My biggest fear is gaining more weight. I have quit smoking before for short periods of time. The last time or two, although I had incredible urges for cigs, I recognized that my urges to eat were to fill the cravings the cig left, and that there was NOTHING I could EAT that would fill that craving. So I didn't eat to fill it. However, I couldn't stop smoking long enough to find out the effects of gaining weight.

Reason I'm bringing this up is because I have read that there was some research done on the subject of quitting smoking and gaining weight. They concluded that women have a harder time quitting smoking and they gain weight because of chemical or hormonal differences. To me this means its not so much a matter of whether you eat to fill that nicotine craving, as ... I'm going to gain weight simply because of my chemical constitution.

Has anyone out there NOT tried to fill that empty nicotine craving with eating? Did you still gain weight? Just wondering if there is any way to avoid this weight gain.

I'm on my 5th week smokefree. So far (knock on wood), I'm holding my own when it comes to the weight.

Water, water, water!!! Crave anything, open some bottled water.

But the best way to keep from craving food....keep cupboards/refrigerator to the bare minimal until you're satisfied you have complete control over what goes in your mouth. Not logical for some, but it is for me since I'm by myself most of the time when I'm not working.

I cannot bare the thoughts of even gaining an ounce at my age.

Take care..............jan

So you haven't gained weight in the five weeks since quitting smoking?

I seldom have food cravings. I'm not one of those people who gains weight from eating too much. I gained all my weight from 4 pregnancies. However, I am one of those people who eats almost nothing. My biggest problem with this diet is remembering to eat, and forcing myself to make something.

I typically eat one meal a day that's balanced and I eat pretty regular portions then. And I'm not generally a snacker, so having food in the house for the rest of the family is no problem. But of course, the problem is that the rest of the day, my body thinks its starving to death. So although I'm not actually gaining because I eat so little, what I do eat, my body stores. Just hung around the same weight for years like that.

Point being, all my cravings are going to come from the nicotine when I quit. Oh, and then of course, there's Pepsi. That's the other thing that kills my diet, and its a big one.

Think I better wait till I at least get used to the diet before I try to quit. You didn't do both at the same time, did you?

Jean

Hi Jean,

I'm not actually dieting yet. I'm watching what I put in my mouth.

I'm really a chocoholic, and that is what I always crave. Broke down today and ate couple of bites of a Hershey chocolate bar.....first in 37 days.

Wanna know what made me dump the cigs? About 6 weeks ago, I received a phone call from my sister telling me our younger brother had a heart attack. I decided right then and there........I wanna live to see grandkids.

To say it scared the crap outta me is putting it mild.

I set a date/time to throw 'em away. Couldn't wait for the set time that particular day because I would have needed to buy another pack. My time was 2:00pm........dumped 'em at 7:30am that morning.

Take care..............jan

Jan,

Are you using patches or gum or anything? I tried a number of times cold turkey. I appear to people to be very laid back, but in fact, all my nervous energy goes into smoking. So when things get rough, it gets extremely hard not to run to the store for cigs.

Another thing that scares me is, last time I tried to quit, the urge to smoke and the cravings were so terrible! I was off cigs for about a week so the nicotine should have been gone from my system. But the cravings were "vicious." I don't even know how to describe it... even when I gave in and started smoking again, it was like I just couldn't get enough. This went on for about 6 months, where I smoked almost constantly and still felt like it wasn't enough. So now I'm smoking more than ever before, and it all started with trying to quit!

So the thought of quitting and gaining weight, and the thought of those vicious nicotine cravings and ending up smoking more, are pretty terrifying to me.

Really have to give you a lot of credit for quitting the way you did! How is your brother doing now?

Jean

No patches or any other type of help. I work in a doctor's office so if I need anything, they'd make sure I had it. I've even had 2 patients tell me that I inspired them to quit.

If I had to chose between gaining weight or dying, gaining weight would win hands down.

I emailed my sister on the day I quit, and I'm going to enclose it here. I used the subject line "Decided I wanted to live."

Here it is, uncensored:

Ok, let's face it. We both have bad habits. You like to eat, and I like to smoke. But you know what, the scare the other day made me look at life differently. I've decided I want to live, and not die from heart failure. And since it runs so strong in our family, I've made my choice.

This morning at 7:30, I decided enough is enough so I didn't wait for my deadline (2:30 this afternoon), I smoked what I hope to be my last cig.

Didn't it scare you? Think about it Sue, you have more on this earth than I do. If I went, my girls would be without a mom. If you went, your kids/grandkids would be without a mom/grandmom. So, you stand to lose more than me.

Guess from now on, it's going to be strictly willpower. Dr. S. said the first 2-3 weeks are the worse, but today has been horrible for me. It's like time has stood still. I bought grapes for whenever I get the "urge", and I'm drinking more water today than I would all week long.

It's your call. And, I'm not preaching!!

Love,
sister

PS. My brother is doing fine...........jan

Interesting as far as the point on weight gain...

I just quit 10 days ago & my weight had been pretty steady prior to quitting, & just recently experienced a gain w/out change in diet at all. I've replaced my smoking habit with water instead of food.

I wonder if there is something to that article... I know that heart rate, and blood pressure often drops after quitting since nicotine is a stimulant. I wonder if that has effect on metabolism. I guess time will tell. Hopefully my weight will come down again soon! Still no regrets. I feel good about quitting & am not letting a couple lbs keep me from keeping on w/the decision to quit.

