Quit Smoking~Help!!!!

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bodibykelli
bodibykelli Posts: 135
in Health and Weight Loss
My name is Kelli and I just joined today! This looks like SUCH a great site. I am no stranger to losing weight....14 years ago, just after giving birth, I weighed in at over 280 pounds. I became a dedicated gym goer and lost the weight (over 120 pounds) over the course of a few years (was even in Shape Magazine's Success Story section in 1999). Here's my "new deal"~ I'm not sure when I re-started my smoking habit (I think it was about 5 years ago) but I recently quit (today it's been 7 weeks). I have gained 7 pounds at this point....which is no big deal at the moment (I'm 5' 9" and now weigh 147 pounds), so I DO understand that I'm in my correct weight zone! However, I'm now out of 99% of the clothes in my closet and have no desire to gain 1 pound more! I have no intention of starting to smoke again, no matter what I weigh, but I really would love to come out of this with not only healthier lungs, but a healthy body! Kelli

Replies

  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    My name is Kelli and I just joined today! This looks like SUCH a great site. I am no stranger to losing weight....14 years ago, just after giving birth, I weighed in at over 280 pounds. I became a dedicated gym goer and lost the weight (over 120 pounds) over the course of a few years (was even in Shape Magazine's Success Story section in 1999). Here's my "new deal"~ I'm not sure when I re-started my smoking habit (I think it was about 5 years ago) but I recently quit (today it's been 7 weeks). I have gained 7 pounds at this point....which is no big deal at the moment (I'm 5' 9" and now weigh 147 pounds), so I DO understand that I'm in my correct weight zone! However, I'm now out of 99% of the clothes in my closet and have no desire to gain 1 pound more! I have no intention of starting to smoke again, no matter what I weigh, but I really would love to come out of this with not only healthier lungs, but a healthy body! Kelli
  • nicole0177
    nicole0177 Posts: 377
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    i want to know how you quit smoling ive tried and i just cant.
  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    Hey! I chose my "quit day" (Feb. 20th) about 7 or 8 months ago. I focused on it, daily, until the day finally came (amazing how quickly time flies when you're giving up something you enjoy!). I chose to quit cold turkey...figuring that I would just have to go through the same agony of giving up an aid to quit smoking (my neighbor has been addicted to Nicorette gum for over 10 years and her teeth are rotting!). When it was time to quit, my mind was prepared and it really wasn't too bad (after 3 days, it gets much easier).
  • mystic_358
    mystic_358 Posts: 4 Member
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    Congrats!
    I am just past 2 yrs and have managed to lose some (not much) but at least I haven't gained.
    My secret?
    Hot tea.
    You can hold it (gives you something to do with your hands), sip it (for that oral sensation), it is kind of filling (probably because we are usually thirsty when we think we are hungry) and it lasts longer than a bowl of chips or ice cream.
    And [they] say its good for you, at least better than smoking or over eating anyway.
    So, I hope this helps! Good luck and never quit quitting!
    ~mystic~
  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    Am brewing a cup as we speak! :drinker:
  • butterfly2008
    butterfly2008 Posts: 60
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    good luck with everything !!! i too am trying to quit i chose to wean down while im trying to lose so i get all my bad habits tamed at once i hope it works .congrats on your cold turkey i have tried that too and your right after the third day it gets easier ,ill say it one more time congrats and good lick
  • TheGimp
    TheGimp Posts: 15 Member
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    I quit smoking on June 30th of last year. I had a 25 pound weight gain. I left it alone at the time and just focused on the quitting smoking (probably a bad idea). Anyway, I quit using Chantix and 2 antidepressants - Zoloft and Wellbutrin (because the Chantix affected me very, very negatively). I'm off everything now, smoke free, and slowly losing all the weight. I think I had lost 5 pounds before coming here, but my scale was bad so I'm unsure, so I started this when I bought my new fancy-smancy scale (now if it would only make coffee for me in the morning).

    I had quit smoking before in the past as well (lasted 2 years...then fell off wagon), but I've found I always have to layer 2-3 methods on top of each other at once to be successful. I just don't handle quitting smoking very well.

