quitting smokin and shedding pounds simutaneously- is it possible?!

Just as a quick background-- i am a 19 yr old female who has a 2.5 yrold son. pre preg, i was 135 lb, at 5'2. not extremely thin, but a healthy girl. i gained 70 lbs during pregnancy, after my son i lost 40 while breastfeeding, but then i quit breastfeeding and got on depo(birth control) which caused me to gain more weight, and i have been off of it for over a year... i have never exercized or watched what i ate, b/c pre preg it was not a problem. and here i find myself, 2.5 yrs after i had my son, i find myself weighing in at 238, over 100 lbs heavier than pre preg. and somewhere in between all this weight gain, i picked up a smoking habit! i am getting married in october 2009, and i would love to be 120 lbs., and smoke free. my fiance hates the smell, although he has no problem with the weight (well, so he says)... as far as the weight goes, it's for me... i actually think he would like me to be no thinner than 145, but i damned and determined to get to 120. so heres my thing-- i think i would have a heart attack if i gained one more pound... and i realize losing weight is already hard, that i have to exercise eat right and all that good stuff. but from what i have heard, quitting smoking causes you to gain weight. i tried to ask my doctor about this and he confirmed it would make my appetite larger, causing me to eat more, which may cause weight gain...

are the odds just against me in this one? anyone going or have gone through this? i need some serious help!!!

big mama

My answer would be "OF COURSE" it is possible! I am SHOCKED that your doctor said that! I really am. I don't know what any "studies" say though. I thought cig smoking only slightly raised the metabolism anyway. Plus, I always thought the reason people gained weight from quitting smoking was because they replaced smoking with snacking. REGARDLESS, I think if you BELIEVE it's possible, it is. I personally quit smoking and didn't gain an ounce. Quitting was SUPER EASY for me though. It isn't for others. I truly believe the odds are NOT against you!!!

P.S. Ain't NOTHING wrong with 5'2" and 135!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could give advice here but unfortunately I am in the same boat.

I have quit once before...when I found out I was pregnant. I quit over night with no problems. This time it's harder. (I guess because I am not pregnant)


Deep down I know that quitting is sooo much more important health wise than losing a few more lbs....but I just can't get it out of my mind that I want/need them. Grrr...

hey rileysmomma, i was an on and off smoker for a long time, with long periods (over a year) of no smoking and long periods of smoking. personally i haven't noticed any relation between smoking and apetite or metabolism. for me there is a relation between not smoking - feeling anxious - and eating. so quitting smoking itself won't make you gain weight but if your an emotional smoker vs eater think of some alternative stress relief methods.

I quit in March and my appetite did increase.  I was used to feeding myself coffee  and cigarettes all day and then have a big dinner.  Without the cigs, I didn't want coffee...and thus...hunger became a painful, annoying  pest.  I was terrified of this phenomenon, as I've seen quitting turn people into happy, healthy, balloons.  So, I started to learn about nutrition....and fast.  I used the "expenditure" calculator on the "Tools" section of this site and I ate 1200 cals per day during my first 3 months of quitting (my expenditure is only 1400, so it's only a 200 calorie deficit...which I thought would be fine since I heard that nicotine all day is equivalent to burning about 200 calories due to it's stimulant properties).  So, having said that, I ate well, stayed within my calorie expenditure, and began exercising 2 months into my quit.  I feel fantastic about my health and my body, although I still get emotional cravings for cigarettes and now food.  I heard that the appetite increases will level off after about 6 months, so I plan on staying very focused on good nutrition choices and exercise until then (probably longer, but I'll stop the OCDness then).  It is very possible to lose weight and quit smoking simultaneously...You just have to "work smart"...because it is work, and it does take a degree of conscious choice to do it properly.  One thing that helped me stay focused was this mantra "Smoking is not an option".   Of course I wanted to smoke, still do....but it's really not an option if I value other priorities more (like good skin, healthy hair, pleasant aroma, deep breathing, agility, fast healing, playing with kids, exercise highs, sense of responsibility for my body and most of all sanity (smoking  is pretty insane).  Anyway, much luck and perseverance to you.  You can definitely do this!!!!!!

