Quit Smoking - Gained Weight?

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charanne52
charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm wondering how many people are here to lose the weight they put on after they quit smoking. I was a heavy smoker for many years and in September will have been quit for 5 years. I've never really had a weight problem but after I quit smoking I started eating and just didn't stop - I suppose I was rewarding myself or something. This went on for 4 and a half years and during that time I put on about 60 unwanted pounds but now I have smartened up and am here to reclaim my old body. Anybody else out there with a similar situation?

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  • 2manyhats
    2manyhats Posts: 1,189 Member
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    I quite 3 years ago, last may and gained 35 pounds. Then last year, I blame job/life stress, I started again. :cry: Sp now I am 2 1/2 weeks into being a non smoker again and doing great! If you reward yourself with food, at least make it good for you treats. LOL!
  • CrayCat
    CrayCat Posts: 5
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    For me, I think that smoking was a part of what caused me to gain weight. The other thing I suspect is birth control. I started taking the pill a few years ago, and a bit later I quit smoking. Three years later, I'm 30lbs heavier. I recently went off the pill and am looking at alternatives, so I guess I'll see soon enough if that was also part of the issue.

    Anyway, congrats on quitting. It wasn't too difficult for me but I know that I'm the exception in that regard, it's a tough battle for most. I would suggest rewarding yourself with something other than food, like clothes, gadgets, time with friends and loved ones. You know, stuff that gives you a good happy feeling. :) That's what I'm trying to do.
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
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    I quite 3 years ago, last may and gained 35 pounds. Then last year, I blame job/life stress, I started again. :cry: Sp now I am 2 1/2 weeks into being a non smoker again and doing great! If you reward yourself with food, at least make it good for you treats. LOL!

    Good for you on not giving up on quitting - it is really the best thing you can do for your overall health! Happily, I am past the stage of rewarding myself for not smoking - now it's more about rewarding myself for not eating a bunch of junk (lol)!
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    I quit smoking about 5 years or so ago but I was gaining weight before I quit though the weight problem rocketed after I quit. Basically what happened to me was that I substituted one addiction with another.

    I hope everybody the best luck, it can be done!
  • MsBrdlv
    MsBrdlv Posts: 77 Member
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    I quit in April of 2011.........and have never looked back! I did however, gain about 50 pounds between the not smoking and stress from work. Someone would bring in donuts or muffins, and if I was having a stressful day (and to be quite honest, most were stressful!) I would eat. I also got in the habit of bringing in foods to snack on when I was working at my desk (muddy buddies?! Really, what was I thinking?!)

    Now I am relishing in the fact that I am training myself to be a runner..........and I don't have issues with the breathing!! Such an awesome feeling!
  • CABA01
    CABA01 Posts: 33
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    I gained 14 kg through not smoking. Therefor I started smoking again last summer.. 5 kg went away without diat. Then up from April 12 I counted here calories and 50 days ago I started with the E- Cigarett, but with nicotine. I lost again 3-4 kg

    I like the E- Cigarett and will not stop in the near future. I never ate a lot and stiill gained the 14 kg.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    I think it's safe to assume that you used cigarettes as a form to let our or help your stress. Now that you don't have that nicotine to relieve the stress, you are replacing it with food. Instead, you should find a different outlet for stress - for me exercising is a good outlet, but if it's not for you maybe drawing or something?
  • milanks
    milanks Posts: 122
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    I'm still in the early days of learning to be a non-smoker again and I definitely catch myself trying to replace smokes with food. I miss them soooooo much - I love, love, loved smoking. I'm just trying to avoid keeping tempting things like cookies or chocolate in the house so it's not so easy to replace the cigarettes with junk food. Why can't cigarettes just be good for us?! ;)
  • HebertLesley
    HebertLesley Posts: 1
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    I quit smoking four months ago. I was a light smoker (5 a day) and a tad overweight before but my weight immediately blossomed, so that within 2 weeks I couldn't do up my favorite jeans. Having said that, the weight gain probably also had something to do with the fact that I was on a road trip with relatives. Sitting in the car for hours on end and eating at restaurants, or being entertained at people's houses is definitely dynamite. Anyway, I felt like such a blimp that I was tempted to start smoking again, but resisted the urge. I just found My Fitness Pal and find its a great way to keep track. I have just started jogging/walking every day and like the way the site gives you positive feedback by tracking calories burned from exercise . My goal is to lose 30 pounds and I've only lost 3 in a month, so have a long way to go. The bad news is I'm going on vacation again for 2 weeks and my husband loves to go to all you can eat buffets......

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