Jan, so glad to hear your brother is okay. )

PotenShill,

As far as I can remember, it was a chemical change that caused the weight gain, but of course, that change may have directly affected metabolism. I don't remember much more about it. Would be a good research project for us, I guess.

You're only talking about not letting a few pounds keep you from quitting. I could handle a few... but they were talking 20-40 lbs. I don't remember over how long a period of time... if this was something that happened fairly quick or went on for a long time.

If its over a long period of time, I would be afraid it would stall the diet for possibly as much as a year. If its a metabolism change, and you stuck with water to fill the urges, and increased exercise to bring the metabolism back up, maybe that would totally offset it?

Jean

20-40lbs... oh my - I hope it's not true!!!

Miriam,

I did do some checking around the internet. Although I didn't find the exact study I had read about, I did find "quit smoking" sites that talked about similar studies. Here is basically what they all had to say:

You were right... one of the problems it had to do with was lower metabolism. They said avoid or drink half as much coffee, some sites say decaf. Exercise to raise your metabolism, no surprise there.

The other had to do with eating to fill the nicotine gap. Eat healthy snacks, use nicorette gum, etc.

They were basically talking a weight gain of 7-20 lbs over a five year period for the average person quitting smoking. If you are a long-term smoker, like me (30 years), chances are you can gain as much as 40 lbs. Also depends on how many cigs a day you smoke.

Right now, drinking coffee and smoking a lot, I have the metabolism of a slug... so I think I'm in trouble. I can't cut down on carbs or calories since I eat almost nothing as it is. So I guess major exercise and eating 3-6 meals or snacks of vegies is the only way to go for me.

Think you'll be ok though.... when I read over a period of five years... well that makes all the difference in the world.

Jean

Hi Jean W...I can identify with you and all your fears about quitting smoking. I went through the same things like ...will I gain weight, will I be able to handle the cravings etc. I had quit smoking twice before (For two years each time) and dumb me, over a period of stress (divorce ) I started up again. Both those times, weight gain wasn't so much a problem but then I was much younger then( first time30 and second time 40). I did it the first time, cold turkey and the second time with the help of hypnosis...Anyway, this time I was really concerned about the awful feeling you were describing with withdrawal. Trust me they can be extreme. I happen to have a severe anxiety disorder and I knew that quitting would trigger an episode. I tried cold turkey in August but after three days I was so out of it , my husband said to find another method to quit. Even though I don't like to admit it to people, I have been in the Pschychiatric ward many times before ( bipolar disorder) and I've been away from it for more than two years now so I sure as heck didn't want to land up there again!!!
In fact my psychiatrist said that smoking for me was the lesser of the two evils!!! Imagine that!
Finally I say enough was enough. My doctor prescribed anti-anxiety medication over my usual and I took a pill whenever the anxiety got too bad. I also went on the patch and followed the program sort of. I didn't go down as drastically as before because sure as heck the severe withdrawals would come back!!! So instead i cut the patch little by little (sealing exposed area with scotch tape) and took my sweet time about it. I didn't care if it took me six months to do it, but I was not going to go through any of those severe anxiety withdrawal attacks. Well lo and behold...I have been smoke free since Sept 1.2003 and I haven't landed in the hospital either!!! So I've overcome that fear at least. Now for the weight gain...
I'm afraid I'm not so successful in that departement...I've gained 13 lbs. so far and I feel so bloated I'm sure I would float!!! My girls (I have four) keep telling me not to worry about the weight gain for now, but I can't help but think if I don't watch it now, what's going to happen???
I tried over the last month to go low carb but I just don't have enough willpower left over for that.
Right now I'm really in the dumps ( typical on and off) and I wasn't even going to write anyway...In fact I felt like unsuscribing to the whole forum.
So in a way, thanks for your letter and others on the thread .t got me going to try and help someonee else instead of feeling sorry for myself! Hope you can do it soon ( but only when you're ready)
Lots of luck!

No, don't unsubscribe! We can do this together. Or at least commisterate with each other.

I am really pissed at the tobacco companies. If I gain weight, I am suing them for liposuction.

I stopped smoking three months ago. I too was worried about gaining weight because i was up to 194 . It smoked about half a pack a day...not a lot ...but I have asthma and problems with bronchitis so it goes without saying...i needed to quit! I read online that smoking can burn an average of 200-300 calories a day.That was quite depressing to me but i had to do it. I also stopped drinking around that same time. I probably drank about three times a week anywhere from two drinks to five. I had horrible cravings for cigarettes the first month. Every time i got in the car,every time i was in the supermarket. I came so close to giving in,somehow i pulled through and have made three months. I think about it less and less. The best thing is I have lost ten pounds. I walk 3-4 times a week and follow the SPI. It is possible to quit smoking and lose weight. Get healthy first and foremost and let the weight loss be a great side effect!

Hi All, as far as weight gain with quitting...I quit smoking 6 months ago cold turkey, my gain was 17 lbs. I was so careful about what I ate! (and to tell you the truth, if I knew I was going to gain ~anyway~ I'd have eaten GOOD stuff!) I tried to diet the weight off after 3 months but it wouldn't budge. My doctor told me that quitting throws your metabolism way off, especially if you'd been a long-term smoker like me. She said to give myself a 1 year deadline to get the weight off and to stop stressing. I have just now re-started Atkins, the weight is starting to drop! Whew. Don't give up on quitting. I feel better than ever now! Quitnet.com is a great FREE quit smoking site that really helps, it was my saving grace during the first week or two.
Vicky