Quitting smoking AND dieting at the same time

Scoobies87
Scoobies87 Posts: 379
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
I am on day 6 of quitting smoking and I am so so hungry!! I have actually eaten more today then I usually do, yet I am hungry! I am having all sorts of cravings!

Anybody else go through this? Has anyone gained from quitting smoking? Has anyone tried to do both at the same time/found a way to not gain?

I really really wish I had quit smoking before I dieted-or never stated to begin with!

Replies

  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    just try to make healthy choices and drink lots of water. try exercising when you are having a craving for food or cigarettes.
  • PlanetVelma
    PlanetVelma Posts: 1,223 Member
    Lots and lots of ice water helped me when I quit a few years ago.

    Actually I'm ordering a couple of e-cigs for me and my fiance to assist us in quitting. He's going through some rough family stuff right now, so maybe in the next couple weeks I can motivate him to quit.

    Another thing that really helped me was sugar free candys (lifesavers, jolly ranchers, baskin robbins, etc...) I really love the sugar free baskin robbins candies (mint choc chip- YUM!), or you could buy a huge bag of dum-dum suckers or Tootsie Pops, both of those are awesome.

    It was a matter of keeping my hands and my mind busy.

    And congrats on day 6, the first 3 days are the hardest now it's just a matter of breaking the habit. It takes 30 days to make or break a habit! Keep it up!
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    bump, I really want to quit soon but not sure if I can handle both challenges at once.
  • Redlybird
    Redlybird Posts: 11 Member
    I'm not a smoker nor have I ever been, but I've read in numerous places (and was told once by a doctor) that taking multi vitamins CAN help certain cravings with foods. Most of the time when you're craving specific foods, it's because you're lacking a certain vitamin. I take a vitamin pack from GNC for active women. It's pricy, but to be completely honest with you, when I was taking it religiously (I struggle with taking pills of any kind), I found it much easier to stick to my goals every day AND I lost weight more quickly.

    I've also read in some articles - I have family members that smoke and I tried to find ways to help them quit when they wanted to - that if you keep a healthy snack nearby that fits between your fingers like a cigarette, it helps to fill the void of something in your hand that is left by the habit of smoking. I think this is just a mental thing, it might even be all theories and wild stories, but it seems to help some people I've known to have celery or carrot sticks in a bag in their purse/pocket to replace the cigarette!

    Just some ideas. GOOD LUCK! Quitting smoking, from what I've seen and heard, can be very challenging - especially with dieting. Be sure to get plenty of sleep because I'm sure your moods will swing around like a monkey on a jungle gym. <3
  • Sepheara
    Sepheara Posts: 208 Member
    Firstly, you are an incredible person to be doing so much for yourself right now, I wish you lots of success!

    Secondly, I don't smoke buy my grandmother does. She is also an incredible person. She was a functioning alcoholic for 50 years and is now clean. She has lost over 200 pounds. But when she was trying to quit smoking her weight shot back up, and she had trouble losing weight. She finally overcame it by going back to work. She said physical activity made her crave less. Moving around a lot and having things to do will take your mind off cravings.

    I think you can do it :D Stay strong, and if worse comes to worse, take it one step at a time. Being challanged in life is inevitable, being defeated is only optional ;)
  • sandhillcrane
    sandhillcrane Posts: 301
    Years ago, I quit smoking and took up exercising so that I would not gain weight. It worked! Well, at the time anyway! I have always had a weight problem. I took a yoga class and started running. You need to replace old habits with new ones. I figured out the times when I wanted a cigarette and changed the trigger...ie: phone calls=smoking. I talked less on the phone! Go for a walk after dinner instead of smoking. I haven't smoked in about 30 years. I never went back. I hated quitting so much that I decided to never have to quit again. That is what kept me from picking it up again.
    Good luck!! You can do it!
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
    I don't think I could have started both at the same time but I have successfully stopped smoking since signing up to MFP... I was already very close to goal weight when I stopped smoking though!

