Smoking and increasing metabolism

I quit smoking 9 months (to the day) ago, for the first month I didn't pay attention at food whatsoever, the cravings kept me busy enough, once these started to ease up I started focusing on exercise and changing my lifestyle, the focus on these issues meant that I was distracted from the cravings and made everything so much easier.

My advice is, take one thing at a time up to a point where you're already somewhat comfortable with fighting the cravings and then concentrate on something else, that will in turn distract you from the cravings. Start exercising or add workouts to your existing routine, you'll notice a huge difference on your body reaction to exercise for the simple fact that you're a non smoker now.

Congratulations on that big step and keep up the good work, it does get a lot easier.

Congrats on stopping smoking! I am 41 years old and quit a little over two years ago. I was in your exact situation. I was at a normal BMI for my height when I quit smoking. I had watched my friends try to quit and gain as much as 40 lbs. I was determined this would not be me! I started going to the gym and trying to eat better in order to offset the the increased metabolism that smoking gave me. I wish I had found MFP back then.

After about one year and even being as concerned as I was about gaining, I still gained about 9 lbs. Overall, not bad I guess, considering. The reward, though, is that I now feel so much better!! So many things have improved in my health. But, I am still am not sure how to get my metabolism "restarted". I think part of it is that things generally start to slow down as we get older.

I am still fighting to lose about 7 of those 9 lbs. I am still in the normal BMI range, but I just feel better about myself with a few less pounds. MFP has been a real help!

So while I can't offer any metabolism tips (I'm anxious to see what tips are posted myself!) just wanted to let you know you are not in the boat all by yourself! Feel free to add me if you'd like. I know how it is to quit and try to keep it together!

Congrats and good luck!

Way to go on quitting !

I have a question for everyone here. I am with a wonderful partner, but we're at a crossroads right now over smoking because she is 40 going on 41 in January. She stopped smoking cigarettes about 9 months ago but since then, she has simply replaced cigarettes with cigarillos (Swisher Sweets, to be specific). I want to know what I can and/or should do to try and motivate her to quit completely. She says she wants to quit and promises to cut back, but it's just not happening. She says she wants to join me in the 10 Minute Trainer and Body by Visalus Challenges but she hasn't started yet. I don't want to keep pushing, but I'm worried about her health. Any suggestions ?

Kat, I am currently battling the same as your partner. All I can say is that nobody can quit until they are ready to quit, at least this is how it has worked for myself. I made the transition to cigars as well, no this is NOT an acceptable alternative, more of a crutch. Its OK to push a little bit, but sometimes it just makes someone want to smoke even more. The main thing is to be supportive! My wife has never smoked, I have been a smoker for about 18 years, she has never really understood how hard it is to quit and I have hidden it from her on multiple occasions to avoid the pressure. As long as you are supportive and not a nag it will happen when the person realizes it is time to quit. I hope this helps, but everyone's case is different. Best of luck to you both!

You're 10000% right. I have probably been through every "type" of dealing with the whole situation. I tried ignoring it and not saying anything, then I found she would lie and hide cigars from me whether I said anything about it or not, so I would break them up or throw them away. I understand what you mean by feeling pressured. For me, I feel a lot of pressure to be patient with her because she keeps saying she'll cut back or quit and then doesn't. AND she wants to have a child. Well, I can't handle the idea that someone who is already twice my age wants to keep smoking and raise a baby. I would have to be the one to actually carry the pregnancy. I wouldn't trust her to, plus it would be really high risk and she lost her first child when she was my age. The bottom line is, if we're going to have a baby next year, she has to quit smoking because I don't want to be around it and I don't want our child to grow up in a smoker's household. Maybe that is a strong, unfair ultimatum, but at least I am honest about what I want. I am hoping that, like you say, if I just let her make that choice...that as we get closer to the time of year when we want to go and start that whole baby process, she will find the motivation to actually quit by the time the baby is born. I know that if she is going to smoke during my pregnancy, she won't do it around me. I do worry about the smoke-smell clinging to the clothes and such, though...

It's such a hard thing to go through, and what's even hard is when someone says "At least I'm not doing drugs"...hello, Nicotine IS a drug, and every time you smoke, the nicotine tricks your brain into thinking you are relieving stress when you are actually TRIGGERING the stress hormones. Just fuels the addiction.

Good point ! I will definitely keep all of that in mind as we journey on. Until then, I keep doing my workouts and try to eat right, and maybe when she sees that goals can be met, it will inspire her. Thanks again !

Good point ! I will definitely keep all of that in mind as we journey on. Until then, I keep doing my workouts and try to eat right, and maybe when she sees that goals can be met, it will inspire her. Thanks again !

I hope she does! Keep up the good work!