trying to be healthy and quit smoking

Im set on getting healthy and in order to that i need to not only change my eating habits but my smoking as well. I think i will die trying to do both at once. I need help, tips, motvation, something. I was down to about 5 cigs a day but, (excuse me guys)  my monthly lady friend visited me today and i smoked a half a pack...plus when i get to being hungry instead of reaching for something to snack on i have a cig...ANY ADVICE WILL HELP

thanks in advance, raro

Well, chances are if you quit smoking you're going to gain 50 pounds.

I recently quit smoking as in like about a month. I decided to completely re-do myself. I started running, quit the cigs, and started counting calories. I couldn't imagine trying to smoke and run, so if that's something you're interested in I recommend it. I also have kept myself busy...whenever I feel like I need a smoke I come on here and read some posts. It distracts me and after a bit the craving is gone. Try not bringing them with you when you go places....if you have to drive to a gas station to get them you're probably less likely to buy them. I slowly went down to 2 cigs a day and then one...and then one every other day and pretty soon it was....holy cow I haven't had one in a week. Now I feel great and I don't stink. You can do it!!!!

And NO you're not going to gain 50 pounds....geez. Just keep monitoring your snacking that's all.

thanks bunches, with support like this, with the exception of weenles, i know ill do just fine, thank you guys so much, i appreciate it!!!

much love, raro

wow, don't listen to that crap... you will not gain 50 pounds. geeze. you can quit smoking and not gain weight. you know how i know that? because i did it. trust me, it will be hard and some days you will def want to give in. but you are doing yourself a favor and how often do you get to do something just for you. you are giving yourself the best gift you can, a healthy body to enjoy life in. grab some gum and something to busy your hands with when you are just hanging out: sudoku, a crossword, scrapbooking, anything, whatever works for you. you can quit and i am glad to hear you want to. quitting smoking was one of the best decisions i have made in my life and when you feel free of the desire to smoke, i am sure you will feel the same. much love, keep us updated!

I quit smoking in March of 2006. It was the easiest thing for me to do. I read the book 'The EasyWay to stop smoking' by Allen Carr. I've recommended it to others and they have quit too. It was amazing how easy it was to give away my last 3 packs. AND I didn't gain weight when I quit. I actually joined the gym a week later and start working out. Now, I run about 30 miles a week and feel great.

Good luck!!

"Well, chances are if you quit smoking you're going to gain 50 pounds."

With all due respect, that is BS. I quit smoking last September and did indeed gain a little bit, as I replaced ciggies with sweets at first. Since then, I have gone back to running and intensified my gym work-out, as well as started to count calories; I am now at 93.5kg, which is the lowest I have been in years (I am pretty tall and muscular, that weight suits me almost fine, trying to shed another 4.5kg).

I'm trying to quit too. When I get a craving for a smoke I do a few exercises until the craving is gone. That way I kills to birds with one stone, so to speak.

I also read the book aezell1 mentions. "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking"  I quit last July and lost 2 lbs the month I quit.  But I had already lost 20 lbs. That book made it so much easier. I smoked over 2 packs a day for over 30 years. Quiting smoking is the best thing you can do for yourself.

You can do it! I've gained, maybe, 10 pounds since quitting but that was on/off 2 years ago plus I got married. I've actually never met any quitter who gained 50 lbs and I've met a lot of quitters. Gym membership - do it right away. Exercise is so empowering and you will feel awesome and fit immediately. I surprised myself with my own enthusiasm for activity and health. Gosh - we need a quitter's club, if there isn't one already.

-C

I started here in July and Ive lost almost 30 lbs.. My plan was to get used to my new healthy lifestyle and THEN quit smoking.. Well I am just barely into my 4th day of being smoke-free and I am doing so well with it.. I couldn't conquer both at the same time and the  funny thing was I started dieting and excersizing first b/c I thought that was easier than quitting smoking but I've come to find out that the quitting smoking was easier, not by alot, but it has been easier for me..  I smoked about 15 cigarettes a day and I have been using the Nicoderm patch : )  Good luck,  you can do it! 

