Giving Up Smoking

I want to give up smoking . But i am worried about the weight gain . i have been smoking for 10 years.I am planing to try to give up smoking in early september(cant do it before september) . So i still got two months left , would be very helpful to hear how others who gave up smoking dealt with eating . Mostly i want to give up smoking because when i see ladys about 40-50 year old,and look at that yellow,wrinkly skin, i know thats my future if i dont give up,and i dont want to look like that ! Smoking puts extra 10-15 years on you ! And of course for healthier me ! And i could spend the money on something else .(i could get new pair of jeans or shoes or handbag every week! )

So i  want to know what works best for giving up smoking ? What have you tried ? What worked for you ? I heard about chewing gum and patches .

How to stop weight gain ? Or should i say how to stop eating every 10 minutes when you give up ? What have you tried ? And what worked for you ?

Should i try to lose more weight before i give up,so i dont get too big ? i  am 60 kg now,so if i lose 5 more,and when i give up smoking,lets say i gain 5 kg back,.so i would be just like i am now . Is that a good idea or not ?

Can anyone tell me more reasons to give up smoking ? I found 3 so far : for health , not to be yellow and wrinkly and look like 60 yo when i am 40 , and save money ! Trying to get as many reasons as possible , so if i have a hard day,and start reaching for cigarete,i can look at my list and think about it again !

Thanks for reading ! xxx

First of all, that's an awesome goal. 

I haven't smoked, although some of my friends and family have smoked and quit.  They tried and used all sorts of different methods and said it was a very individual thing. 

In my experience when I'm going to do something very stressful, I put aside my weight goals with two stipulations--a date that I'm going to pick them up again, no excuses, and a promise to myself that I'll be "reasonable" while I'm not counting.  I sometimes gain, sometimes maintain, but I know I have the tools to manage my weight whatever it is when I pick myself back up again!  I try very hard to find other things I can depend on besides food to deal with the stress. 

As far as reasons to quit go I can offer a few.  My cousin and his fiance quit together for their lives together, possible future children, and money.  One of my friends quit because not smoking made him feel like a stronger person, one better able to take care of those he cared about.  My grandmother quit for her children and future grandchildren.  :)  A scary reason is that statistically each cigarette takes ten minutes off your life.  :(  Another healthy reason would be to be able to exercise better. 

I hope this is mildly helpful and that others can offer some good thoughts. 

GOOD LUCK!  :)

There have been studies done that state vitamin C can help with cravings and stop you from gaining weight while quitting smoking.

Quit smoking support.com

Good luck

I was a smoker for over 25 years, and I quit on April 9th of this year.

Yes, you can gain weight, but there are ways around gaining a lot of weight. When I stopped, I took up eating pastel mints - AWFUL idea!! Go for carrots, or celery or even veggies mixed with pretzels, or something like that - not just junk food, like a lot of us have done. Another way, is to slowly reduce the amount that you are smoking. I cut down by half in a couple weeks, then stopped cold turkey.

On quitting: ask your Dr if there is a program around your area (State run) that is giving out free Patches to help you quit. I think it is available in every state.

Also - on quitting - first you have to really want to be done with cigarettes for it to work. Nobody manages to quit until they are ready to. When you are ready, you'll probably need to trick your senses, too. I used to do certain things when I smoked - like go outside (I never smoked in my house) for any reason, or feed the fish in my pond, or just have a seat in my favorite spot on the deck. I did not want to have to stop doing these things when I stopped smoking, so I changed the things I did while I smoked, and would intentionally watch the fish, or hang out on the deck without a smoke, during the last couple of weeks that I was smoking. When I put the smokes down, I did not feel like I needed one to watch the fish in my pond, and I really think that made it a lot easier on me.

Anything along those lines that you can do to help yourself defeat the routine, will help you to stop smoking.

And yes, it DOES save the money - especially for me, because I was smoking 6 cartons every month.

Here are reasons to quit:

(1) No more bad smokey breath
(2) Your teeth will whiten up

Congrats on making such a fabulous decision!

I quit over 9 months ago.  It was very very hard.  For the first few months I had to change everything.  I stopped going to clubs, I never went on my back yard, I cut out pizza, I cut out hot drinks, anything that I associated with smoking.

I also used the patch and took up bowling and after a while.. running.

These days I'm fine, I don't think about it.