    Oh, and Tee Tree chewing sticks helped with some of the fidgeting and was supposed to help me avoid eating, though I just then did both....ate and chewed on the chewing sticks. I like the sticks though....tasty thing for 0 calories. I couldn't chew on them when in a bad mood because I'd shred them and get splinters in my lips.
  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    I read that if you stop smoking at the same time you develop a well thought out plan for fitness, then you are more likely to succeed at both. I've never gone to sites like this before and I'm VERY fired up about the fact that this site does ALL of the calorie computation, as well as subtracting calories spent by exercising. I can honestly say that , TODAY, I feel a sense of control and direction and that has been lacking in the last 7 weeks! Your dog is TOO cute~wish I could scratch its ears!!!!
  • pete
    pete Posts: 76 Member
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    Welcome to MFP Kelli. I am confident that this website will help you lose weight and keep you motivated. good luck!
  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    This is my 2nd time quitting....restarted after 3 years of not smoking (not real bright!). I know, for me, the first time I quit, I put on 15 pounds in the first 2 weeks of quitting and another 15 pounds over the next 3 months. That's why I'm taking this so serious now....I'm actually kind of pleased that it's only 7 pounds, at this point and I love the tools and people on this site!!!!
  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    Thanks "peterscupelli"~it's a pleasure to be here!!! GOOD LUCK ON YOUR DISSERTATION!!! I'm checking out your wife's link (she's got a VERY pretty name :smile: ) Kelli
  • Margy82
    Margy82 Posts: 63
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    I quit a little over a year ago. I was very upset when I figured out that I had been smoking for 10 years and I was only turning 25. I quit cold turkey with a friend, we made a deal that the first one to start smoking had to wear a super hero outfit to work. Anyways at first it was easy, it was -30 below in February and I usually only smoked at work anyways. But then both of us would steal a couple of drags here and there but only when we were together. I was up to 1-2 a day. My problem was that all of my friends and my boyfriend were heavy smokers.

    The only thing that got me to quit completely was a complete lifestyle change. I move from the city I was in, to a place where I didn't know anyone. I made a point of only becoming friends with non-smokers and healthy people. Now I have a boyfriend that doesn't smoke, doesn't drink much and is very healthy and active and outgoing. The people you are around really do influence you. Now I don't even think about smoking anymore, my energy is up and I am not cough up a lunge every morning.

    By the way, my quit smoking aid was rice cakes, Filled the oral fixation and I actually lost 5 lbs.
  • bodibykelli
    bodibykelli Posts: 135
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    Too funny about the rice cakes.....I just finished one before returning to this page! Your 5 pound loss is inspiring.....it is my goal, at my 2 month mark, to be back at my starting weight! As for the people around me...I was a closet smoker~most people didn't even know I smoked (of course my husband did) and it seems like everyone I know is a non-smoker (since moving to Florida 15 years ago). It's been nice not having to time exactly how long it would be until I could have my next smoke! :smokin:
  • pete
    pete Posts: 76 Member
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    thanks Kelli. the dissertation is coming along one sentence at a time. I'll tell my wife she has a great name. I hope you liked her dresses.
  • nicole0177
    nicole0177 Posts: 377
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    Hey! I chose my "quit day" (Feb. 20th) about 7 or 8 months ago. I focused on it, daily, until the day finally came (amazing how quickly time flies when you're giving up something you enjoy!). I chose to quit cold turkey...figuring that I would just have to go through the same agony of giving up an aid to quit smoking (my neighbor has been addicted to Nicorette gum for over 10 years and her teeth are rotting!). When it was time to quit, my mind was prepared and it really wasn't too bad (after 3 days, it gets much easier).

    ya they day that it takes 3 days for the nicotine to leave your system and that sounds like good plan i think i will give it a try.
  • honeybee71
    honeybee71 Posts: 47
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    I quit in November using Chantix. My father had a heart attack 2 weeks later, but I'm still smoke free. It has really changed things for me (I gained a huge amount of weight), but all in all I'd say I'll take the weight over smoking any day of the week. I can now do 15 minutes of a fat burner workout and not cough one time. It's amazing.
  • Mary24
    Mary24 Posts: 398
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    Hey My hubby and I both quit cold turky Oct 13th 2006 we are still smoke free.:love::smile:
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
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    I'm right there with you. I quit smoking Feb 4. I was a closet smoker for almost 20 years. I had started working out Jan 1st to help avoid gaining weight. I have not smoked since. However, like you I have also gained 7 lbs and am very disappointed. I have read online that smokers burn about 200 more calories a day than non smokers. People often think their metabolism "slows" down when they quit smoking, when actually the metabolism is trying to resume to a "normal" level since it was running a bit higher(hence the 200 more calorie burn). I used to smoke instead of eating, now I'm trying to eat healthy, cardio 60-75 min 5-6 x week, weights 3-4 x week. I think my body is completely confused and not used to having this much food in it. I'm just hoping by the end of the month my body will start to get lined out. Also I read that it can take 6-9 months for the body to get itself to a "normal" state. Not very encouraging for me since I like instant gratification. My kids are thrilled I don't smoke anymore or smell and I don't feel like such a hypocrite lighting up in the gym parking lot after my workouts anymore...LOL
    I had really expected to see some weight loss by now. I guess it will just take twice as long, for example instead of 3 months it might take 6. I know my weight is at a decent number and is considered healthy/normal or whatever(I'm 36, 5'5", 135 lbs, med. frame) I just don't like my capri pants getting snug and fo r me i feel better 5-10 lbs lighter. Sometimes I feel like logging my food puts more emphasis on eating and makes me think I'm hungry since I can't smoke anymore.

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