Hey there - on the 24th it will be one year since I quit - yeah, me!!

Here's the thing. Smoking isn't keeping you thin, is it? Nope. You gained a 100 pounds while smoking. So don't even *consider* weight gain as a reason to continue to smoke! (I had to come to that conclusion on my own too).

I did not gain any weight when I quit (I gained it all before I quit). However, it is true that it was harder to lose weight in the early months. But it did come off eventually, once my body was done healing itself from the effects of all those years of smoking.

Meanwhile, there is research showing that one cup of coffee and modest use of 2 mg nicotine gum can offset weight gain associated with quitting. Heck, why not give that a try? I am still chewing the gum but gave myself one year on it... which means on the 24th I need to stop buying it and switch to regular gum instead.

Consider a daily walking program. Exercise such as walking is an excellent, excellent way to curb nicotine craves and prevent a slump into depression that many quitter experience. And, it will help curb weight gain too. How cool is that?? I found that I'd  be crawling up the walls with craves, until I laced up my shoes for an hour long brisk walk. Afterwards, I would be crave-free the rest of the day.

I have never smoked or anything but my mom has for 20 years and she just quit for good (a year now). She had always gained weight when she quit before because she would replace her smoking urges with eating. She decided to get something low-cal to snack on (mints are great) to help ans she gained very little...im talking like 2-3 lbs.

Quitting smoking is THE reason I joined CC.

I am 30 years old, was smoking every day since age 17. I havent had a cigarrette since New years this year and I'm doing GREAT. I'm 5'6 1/2, bout 120 lbs and I've pretty much always been that weight.  I havent gained anything yet. I've quit twice before for lesser amounts of time and no weight gain then either.

YOU CAN DO IT. If you want specific tips or advice on ANYTHING  - please ask me. I am here to help, I LOVE helping people with quitting smoking.

Just let me know specifically what you want to know.

Well I can tell you from my experience that you can expect a weight gain and that happens even if you do not replace the smoking with food but people who DO replace the smoking with food gain lots of weight and people like me who watched their diet and worked out gain a minor amount of weight. I have no idea why this happens but it does ...I just always assumed people who gain weight when they quit smoking gained because they ate more but I gained even though I wasn't even eating more than I was as a smoker!

 When I decided to quit smoking cold turkey I was determined to do so without gaining weight so I started doing a lot of cardio 2 weeks prior to my quit date and ate really clean (I never was a big eater or a fan of junk anyways). Then I quit smoking and continued doing 30-60 minutes cardio everyday and did not replace the smoking with food/snacks, I just kept watching what I ate and gained a mysterious 4 pounds. At first I assumed it was water weight because I sure didn't see how on earth it was possible that despite being MORE active than ever and really watching my diet more than ever produced a 4 pound weight gain?! But I'm afraid it wasn't water weight, my jeans were feeling snug and my body fought me tooth an nail when I tried to lose weight.

I always wanted to lose 10 pounds forever and when I quit smoking I had to lose the 10 pounds I always wanted to get rid of plus this lovely 4 pounds so with 14 pounds to lose I joined CC.  I have lost the 4 pounds I gained from quitting smoking but let me warn you it was a really hard 4 pounds to lose because for some reason after quitting my body was not responding in a normal way to diet and excercise! After I quit it took like 8 weeks of really consistent diet and excercise before my body would even allow for a minor weight loss. 

If you are really stubborn you will gain very little after you quit and you will lose the few pounds you gain but it takes longer for ex smokers (especially female ex smokers) than it does for people who never smoked because the body goes through a detox and has to figure out how to do things without the stimulant in the system. So it's not all about "if I don't replace the smoking with food I won't gain" NOPE...if you don't replace the smoking with food you won't GAIN AS MUCH.

