Any advice?

jillfarrell
jillfarrell Posts: 5
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I quit smoking 4 months ago and I have gained 10-12 lbs since then. I really want to lose that and then some asap because I am really beginning to hate myself lol.. I weighed 150lbs when i was nine months pregnant and that is what I weigh today! :0(
I am counting calories now and I have a gym membership as well as an elliptical at home but I dont even know where to start. Any workout or food suggestions will help because i never had this problem before. Thank you in advance, Jill

Replies

  • Bretto
    Bretto Posts: 196 Member
    1/2 the battle is just having the will to start, so good for you & great job on quitting smoking. Start by setting a few mini goals like give up soda, drink more water, exercise a certain amount of time a day etc. Then, look at what you are eating. Plan your meals for tomorrow today. This way you can plug it into MFP & see where your calories land. Here are a few of my favorite things lately. For breakfast, Kashi golean cereal with skim milk (great mix of protein & carbs), turkey sandwich for lunch, apples w/ lowfat peanut butter for a snack, grilled chicken or fish & grilled veggies for dinner. If I need a sweet treat, I go for a skinny cow ice cream sandwich, dole 100% fruit bar, or a mcdonalds ice cream cone. Add a little exercise & you will be amazed at the results. Good Luck!
  • 9726172000
    9726172000 Posts: 428
    Hi Jill,
    Congrats on stop smoking that in it self is a big step. I can only tell you what I did.
    Before I even started really excercising I started to get my food portins under control. It took about 2 weeks for that. Yes I went to the gym 5 days a week but I really didn't do to much working out at first. I was just seeing which machines at the gym would benifit me the most. Plus I had to really concentrate on getting my water in everyday. Then I would incorprate 2 days a week of hard workouts and I just graduated from there. Now I am at the gym atleast 5 days a week. At first I only did cardio and I really lost the weight. 22 lbs in 2-1/2 months. I have just started stength training now and I am taking the same approch. I am up to 4 days a week on strength training.
    For food suggestions the only thing that I can say is you will need to figure out if more protien and fruits will keep you full longer or will fruit and more fiber keep you full longer. Also if you eat 3 meals a day with atleat 1-2 snacks in between your meals that will help to keep your metabilzm fed, which in turn will help you from NOT over eatting. Drink as much water as you can.
  • jpier4
    jpier4 Posts: 3 Member
    Well, first of all Jill, congrats on kicking the smokes! Now my advice on some weight loss.
    The most important thing IMO is mental. You have to have your mind right. Second is determination. Want to do it. Third is willpower. Those are the hardest things when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. Now onto the easy things.

    Some easy to remember "rules of thumb" are
    1. Never skip breakfast - Even if it means that all you have time for is a slice of wheat toast (no butter). Some healthy choices that I use are egg white omelets w/ mushrooms, 2 slices turkey bacon, BLT on wheat, hotcakes (wheat flour) with honey. Cold cereals are fine also ie cheerios, special k brands. Use fat free skim milk.
    * Breakfast is very important. It provides the body with the proper energy to get throughout the day. A good mix of carbs and protein are perfect.
    2. Eat Protein - Try to eat as many grams of protein as what your "goal body weight" will be. Tuna, chicken breast and all fish are great sources.
    3. Exercise - You don't have to go overboard but moderate exercise will greatly speed up your progress. Take the stairs, park farther away....little things if you can't do anything else.
    4. Don't eat late - Try to have your last meal 3 hrs before you hit the sack. Muscles grow (recover) during rest and having food in stomach while sleeping will alter the body's process of breaking down the down the food and will instead store it as fat.
    5. get some protein powder - You can get this at WalMart for around 15$ and it will last a month or two. Getting enough protein can be hard to accomplish so the powder will help in this area. (I like cookies and cream and strawberry. Mix with V8 splash or skim milk. This is also a good "cheat" if you think that you need a snack before sleeping.

    Good vs Bad
    Good foods are - Lean meats (Turkey, venison, some porks and red meats). veggies, fish (especially tuna and salmon) all natural peanut butter, all nuts and beans. Fat Free skim dairy, Olive oil (don't let the fat grams scare you in this)

    Bad - Butter, sour cream, anything with the word "creamy" dairy that isn't fat free, Of course...sweets.
    That's my .02. Good Luck :bigsmile:
  • frogg2allegra
    frogg2allegra Posts: 39
    Last Friday was 45 days for me. I started working out June 1st, quit smoking June 17th and did not lose any weight until July. I made small adjustments like Bretto suggested to you but one thing I had to do was increase my metabolism because that is what smoking had done. I chose excerise and strength training. For me, I also had to increase the number of times I ate in a day. I wasn't use to snacking during the day. I hope this helps a little. This site has really helped me. I have lost weight on low carb and low fat diets but always gain it back. This site has helped see that I can eat mostly what I want in moderation and small adjustments add in exercise and I still am loosing weight.


    I workout at home using the Firm: 6X/week
    Ultimate Fat burning-uses weights-40 min
    Dance Cardio-lots o fun-45 min
    Dangerous curves ahead-O.k. but I don't like the resistance band around my legs -50 min
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