    Not smoking and eating healthy, calorie controlled foods are both lifestyle choices for me [I loathe to use the word diet as it implies that it is a short term fix and it is not! Nor do I ever refer to "giving up" smoking as it implies I am missing out on something]

    My tip for the smoking issue is to grab yourself a copy of Allen Carr's "The Easy Way To Stop Smoking" it took my 3 years to take the plunge and read it but this book changed my life!!

    I know you are struggling with the weightloss aspect - I know it is going far too slowly for your liking - but be prepared.

    On average people that stop smoking gain 10lbs....

    I personally gained nothing when I stopped smoking BUT I did not lose for 3 months..... My weightloss basically stopped for a long time, and it took a lot of mental strength not to give up (I was never for a second tempted to go back to the *kitten* BUT seeing no weight loss week after week, month after month nearly threw me back to my old eating habits!)

    Stopping smoking is something you will always be thankful for doing so if you gain a few lbs or if you don't lose for a good while it is STILL worth it.

    I smoked between 10-15 cigs a day for half of my life {15 years!} so If I can stop anyone can.

    Please do not give up with MFP. You may think things are going too slowly but you are a better, healthier, more informed person for being here.
  • giammarcor
    giammarcor Posts: 217 Member
    I quit smoking 7 years ago and havent looked back. Of course, I think I put on most of my weight in those 7 years. But, it's what I used to quit smoking that always turns up people's noses. I smoked lettuce cigarettes for about 2 months and that got me to stop. I swear by the results. They tasted awful but contain no nicotine or tar, so my body got weened off of the addiction. Then, because they tasted so bad, I was able to slowly get out of the habit, too.

    I imagine they don't work for everyone, but they sure did for me.
  • phinners
    phinners Posts: 524 Member
    I quit 18 months ago with the Allen Carr book, and found I didnt put any weight on (just as he promised I wouldnt).
  • Scoobies87
    Scoobies87 Posts: 379
    I quit smoking 7 years ago and havent looked back. Of course, I think I put on most of my weight in those 7 years. But, it's what I used to quit smoking that always turns up people's noses. I smoked lettuce cigarettes for about 2 months and that got me to stop. I swear by the results. They tasted awful but contain no nicotine or tar, so my body got weened off of the addiction. Then, because they tasted so bad, I was able to slowly get out of the habit, too.

    I imagine they don't work for everyone, but they sure did for me.

    What are lettuce cigarettes?
  • phinners
    phinners Posts: 524 Member
    bump, I really want to quit soon but not sure if I can handle both challenges at once.
    I'd suggest reading Allen Carr's book 'Easy Way to Quit Smoking'. You wont put any weight on and you'll quit over night. The man was a bloody genious! Good luck x
  • Lozzy_82
    Lozzy_82 Posts: 324 Member
    Bump - I am also thinking of quitting (again) but really don't want to slow my weight loss. Wondering whether to just focus on one thing at a time.
  • Scoobies87
    Scoobies87 Posts: 379
    Bump - I am also thinking of quitting (again) but really don't want to slow my weight loss. Wondering whether to just focus on one thing at a time.

    That's exactly what I thought about doing. I have to say though that since quitting I feel far less wheezy when exercising and I can run for a lot longer then before. So you could always give it a go and up your exercise, as it won't feel so much of a strain. I have just ordered that book by Allen Carr, fingers crossed!
  • shellshell43
    shellshell43 Posts: 116
    Honestly, when I was smoking my workouts weren't half of what they are now ...I have so much more energy and enjoy the workout even more..especially when I wasn't thinking about when I was going to get that after workout cigarette. Just don't replace smoking with food of any kind...drink water through a straw instead... suck on a straw like a cigarette...chew a straw to keep your moth busy while having food cravings etc...It does take time for your metabolism to straighten out after quitting and heads up- smoking speeds the metabolism of the smoker giving an approximate added burn of 200-250 calories a day so to avoid gaining weight, don't replace cigarettes with food and also add some more exercise to your routine (to make up for that 200-250 calorie burn when you were smoking)until your body adjusts to the quit...I have maintained weight- haven't lost, haven't gained -except some muscle weight (very little but I do notice considerable firmer legs and arms so I know I have gained some muscle tone) I feel so much better and do not regret the stall in weight loss because I feel so much healthier and that is the reason I was starting my entire fitness routine to begin with.

