself a treat with some of it when you've been smoke free for this and that long.

I wish you the best of luck and I can honestly tell you that it's worth it!

I quit for about 2 years and in a moment of weakness after my 2 yr old was born I started back. That was the 3rd time I had quit because I'm stupid. Tip one. Once you do this if you are anything like me don't ever think you can just have the one. One always leads to more. Anyway I just quit AGAIN 2 weeks ago. But I guess I'm in the minority. The last 2 times I have just did both at once. Logging food and quitting smoking. I added the c25k program to it so running would encourage me to stick with not smoking so I can breathe while running. I did it cold turkey this time. It's not easy but after the first few days it really is a mind thing. But the exercise helps and I think throwing myself into food logging and a new "obsession" actually helps keep my mind busy so I don't want to smoke. Try the quit now app on your phone. It's free and it's fun to see he money you are saving and the health benefits as the days pass. I find I don't want to cheat because I don't want to reset my stats. And I agree with everyone else. Avoid smokers. It will start to smell bad eventually. You can do it!