Stopped Smoking, Started eating....everything.

[caroline3642]

Any idea how i get over wanting to eat all day and half the night, now i've stopped smoking. i've put on at least half a stone since stopping the ciggies and its become an issue. thanks.

[2Bhappy]

exercising is a great countermeasure for ciggies cravings. the more you exercise the less you crave smoke. good luck

[caroline3642]

I've just started an exercise programme so hopefully that will help, with both the ciggie cravings and the over eating. Many thanks

[Hidden]

Hi caroline3642,

I'm kind of presuming that you've read the stuff on the NHS Choices live well lose weight pages and know about the free 12 week plan

Also on there you'll find advice about nutrition, hydration, binge eating and lots of other things.

My really strong advice about your eating is to SLOW IT DOWN!

Because you're kind of craving for a 'hit' to replace the one missing from the ciggies, you're probably rather cramming the food in.

If you slow down your eating you'll mentally notice what you're eating more and give time for your body's satiation response to click in. And don't let yourself get into 'automatic eating' situations, or 'mindless munching' as it's sometimes called. When you eat, focus on your food and your eating, not on the telly or the laptop.

As well as that, there's all the other control strategies, clear the house of naughtie nibbles, distract yourself from eating by busying yourself with other things, or putting the eating off (I'll just have one satsuma now - I'll have another if I still fancy it in half an hour), etc., etc.

As you train your body into the new way of doing business, it will adapt to it and the better and healthier control of your eating will become your normal way / habit.

It's very similar indeed to the re-training you did to tell your body that you don't need or want cigarettes anymore.

Good luck with your weight loss journey.

[caroline3642]

I've just started on the 12 week plan so hopefully that will help. I can't get rid of all the snackie/junk food because of my other half, he loves the stuff and refuses to be weaned off, so I shall just have to pretend its not there. I'll have another look at the 12 week plan site for other advise. I'm beginning to think giving up the ciggies was the easier of the two.

Many thanks

[Hidden in reply to caroline3642]

HI caroline3642,

For me, giving up smoking many years ago (I was up at times to as many as 60 a day) was fairly easy. I just went 'cold turkey' and did it.

In many ways it was a no-brainer and was probably one of my better life decisions ever.

Changing you eating habits is more of a process rather than an event. Eating is really deeply entangled with our pysychology and our social connectedness.

But I've got to admit, that (so far) I've found losing weight one hell of a lot easier than I ever believed it would have been before I started it.

And sometimes, just sometimes, we just have to feel the fear and do it anyhow!

Good luck with your weight loss journey.

BTW, my guess is that as you lose weight he'll end up wanting to join in on it and to copy your success with it.

[mitzymoo]

Hi Angel

I can sympathize with you, I stopped 8yrs ago I choked on some food and the right side of my body went numb, they thought it was a stroke but tests came back negative and the only other thing I could put it down to was smoking!

When I got home from hospital I had 3cigs left and I went out for a cig when hubby took my mum home (I was a secret smoker, hubby hated smokers) I cried all the way thru smoking it as I was scared it was going to do something else!

I heard on this morning the next day Dr Chris Steel said get some 1000mg vitamin can tablets and crunch on 1 every time you crave a cig and you'll soon stop wanting 1!

Apparently smoking stops the body taking vitamin can from our food so we need to replace it and it is the only vitamin. The body knows when it has had all it needs and any extra gets flushed out in your wee! So you can't overdose on it.

It took me about a week to get over it, but I think if I hadn't have lost the feeling I would still be smoking now! About 2months later I was at my friends house for girly night wine chocy all the good stuff and she's a smoker, I asked her for a cig just to see if I could put it out (test myself) I took 2 drags off it and gave it to her, it felt strange holding it and smoking it, it was as tho I'd never smoked! I smoked for 25yrs!

Try chewing gum between meals, it tricks your body into thinking you're eating! My dietician told me that trick,it works for me.

I hope it helps, sorry to bore you with my passed but if any of it helps it was worth it.

I'm big believer in angels and have asked them to watch over you and give you strength and guidance to help you on your journey to a new life as a none smoking, healthy, new person!

Take care Angel, good luck and angel blessings to you and your family.

[caroline3642]

Many thanks all for your advise and encouragement. Its a relief to know that you're not alone and great to have so many helpful words. xx