Week 6 'thinny' getting 'fatty' and feeling v low

Hi Janey,

Good to have you here, Can I recommend the 5/2 diet that our lovely max has started a thread on? its just another idea and may help you, well done on your quit so far x

Just record what you eat every day. I use an app on my phone called "my fitness pal". I just enter everything I eat on there and then adjust my calories according to what I need to do.

If I'm gaining too much weight, just reduce my calorie intake by 500 calories per day. Then I stop gaining weight.

Thanks for your help, advice support - hugely appreciated! I'll give "my fitness pal" a go and check out the 5/2 diet. I have been eating more fruit, so perhaps the sugar content in this has something to do with the weight gain? Although I'm running an extra 4-5 miles a week (approx 20 /wk in total), in effort to try and negate those additional calories.

DebbieH - reassuring that you also suspect a hormonal change. I do feel strongly it's affected me hormonally. My period haven't stopped, but they're v. different. I have a problem with water retention - puffy eyes / face. And I have mild PMT symptoms pretty much all the time at the moment. I'd hoped all these things would have levelled out a bit by now...

Thanks again.

Poor you Janey- it doesn't do much for your self-esteem does it?

I think you should keep telling yourself how fantastically well you have done to have maintained your quit for 5 weeks. That is one amazing and life-affrmimg achievement and you deserve huge amouts of praise. I bet your family & friends are so proud of you and rightly so

I reckon Debbie is right in that there is a hormonal effect as well as everything else and that this has probably contributed to your weight gain. My GP told me that in his experience it takes the human body a good year to properly adapt and settle down after quitting. Another thing that may be a factor is that you've been exercising more (partly to compensate for the additional fruit and partly- I bet- to take your mind off the craves) and exercise results in increased muscle (and increased muscule can result in you weighing more despite actually being more honed and fitter than you were previously). How are your clothes fitting? That may give you a clue.

However, I'm with Max that it might be worth running it by your GP if things don't settle down just to rule out any underlying factors.

A huge welcome to the forim from me by the way. So glad you've 'dunlurkin' and joined in.

Hi Janey

Welcome to the forum and well done on your quit so far. Sorry to hear you are feeling a bit low. I just wanted to say hello as I can't really add anything to the good advice everybody else here has already posted. I understand how you feel - I've put on weight very quickly since I quit and I haven't eaten that much differently to when I was smoking. I hope things settle down for you soon.