Hi all. I am new to the forum. I am on day 28 of quitting with patches and inhaler. So far I have gained 4-5lbs but I reckon some of that is due to xmas and stuffing myself!
As my weight is a major issue (phobia about weight gain) I wondered if ANYONE has given up smoking and only put on a little weight or no weight at all?
I did give up a few years ago and I stayed quit for 2 years. I put on 3 stone but I also went on anti-d's and thyroid replacement therapy at the time. When I came off the anti-d's my weight just dropped off but I can't remember whether or not this co-incided with starting to smoke again.
I know that a lot of readers will say....don't worry about the weight it is better than poisoning yourself with cigarette smoke...and all the other cliches. This weight thing is a real problem for me though and I am seeking some encouragement to stay smoke free!!:D
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Hiya..i weighed myself on day of quit and six weeks ltr I have put on 6lbs...i normally put on about 5lbs over xmas anyway I don't think that was too bad I replaced ciggies with exercise which helped...issue is wen u try to shift that few pounds it iz sooo much harder as others say..weight not as important as not smoking x
I was wanting to start dieting too and when I decided to stop smoking I was worried I wouldn't be able to do it. And I was right I can't quit and lose weight at the same time. But the increase appetite will only last a few weeks. Then ill have so much energy for excersise. Think of it that way. Or eat healthy and excersise now so you don't put weight on. Apparently the metabolic rate does drop when you stop smoking though
I did put on about 7lbs in the first month, it's now coming off quite easily without too much effort. I have found losing hard in the past so I think as it's coming off easily now my body has re-metabolised......or something?? Anyway, I panicked and got fed up but it does come off quite easily when you're ready
Thank you all, for your replies...I am still not smoking, 35 days clean now! Don't want a fag, still on patches and inhalator.. now starting to feel less bloated and doing 20-25mins daily on treadmill. Just setting up gym equipment in spare room so can start weight lifting programme.
For the past few days have really been watching what I eat and have cut out all superfluous bits of sugary nonsense!
Will give it a real go on the fitness front as I do feel so much better than I have done for quite a few years!
Yep, i've lost over a stone, instead of smoking I started to go to the gym since then have got well into it, I now go 4 times a week and train for over an hour. When I walk out of the gym I feel fantastic and soooo good about myself, can't start smoking again coz smoking and being fit and healthy don't go together.
I have managed to lose a bit. I tried the 3 day juice detox before giving up the cigs and lost a couple of kilos, so it was an incentive to try and keep off the pounds when I stopped, and I'm still lighter than what I was when we stopped the cigs.
Have tried to exercise at least three times a week, and whilst I'll never be Miss World, I feel pretty good!
To be honest, I would find it harder to resist a family bag of crisps (my downfall) than 20 L & B!!
I've just bought some green tea, which i found helped take weight off years ago when i was dieting. last time i tried it, i found it didn't suit me, but i'm going to try again now as part of hoping not to put on too much weight with quitting.
I would find it harder to resist a family bag of crisps (my downfall) than 20 L & B!!
My sentiments entirely!! It is much harder not to eat what you want and have been used to eating that not to smoke..giving up fags is easy peasy compared to having to deny yourself grub!:mad:
I followed slimming world diet while stopping smoking and i actually lost weight. Stayed the same for the first few weeks then it started coming off again. ive stopped 3 months and ive lost around a stone. Plus i go to gym, although i always went to the gym but its much easier now!
Good luck!
Loads of good healthy foods you can eat, just had a fat free muller light toffee with alpen light cereal bar broke into it and cup of tea, bliss, so much nicer than stinking smoking lol
I anticipated gaining a few pounds after quitting so I went ahead of myself and devised a routine to keep my weight down. It was difficult at first because my lungs were trying hard to keep up.
I followed slimming world diet while stopping smoking and i actually lost weight. Stayed the same for the first few weeks then it started coming off again. ive stopped 3 months and ive lost around a stone. Plus i go to gym, although i always went to the gym but its much easier now!
Good luck!
Loads of good healthy foods you can eat, just had a fat free muller light toffee with alpen light cereal bar broke into it and cup of tea, bliss, so much nicer than stinking smoking lol
I too joined slimming world again when i started my quit and have currently lost weight, its worth giving it a go, but not if you dont feel like you can handle depriving yourself in 2 areas fags & food. although saying that its more of a healthy eating plan and you can eat as much as you want of certain foods, so dead handy to pick when you feel the need.... just back off an undiet holiday though soooo back to the plan... :rolleyes: xx
I'd recommend the 'myfitnesspal app', they also have a website for those who don't do apps.
It's a diary of what you eat, you can manually enter the foods, or scan the barcodes, and it will show how many calories you've had vs what you should be having to maintain or lose weight. Their database is huge, and I've not found a food in the last 8 weeks that I can't enter.
It really makes you think about food choices - I knew I would have to avoid alcohol, but there were so many foods that I had assumed were healthy that were very calorific. And I massively underestimated the calories in sweets and crisps/ sugary drinks.
