Quit Smoking..and...and...and...advice and advise pls

Could work. Might not. Only one way to find out

disclaimer: I keep punting my quit day down the calendar...

Hi, I also want to quit smoking. But first I start loosing weight!! then I will try to quit. I don't know if I will gain some weight when I quit smoking, but in my opinion try first one thing at a time.

If you're strong, you could do both. As you wean off smoking you'll begin to see how much better your cardiovascular abilities become. Takes a LOT of will power though!

My two cents on this one is opposite of maysflower. I started on the road to health a month and a half ago and I still smoke. I do want to quit smoking, but when I'm more emotionally secure with knowing that I won't use food as the alternative to smoking. I did that in the past and gained and gained and gained...

I'm working on the emotional aspect of the food. I know smoking has it's own emotional attachments to it as well. Once I slay one evil, I'll go after the next. Good luck and welcome!

I quit cold turkey after smoking on and off for 25 years. You have to want to do it or it won't work. My trigger point was social gatherings and when I was around other smokers. That was the tough part. The majority of my friends smoke, so at first it was difficult to sit around with them, especially during happy hour or on breaks at work.

I actually quit smoking first. And I too was worried about the weight gain, but then after I got to the two month mark or not smoking, I started dieting.

It depends on your willpower and determination. If you go into it half-heartedly, you probably won't be able to totally quit. I knew I was ready and I haven't had one in 2 1/2 years. And won't pick up another one either. Food on the other hand, I am still working on that one!

Good luck with it!

Don't know what part of the world you are in, but I find quitting smoking easier when it's hot outside, so your timing couldn't be better if you are in the US.

Quitting smoking is really hard. You probably already know that.

I can see the struggle with changing too much at once, and normally, I would agree. But I do think making healthier eating and exercise choices will compliment a non-smoking lifestyle (and vice versa).

Different techniques for different people, of course. I liked the idea of picking a quit date and sticking to it. Something about knowing my smoking was coming to an end seemed to help. I'd light up knowing it was one of my last. Nicorette gum can help, as can Trident (any regular gum).

The first week is a nightmare. Be prepared. I'm not going to lie about it. In fact, that first week is probably what kept me from going back the last time. (No smoking for hmm... 6 years?) It's been awhile. I don't even want to go through that first week again, even though I had quit before.

Week two is tough, but will see improvement. This is where healthy eating and exercise should really help. After two weeks, it's all the mental/habit stuff. Just prepare yourself. For me, coffee was a big trigger. I just made sure I was psyched up, ready for the craving when I had my coffee. The cravings pass. You will feel better.

Don't do it alone. Find someone who can put up with a lot of your whining. Talk to that person every day. It will help. For me, the biggest thing with putting the cigs down was replacing the behavior with something. For me, it was porn. Seriously, this is another reason for quitting while you are changing your behavior with healthier eating and exercise.

It sounds like a lot to do all at once. But exercising may help. A long time ago, the first time I tried quitting, I got on a bicycling kick and somehow that helped. Of course, I went back to smoking. It was years later that I really quit, independent of any sort of real health kick (other than quitting cigs), and then years after that I started working out and eating well.

I think it can work. Good luck to you. It does get easier over time.

Unfortunately, I got back into smoking because of recent stresses. Before that, i was doing really well during my cessation, and started exercising immediately. There's that period of time when your body needs to sweat out all the toxins, but as you continue trying to sweat everyday, your metabolism kicks in, and you start making better choices naturally regarding healthier intake. I was feeling so much better for doing both at the same time. If you take away a toxin, it is best to start sweating it out, immediately. Cut down, if need be, but the most important thing is to help your body remove the toxins through sweating. It doesn't even have to be everyday, but when you do, the results are more significant that much more quickly.

I recently started smoking again recently for a number of bad reasons - I let myself get swept up into joining in with all the smokers I have been spending time around. I have to make a very difficult choice right now, and extricate myself from a musical band because I am to weak to be around the lifestyle of constant smoke breaks. I love playing music, I love the guys, but hate the stress of performing, which causes me to smoke even more fiendishly. Unfortunately, my husband starts when I start, but he'll quit with me again - another big help. He has a better regimen on the stationary bike, but I am getting right back into that saddle, myself.

Smoking zaps my energy level, and actually creates more stress during times of stress. It is such a false form of de-stressing, and exercising while still smoking is just a bad trick on the body.

I wish you luck, and a healthy relationship with positive energy.

Cheers,
Dizzydeano

I suggest you just go cold turkey and quit. Even cutting back you have the same cravings as going cold turkey just for a longer period of time that will cause you to give in and go back to you old ways. I tried for years to quit that way and it does not work. Just go cold turkey and keep your mind and body busy so you dont think about it. After a couple weeks you wont have the cravings anymore.

Just like dieting you need to be self motivated and have a goal and have support of friends. And if you have trouble motivating yourself sit in the waiting room of a local cancer treatment center. Talk to the people and their families. When you see what they are going through and how close they are to death hoping for just one more day, you will never want to smoke again.

Today is day 31 without a cigarette for me. It's still really hard. I still want one. But not enough to start smoking again. Who knows, maybe I'll always crave one.

Yes, the weightloss has stalled. For the past month I've been gaining and losing the same 4 lb over and over. I'm ravenous. I want to eat and eat. I haven't let myself though, for the most part. I've found baby carrots really help with the munchies. I log everything I eat and my food diary is open so I am accountable and I am invariably within my calorie goal because I will not let myself go over.

Also, electronic cigarettes. I wouldn't have been able to do it without one. No, it's not the same thing. The one I got at 7eleven for $20 is harsh and nasty tasting. It's also clunky and plastic and nothing like an actual cigarette. But it's SOMETHhING. Plus it's so unpleasant I don't think I'll have and trouble weaning myself off it in a month or so.

Good luck! I smoked for 26 years. It can be done. It can even be done at the same time!