Help! Ideas for Quitting and not gaining weight.

[sbootsy]

I want to quit soon! This will be my 7th try, one time for a 18 months. My husband smokes, so it makes it more difficult.

I already have the gum, just need to do it.

I am most afraid of gaining the 11 lbs. back that I have lost. So..I need some tips please!!

I read somewhere that your insulin level goes up when you quit. Any ideas on that?

TIA,
Shari

[gwilson38]

I was really concerned aswell about weight gain. In my case I had reached my goal and in fact because I new I was quitting smoking I lost a few pounds more. I think it is almost impossible to not put on a few pounds after smoking cessation. It has been 9 weeks for me and as of this morning I am only up 5 pounds. I attribute my success to 1st of all not making any major changes as soon as I had quit. One of the biggest mistakes people can make is to cut way down in calories and add a whole lot of new exercise. Your body will be in shock from not smoking for heavens sakes dont add any more stress to it immediately..LOL After a period of time, maybe a month then add some more exercise [ altho if U dont get any form of exercise now then adding a 20 min walk a day immediately is a good thing] do be really careful to not eat a lot more than U normally would have however if U need, any low-carb snack is fine. I see U R on th CAD program. If after a couple months as a nonsmoker U have put on weight, that may be the time to switch to a different LC program. I wish U lots of luck!! Its worth it.

[Darkginger]

I'm not an expert (nor do I play one online!), but it seems to me that one of the reasons that people gain weight after quitting smoking is that the metabolism slows down a little. That, and the feeling of needing to do something with your hands/mouth, which can lead to excess snacking. So, it seems logical to me that a way to avoid weight gain would have to address those issues.

Consequently, I'm (I quit a week ago) upping the exercise somewhat - from at least 30 mins cardio/day to at least 40 mins, and making sure that I don't snack in between meals. I let myself snack last week - probably would have gone mad otherwise! - but am back to being 'good' this week.

I'll keep you posted about whether I manage to continue losing weight this way. I've already noticed that the exercise is a lot more fun, because I don't get so puffed so quickly - and today I conquered a hill - whilst cycling - that I've always had to walk up before!

So, even if I do stop losing for a while, or even gain a little (praying that I don't, though!) - the benefits of stopping smoking outweigh (no pun intended) the disadvantage of slowed weight loss!

Jo

[gwilson38]

Congrats on being a non-smoker. The MAIN reason why people gain weight after they quit smoking is metabolism. Now having said that, most people wont put on much more than 10 pounds due strickly to a metabolism change. I would say most people who gain substantial amounts are eating more than they did B 4 they quit. All of us are different. I had only put on 5 pounds in 2 months but now that I am off the patch Im a little nervous I may gain more.....Im hopeful that because I am very careful I shouldnt gain more but if I do there isnt a bunch I can do about it, just have to wait until my body start performing better. Keep up the good work !!! being a non-smoker is far more important than struggling a bit with your weight for a few months.

[2bfree]

Hey, Shari

It is great that you are going to kick the habit. I've heard that there are a couple of reasons that SOME people gain weight, not all, although I think the majority do. I have been officially nicotene free for 1 week and 3 days, and have been doing some reading to find out how to keep the weight down. I read somewhere in this forum, that when we give up smoking :thup: , our metabolism drops by about 10%. If you eat 2000 calories, that equates to 200 calories not burned(I hope that is clear enough ;) ).

Sooooo, you could do a number of things to make up for the discrepency, from cutting calories to upping exercise a little. I also heard from one of the moderaters that green tea seems to raise the metabolism by about 6%(look into this). More than likely, after the initial withdrawal, you will feel sooo much better that you will want to be more active so, don't stress. One of the great things about your quit is that you are doing it while lowcarbing, too. For me, it really helped with the cravings for cigarettes and food.

Whoa, that was a long one. Once again I think it's great that you are quitting. :yay:

Grace

[cwfgirl]

Quitting definitely stalled my weight loss for about a month. I started low carbing in November and quit smoking on Jan. 1 so I was still very actively losing. My opinion is just stick with your WOE, follow it closely and don't give up no matter what. The pounds will start to drop off again. Water, water, water. Many benefits for us LC'ers but also curbs cravings. And consider some cardio exercise if you haven't already.

I'm 6 months smoke free today and have lost 35 pounds. You can do it and we are all here to keep you encouraged and motivated.

[Karsuepas]

Ok I am smoke free now for 13 months. When I stopped smoking every one told me not to worry about the weight gain so I didn't. I did gain 30 lbs. I am now working to take the weight off. However, I must say that I do feel much better. Can breathe easier and even walk more than a block. I think most of my problem was when I stopped smoking every time I wanted a cigarette I put something in my mouth to eat. Most of the time that was something sweet like cake or chocolate. So it is my opinion just to watch what you are eating. You will be just fine and you will feel so much better.

Good luck to all of you!

Karen

[mischa]

almost 6 month here. Yes it did slow down weight loss..but the I still lost weight and I am free from a addiction!

Go for it..you can do it:)

Mischa :)

[Karsuepas]

Good for you Mischa! When is your 6 month anniversary?

Karen

[terri_ga]

Thanks for your post. It gives people like me incentive that we too can quit. We are all so afraid of gaining weight that we totally forget the health benefits of quitting. What better time to lay down the cancer sticks than now when we are on a low carb diet??