Hi All, day five for me as a non smoker. Weight is ok, nothing lost for a couple of weeks, but have upped the exercise a lil.

Was puffing 20+ a day, sometimes more. Wearing itchy patches, and going to see the nurse next week to try and get them on prescription. A lil grumpy, but thats the norm with me as I an no longer a drinker, god  do punish myself!!

Four lbs to loose now, as a non smoker/drinker. I'm gonna do it, believe me!

elttiks.x.

Smoking doesn't make you thin, and if you stop doing it, you won't get fatter, except if you remplace the ciggies with some food.

if you go cold turkey, there are real chemical changes in the brain that will make you grumpy, disrupt sleep and appetite.  The changes are not just your imagination.

Some things can help ease the problem like various prescription drugs, the patches.... etc...

whatever helps :)

any way you do it, it can be hard for some people... but NO ONE ever died from quitting smoking!  Promise :)

I too have just recently quit smoking. What has been getting me through that is the following web-site www.whyquit.com

This site is amazing. I had been smoking since I was 17 years old and I am 35 now---I KNEW that I had to give it up because it is just bad bad bad and EXPENSIVE as well! Going to this site was like my own support system and it still is because I am only just recently a non-smoker---oh how I REVEL in saying that now!  :)

On the site it states that quitting smoking doesnt make you gain weight FOOD does---sounds so simple doesnt it--but its true! Just dont replace your nicotine cravings with something to eat! What I have done is now I ALWAYS have water in my hand-- oh and sugar free-gum. What else helps for the hand to mouth is eating baby carrots. I have not gained any weight at all yet---in fact I have lost weight probably because I have VOWED that I am not going to! That and all of the water I have consumed heehee

I found THIS web- site not too long ago and it has truly inspired me to keep it in control and motivate me becuase I too needed to lose weight (about 40 pounds more) as well as quit smoking. I read it every day and actually this is my first post! I have been nicotine free for almost two weeks now, Ive lost 5 pounds ( of probably water weight but hey!) and I feel absolutely great! You can do both---and you wont go crazy I promise! If you can make it through 3 days with no nicotine, then you will be fine because the nicotine will be completely out of your system by then. I sped this process along by light cranberry juice and like I said before ALOT of water. I also kep going to whyquit.com when I felt weak---so the combination of these two web sites have tremendously helped me!

I hope that it will help you too---good luck!

StopSmokingCenter.net was a great help for me.  I also used the patch and it was a huge help.  I was smoking a pack and ahalf for almost 10 years when I quit.  It took me three times to finally do it.   You can do it. 

I too am a smoker with a weight problem, and want to accomplish both, so it's nice to know that there is someone else out there who going through it also.  All the replies, with the exception of the 50lb remark, are so inspiring, just lets me know it can be done!  Keep at and I will check back for your updates!

March 8th will be 2 years that I have been smoke free. I used to smoke 3 packs a day and did so for almost 20 years. The more you smoke the more it increases your metabolism. When you quit smoking your metabolism slows, thus weight gain. All you have to do to counter this is a bit of exercise.

Unfortunatley I didn't think about exercise, I quit smoking and hit my 30's all at once. Nice. I am one of those who gained 50 pounds, actually it was 60 pounds. I didn't turn to food any more than i did before I quit smoking, it was the combination of natural body changes and the slowing of my metabolism from quitting. I went to the doctor, I thought something was wrong with my thyroid, he ran a battery of tests on me and then had me sit down with a specialist who explained the effects of quitting smoking.

 I am still 55 pounds heavier than I was, but you know.... if I had to choose again knowing what I know now... I would still have quit and taken the weight. Heavier I am, but healthier I am too. AND now I have the lung capacity to jog, bicycle, WALK!! Now I am on the road to losing what I gained.