I quit smoking, work out and I'm still gaining weight

mkeithley · April 2008

I quit smoking almost 10 weeks ago after 20 years of it. I work out 5-6 days a week doing major cardio(I run at the pace of an 8 minute mile for 3 miles, then elliptical at 180-200 strides)and weights 3-4 times a week. i try to eat healthy overall with an few cheats, nothing out of control. (McDonald's or chocolate once a week). I exercised before i quit smoking. The problem is before I quit I was losing about 1 pound a week, then 4 weeks after i quit i started slowly gaining. i have now gained 7 lbs since I quit. I am 36 yr old, 135 lbs. 5'5. I stay within the alotted calories allowed by this site. What is going on. Please don't give the crap that i'm gaining muscle, I had muscle before. I know metabolism is higher in smokers, but seriously I should be at least maintaing, not gaining. Any thoughts, suggestions. I can't do the low carb thing, besides almost all of my carbs ar the good ones. ARGH! I'm so irritated.

mkeithley · April 2008

I quit smoking almost 10 weeks ago after 20 years of it. I work out 5-6 days a week doing major cardio(I run at the pace of an 8 minute mile for 3 miles, then elliptical at 180-200 strides)and weights 3-4 times a week. i try to eat healthy overall with an few cheats, nothing out of control. (McDonald's or chocolate once a week). I exercised before i quit smoking. The problem is before I quit I was losing about 1 pound a week, then 4 weeks after i quit i started slowly gaining. i have now gained 7 lbs since I quit. I am 36 yr old, 135 lbs. 5'5. I stay within the alotted calories allowed by this site. What is going on. Please don't give the crap that i'm gaining muscle, I had muscle before. I know metabolism is higher in smokers, but seriously I should be at least maintaing, not gaining. Any thoughts, suggestions. I can't do the low carb thing, besides almost all of my carbs ar the good ones. ARGH! I'm so irritated.

perichad · April 2008

wow ! I am proud of you! Im another smoker gone non smoker and If you can quit smoking you can do anything! call me crazy but it seems like you are at a good healthy weight. I just want to know how you can run like that being a ex smoker, I sure cant seem to up my speed. Im still at the 3 for 5 minutes run for 2 minutes thing. Sorry no answers but lots of praise!. Peeri

3DMom2008 · April 2008

Congratulations on quitting the smokes - that is a huge achievement and the best one for your health!! Don't get discouraged, stay on track and be patient. Your body is going through a lot of changes now that the nicotine is out of its system. Give your body a while to adjust. Hang in there!

banks1850 · April 2008

Maybe you should see a nutritionist. Or a trainer that has nutrition training as well. I mean, this sounds like a pretty complicated issue, we might be able to offer advice, but your particular issue may need a more in depth approach.

The only thing I can tell you right now is that your BMI is right smack in the middle of healthy, not on the high side, not on the low side, so maybe your body was just trying to get to a weight it felt was healthy.

How did you set your goal when you set it up? Did you set it to aggresive? (that is the 2 lbs a week thing), because if you did, that may not work very well for someone already in the healthy range, your body may not like being deprived of that many calories. You may have to go the slower route.

mkeithley · April 2008

I've always been a runner. Before I quit I was running a 10 min mile, obviously quitting has helped my endurance, plus I 've really pushed myself b/c I didn't want to gain weight when I quit smoking. i know 135 is a decent weight. Honestly I feel my best when i'm at 125. I just want to stay at that weight and lower my body fat %(which is hard to do the older i get). I carry my "fat" in the belly area and I just don't want it to hang over my jeans

I just really want to know physiologically speaking what is up with the weight gain dilemma.

mkeithley · April 2008

Thanks for the support!
I set up my weight loss goal for the 1 pound a week. I knew because I didn't have much to lose it would be more difficult, plus I knew my metabolism would be squirrely trying to go back to a "normal" range, still, I really have upped my workouts to over compensate for the quitting smoking/metabolism isssue. I've had a trainer tell me that it's possible i am overtraining and my body is in starvation mode that's why the weight gain, I had another tell me it was the metabloism issue and it would be 6 months before it was straightened out in my body. I however am not convinced, or am just a stubborn perfectionist and have trouble with both of those opinions. My next avenue most likely will be to meet with a nutritionist, just trying to put that off b/c only a few in my area to the tune of almost $200. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, is it possible to have a flat, non jiggley stomach after giving birth to 2 kids???

sonia2 · April 2008

I did the same thing with the smoking and realized I was eating slightly more and just enough to help suppress my cravings and to gain a little weight. You just have to either exercise more or go less on cals. Make sure your lifestyle setting is set on sedentary or lightly active. That may make a difference. Be super honest about what you eat, serving sizes and exercising too. I don't think that quitting smoking causes an enough of a drop in metbolism to make you gain weight. That is just an excuse for smokers to continue smoking. So hats off to you quitting and 8 min. miles.:drinker:

Just give it more time and know that you are doing the best thing ofr your body. Stress will make things worse. Make sure you are eating your exercise calories.

banks1850 · April 2008

Thanks for the support!
I set up my weight loss goal for the 1 pound a week. I knew because I didn't have much to lose it would be more difficult, plus I knew my metabolism would be squirrely trying to go back to a "normal" range, still, I really have upped my workouts to over compensate for the quitting smoking/metabolism isssue. I've had a trainer tell me that it's possible i am overtraining and my body is in starvation mode that's why the weight gain, I had another tell me it was the metabloism issue and it would be 6 months before it was straightened out in my body. I however am not convinced, or am just a stubborn perfectionist and have trouble with both of those opinions. My next avenue most likely will be to meet with a nutritionist, just trying to put that off b/c only a few in my area to the tune of almost $200. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, is it possible to have a flat, non jiggley stomach after giving birth to 2 kids???

Oh, that last part, no clue, (not really my area of expertise.

). Not really sure what to tell ya mk. Maybe your not calculating your exercise calories right? You are putting your exercise calories in I assume? I don't have anything else that I can think of. How do you calculate the exercise cals? You might want to think about an Heart Rate Monitor if your not already using them. I know that what my HRM says is usually about 250 to 300 calories less then what the machines say for a 1 hour vigorous (80% max heart rate) workout. And the HRM has all my vitals in it so I'm pretty sure it's accurate.

kak1018 · April 2008

I've been there my friend! I quit about 6 months ago, was active too, and am still up. My doctor told me that you burn 200 less calories a day when you don't smoke, so that on top of other unpleasantries i.e. bloating, constipation, and an increase in caloric consumption will get you there. I wish you all the best, and know how frustrating it is, but trust me it is worth it and since you were active before that will help.

mkeithley · April 2008

Thanks kak! Nice to know I'm not the only one who has experienced this. Maybe I'll try 200 calories less on the consumption end. No matter the weight gain, I'm still not smoking.

I quit smoking, work out and I'm still gaining weight

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