I quit smoking, and started EATING!

Hey all,

This is not my first time on this site....I'm a bit of a yo-yo dieter.  This most recent stint here is to take off the pounds I gained in the beginning of my non-smoking life.

I quit on January 9th of this year, cold turkey.  In the beginning, I kept my food under control, but then I started drinking more and more (I am in grad school) to replace the stress-relief effect of smoking.  I literally did not go more than a day without at least one beer. 

The effects of that, of course, are that I no longer fit into my clothing, and that my ass jiggles when I run up the stairs.  I'm not massively overweight, but enough to be frustrated and need to start watching what I'm eating and exercising.  I hate exercising.

I started taking gummy vitamins (and they are delicious) to make sure I'm getting all the minerals I need while my body adapts to the lifestyle change, and I may keep on taking them forever.

I guess a little weight gain in exchange for healthier lungs is a good trade, but I wanna have it all!  Anybody in the same boat?

I am!  I quit smoking in April and I've gained atleast 10 lbs :(  25 before that due to other circumstances.  I am still having a tough time with the quitting smoking :( HARDEST thing I have ever done in my LIFE!

Hey Tweetie!  Are you going cold turkey, or with substitutes? 

This is my longest success with smoking cessation, and I found the first month to be the hardest- so you've gotten over that hurdle!  I was using lollipops as an antidote for the cravings...maybe some sugar-free stuff would have been better!

Good luck, and stay strong!!

I used the patch for 8 weeks, I'm not on anything now.  Just chewing sugar-free gum and eating veggies... It's sooooo hard... I quit for 12 months once before in 2008-2009.

I read somewhere that most successful quitters go cold turkey, so props to you for getting off the patch- gum was my best friend in the earlier days.

Now, I just hope never to have a moment of weakness...one puff will destroy 7 months of hard work!!

I quit on May 29th, and while I haven't gained, I definitely haven't lost either! I hit a plateau at that point, either due to the snacking or the loss of metabolism, I'm not sure. Still eating around 1400 calories a day, but I'll admit to many more days in June that were "cheat" days than normal. But I guess I should be happy to not have gained it all back, to have good lungs, and to be facing July with a renewed sense of hope!

I quit smoking Feb 15, 2010, and yes I gained weight too! :( But now I'm well on my way to losing the weight! The only advice I can give you is keep on keeping on.  The beginning is the hardest but quitting is the best thing I ever did. The 'turning' point for me is when I made the mental decision that I was DONE! It wasn't a matter of trying to quit, or working on it. It was a lot easier after that, and now you couldn't pay me to go back to it. I started smoking at 13 and I was such a SLAVE to that addiction!!! It feels great to be FREE!! Keep up the good work!