Recently I tend to have a cereal bar or two for breakfast with a black coffee, some fruit mid-morning, a can of soup for lunch (Heinz Big Soup, or Baxters fuller longer soup), more fruit in the afternoon and either a healthy home cooked dinner, or a ready meal with about 300 calories in it.
I do have the occasional bad day, but as others have said, the extra energy can be put towards cycling.... and with the app, exercise boosts calorie allowance for a day, so you really can do a swim, or run and then enjoy a doughnut.
I started the same, 2009 13 and a bit stone, I'm only 5 foot 8 lol.
So started to run.
First maybe ran 5 mins, collapsed on floor, then walked 5mins, ran 5mins and so on .
After a week the 5 mins turned to 7-8, then 2-3 weeks, 10-15, then after a few more weeks.
BANG! Whole route completed by running.
Get the picture? No one starts off running 1-2 miles straight away ;).
Now for looking a prat, headphones loud music and zone out the world, look straight ahead, keep eye on traffic and after 3 days (ish) you don't notice anything apart from your own internal breathing rhythm.
Ps when I say I started the same I'm not implying you are overweight in the same degree I was.
I mean I was heavy smoker who ran and felt very self conscious at first.
Does that sound better?
Lol, I know what you mean
And thanks!!
Back when I smoked any running was out of the question (in my mind because of any reason besides the 20+ cigarettes I was happily puffing on a day) but now I can manage half a mile which is good!!
I'm small (size 8-10) but not the fittest girl on the planet YET!!
Helene, 6lb isn't much. If you keep up the exercise and just watch what you eat over the next couple of weeks I'll bet you can drop at least 4lb before your trip. You're not fat- honestly you're not. There's bound to be a short term effect on your weight in quitting and the important thing is to limit weight gain early on if possible (so much easier losing 6lb than 3 stone).
Seriously, you've done well to only gain 6lbs. Don't go beating yourself up.
Is like, the law when quitting smoking or do I have a choice?
I hope I have a choice
Am I going to feel that because I don't have a fag in me gob that I have to have a piece of food instead? Can't I trick my brain somehow into not caring that there's nothing in my hand? what if I celebrate not having anything in my hand?
or is it going to be the case that I'll put on weight because of some physical actual reason?
hmm - and it's not even the after dinner ciggie I loved best - it was the hungry girl ciggie - haven't eaten for ages I'm going to enjoy the menthol of this cig.
Well this is yet another of my day 1's and already I know I'm almost half a stone overweight.
I know for certain that I will inevitably compensate smoking with eating so I'm on a double mission because I want those pounds off asap - no eating in between meals whatsoever for me at the moment and acohol is a definite no no.
Oh dear - when I think about all this I feel that my life's not worth living at the moment;).
I know I can handle the weight issue though, the alcohol I can take or leave, but the quit issue will take some doing.
So far so good but I know now that I met my Nemesis when I started smoking.
Linda & Sausages (great name BTW :D) weight gain isn't inevitable honestly. I lost weight when I quit. One of the side effects of my quit was anxiety in the first few weeks which put me off eating, plus I went on the wagon as alcohol is such a trigger for me and Christmas was coming up.
As I was overweight anyway I took the opportunity to maximise on the kick-start and diet in tandem with quitting. Because I needed something to take my mind off the food and nic craves I stepped up on exercise to compensate. As a result i've lost nearly two stone in the three months since my quit started. So it is possible to do both. In fact, I found that as I had to muster all my self-discipline to quit it was more or less a natural extension to do the same with eating too.
Reading back on the above, I really hope it doesn't sound smug. It has worked for me so far but I know every experience is different. As others have said, far better to gain a few pounds (which you can always lose when your quit is properly established) than continue to smoke. I suppose that for me, I sort of knew deep down that if I put on more weight I would feel so depressed that it would probably blow my quit.
Ok.... so now I know there is this possibility to face and actually I have been eating a lot lately... but not consciously
then I shall allow myself to eat but make sure I have only carrots and raw veg to nibble at and no crisps or puddings. I shall ensure I don't go shopping when hungry and I shall have lots of fruit to hand
I can conquer this. I don't know WHY I feel I might need to eat to compensate...
believe it or not I'm studying cognitive behavioural therapy so I feel I'm lucky to have some of the tools to help me address my thought patterns / behaviour.
and Linda - be kind to yourself - forgive yourself and just think all that new fresh air in your lungs and renewed energy - just hop about a bit - it doesn't have to be a gym membership and guilt and obligation. I'm a stone overweight and am horrified to think I am likely to put on MORE weight through this but I've learned that when I hate myself for something I do it more. When I forgive myself for something I do it less because I'm more aware of it in a more open minded way.
twisted logic
right now.. so... just had lunch... AND I poured half my soup away just because so.. what else can I eat?
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I replaced ciggies with exercise which helped...issue is wen u try to shift that few pounds it iz sooo much harder
as others say..weight not as important as not smoking x
I've lost the weight I gained from quitting!
i forgot to put on my patch