But everyone's body is different and all of this might not even happen to you. There is really no way to tell how your body will react to the quit because everyone is different. some people don't gain a pound but get massive headaches, and some people can't sleep etc...just google quit smoking and get as much info as possible on it because the more you know and being prepared for what may or may not happen will make it go easier. Best of luck!

Oh and congrats on the baby and the wedding!! I hope you quit and I'm sure you will look beautiful on your wedding day no matter what!

*hugs*

I totally agree about doing as much research as possible before your quit. Be prepared for each and every situation.  Like I said its almost been 6 months since I quit cold turkey and no weight gain at all.

workoutaddict: I'm sure you would rather take the stupid 4lbs than be a smoker still, right?

I think if you're quitting smoking, concentrate on quitting smoking for however long you need to and THEN worry about the weight you may have gained - after - like a few months after you quit. When you quit you want to stay quit so dont get discouraged because of weight. This is one reason people dont stay quit.

you guys are so awsome... i am such a rookie at the whole qutting smoking and losing weight thing... but thankfully i have you guys as my mentors!
i really want to start eating healthier, get in an exercise routine, and slowly quit smoking. i want to trick my body into qutting smoking.
so how many calories do you think i should have, considering i want to lose the maximum 2 lbs a week?
and what kind of exercises should i do?
once again, you guys are awsome......
big mama

It is possible. 

From what I've read I think when you quit smoking your body is burning somewhere around 200 less calories a day; So me having a desk job and snacks everywhere I just knew where I was going to be headed. I started CC two weeks after I quit smoking because I had gained enough weight before I quit and knew that I was going to gain even more if I didn't do something.   I smoked for over 22 years before I quit and I've lost almost 20 pounds since. I took Chantix to quit and it was a godsend for me, I don't think I would of been able to without it.  :-)

The most important thing though is quitting smoking so if you can't do both you should do that first, then once quit work on your diet....Best of luck to you!!  :-) 

Ive been losing, and I quit a month ago. I didnt want to do both at once, but for health reasons I did. Yes, nicotine can boost the metabolism, but Im sure there are ways to get your metabolism back up - theres a post under the weightloss section on raising it and it has some good links. And nicotine can supress the appetite too, so just make sure you stick to your cals instead of sticking too much food in your mouth - sugarless gum is your friend! =)

Im no expert, but those are the things I have been doing to help avoid the gain.

Good luck!

On Kerry's biggest loser team so yay Kerry for quitting!!!

I quit April 1st this year, after smoking for 19 years.
I stumbled across CC and started my diet on the 17th of April.

I am just under 30 pounds lost so far, and I have not had a single smoke or puff since I quit on the 1st.

So yes it can be done.

Good luck

I am so excited by the posts on quiting smoking and losing weight at the same time!  This is the first time I have found any encouragment/information other than my family doctor. He said it is a great idea as part of a total lifestyle change!  I am 56 years old (female) weigh 220 lbs and smoke about a pack a day.  I know I am running out of time to get myself healthy. I want to see my grandchildren grow up and maybe even see my great-grandchildren. I have quit several times over the past 15 years and each time gained 15-20 lbs and kept it on when I resumed smoking.  Following my doctors advice I am starting a sensible low calorie diet, exercise by walking every day, and QUITING SMOKING.  Start day is this Friday.  I'll let you all know how it goes. 

rileysmomma I just wanted to say GOOD FOR YOU! for taking on these two challenges.  realizing you have to change is an enormous first step.  great advice from everyone too. 

good luck!  my excersize advice for easing into this, especially if you're not going to quit smoking cold turkey is circuit training.  light weights, pushups sit ups, constant motion and doing them in direct succession.  This gets your heart rate up and tones you up, without the Straight up cardio.  I imagine it may be a little easier on your cardio vascular system as you quit smoking., but will still burn some calories.

you can do it!