    Good luck- you can do it!!
  • gavini
    gavini Posts: 248 Member
    i have been smoke free for 37 of the last 40 days and i have lost 7 pounds in that time. i am 37 and had smoked since i was 13, fluctuating between a few a day to a pack a day and for the last year or two about half a pack a day. if you are a smoker or have recently quit, i am always happy to have your support and to share stories, thoughts etc. so add me as a friend and tell me your story when you do.

    i think doing both at once is a MUCH better idea than doing it seperate - of course every person is different.

    my notes and thoughts...

    oranges help when you have a craving and are a good post workout treat.

    wanting a cigarette feels a lot like hunger - which it is, your body is hungry for nicotine, and you are hungry for the taste and experience of smoking. This is a big reason we eat more when we quit, recognize that and be prepared with carrots or something else to fill that void and realize you arent really that much more hungry than normal, they just feel the same.

    on doing all at once...
    1. to change, add, or get rid of habitual behavior you need to shake up your routine, thats hard enough to do once so why do it twice? you want to add new habits - dieting and exercise and get rid of one - smoking, so set up a new routine that incorporates those goals.

    2. if you are starting to excersise more and you want to quit smoking (this is the most important factor, you have to really want to, otherwise dont bother trying) then you dont want smoking to become part of your exercise routine. a cigarette after a workout is the greatest thing in the world (i really miss that) so if you want to quit then you are going to make it a lot harder.

    3. you can obsess about your calories and or your exercise to help eat up the time you might be thinking about how you miss smoking, it will give you a new addiction to replace the old one.

    4. of course there are people at gyms and in running groups and other people you might meet exercising who smoke but if you start to make fitness related friends and have never smoked around them, they might not smoke around you or not much at least since it is less acceptable since you met at a gym or on a run, thats a good thing for you, fewer people smoking around you is fewer temptations and less envy.

    5. workouts will start to become easier as you get in better shape and also as you smoke less, get both of these benefits at the same time and it will spur you on in your efforts that much more

    i dont say good luck to people since there is no luck involved in quiting smoking and saying there is gives you an out or an excuse to start again, it is mental, you have to convince yourself and your mind that you really really really dont want to smoke anymore. the rest is handling the side affects.
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
    I'd suggest reading Allen Carr's book 'Easy Way to Quit Smoking'. You wont put any weight on and you'll quit over night. The man was a bloody genious! Good luck x

    Totally agree. :)
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
    I'd suggest reading Allen Carr's book 'Easy Way to Quit Smoking'. You wont put any weight on and you'll quit over night. The man was a bloody genious! Good luck x

    Totally agree. :)
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    Today is day 32 for me without a cigarette, and I to am ravenous. My weightloss is currently at a standstill. I keep gaining and losing the same 4 lb. I've not strayed at all from my calorie goal and log everything that I eat as accurately as I can. I've also taken up running for the first time in my life to try and jumpstart my metabolism. It's so frustrating to be working so hard and have my weight go up.

    I have an electronic cigarette, and it has certainly helped with the cigarette cravings but it's done nothing for my appetite. One thing that has helped with the appetite is baby carrots. I still want to eat bad things, but the carrots make me feel full enough to not reach for the bad stuff.
  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
    i quit 4 months ago while dieting and i lost 30 lbs since then. it was really hard the first month (i only lost 3 lbs) but now i feel awesome =)
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    Bump
  • tyadrake
    tyadrake Posts: 107 Member
    bump, I really want to quit soon but not sure if I can handle both challenges at once.

    I am the same way, my husband really wants me to quit, I don't smoke that much, a pack every 3-4 days, but I know that any amount is bad. I have promised myself that once I hit my goal weight, quitting is my next "me" project.
  • soozy84
    soozy84 Posts: 118
    I found sugar free chewing gum and freezing cold icy water helped me a lot! Good luck. You'll feel so much better for it & the cravings will subside... stick with it x
  • soozy84
    soozy84 Posts: 118
    Oh and also lollipops if the cravings were bad... gave me something to do with my hands and was nice and sweet x
  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
    check out this thread =)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230732-quitting-smoking-and-dieting-support
This discussion has been closed.

Categories