Cigarettes

I have recently heard that the average smoking American gains 8 pounds when they quit smoking. I understand that when you are a smoker it takes more energy to do things and that might account for extra calories burned. 8 pounds though? Really is it just from the desire to put something in ones mouth, thus causing a person to over eat. See I ask because I have recently cut way back on the smoking and want to quit completely. I also am trying to loose weight and my trainer said, if you want to loose weight, don't quit smoking until you reach your goal. Also there is this Movie called The Miror Has Two Faces where in order to entice a Man Ms. Streisand starts working out and starts smoking.

Thu. Feb 14, 4:14pm

My mother gained 40 pounds in 5 months because of quitting smoking. What I realized when she went back to smoking is that she didn't have a plan for her time. She didn't know what during the times she would typically smoke. She tried again after we talked about it and she was successful because she had a plan on what she was going to do during her breaks at work and her smoke times at home that didn't involve eating. Most of the time she went for walks or had a mint. In the first two weeks, she knittted during those times so her hands were busy also.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 4:18 PM

I gained 15 lbs when I quit based on the fact that I replaced each smoke with a KitKat bar :-P

I think I was so skinny before because I preferred cigs over meals some times.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 4:45 PM

It isn't only the habit of having something in your mouth; nicotine is a stimulant and an appetite suppressant. Smoking cigarettes is like a mild form of taking old-fashioned "diet pills." Caffeine has the same effects, although again it is much milder than prescription drugs.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:11 PM

that's a great point 5:11. It's a terrible thing to go through to quit, but short term and so worth it.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:15 PM

HMMM! Kit Kat bar! So is the concensus I should quit altogether while trying to avoid Kit Kat bars? Or try to get my healthy lifestyls and weight loss goals I am already working toward and then add this fuel to the fire?

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:25 PM

It's never good time to quit - there will always be reasons why 'now' is a bad time to quit. I recommend quitting and changing your lifestyle at the same time - might as well make a clean break in more ways than one, but then I am a fan of radical change from time-to-time. I quit after 2 packs a day for 8 years and I won't say it was easy, but I didn't gain any weight and I suspect it was because it never occured to me to replace cigarettes with food, but i do think this is the case for many. They turn to something else to fill the void left by smoking. You might actually log your cigarettes the way you do your food and see if there any emotional triggers where you could plan out your coping strategy in advance. Best wishes to you in living healthy - it's worth it!

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:44 PM

Loggoning my cigarettes! That sounds like a terrific idea. Thank you! I never thought of it.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:45 PM

I meant logging my cigarettes but was a little too excited to proof read.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:46 PM

I quit smoking 2 years ago and lost 20 pounds at the same time!
I was finally able to run, exercise and do whatever I wanted without being winded. Gaining weight while quitting I believe is due to replacing those cigarettes with food. Don't do that, continue with your healthy eating and exercise plans and you'll be fine! Don't use losing weight as an excuse to keep smoking. You'll be happy in the long run!

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 6:16 PM

I'm wanting to quit smoking at sometime too, but I know how I tend to behave, and since I just started working out a month ago I'm going to give myself a little more time before I try to conquer the cigs. The plan is to workout for now so that I'm used to it, then when I set forth to quit in like a month or two(havent' set an actually date yet, but I will) I will up my working out. If I want a cigarette I will go for a walk or even just go do something. Anything that I don't currently relate to smoking. Deffinately no driving or bars. Those are big triggers. I'm deffinately a stress smoker. When life gets stressful and hectic I smoke more, so I'm just going to use working out to relieve that stress. It will work, it has too. My life and my health depend on it to work. If one sees quiting as something else that they have succeeded at, i.e. working out, it will be easier.

Thursday, February 14, 2008, 11:59 PM

I gained 10 lbs. Yes cigarettes are 100% an appetite suppresant.
Before I quit I thrived on coffee on cigarettes ..... mmmm man I could go for a smoke right now.
(BTW the craving never goes away)

Friday, February 15, 2008, 9:33 AM

OP here

Thank you all for your suggestions and stories. I think I can quit and loose weight. A little extra will power.

Friday, February 15, 2008, 9:42 AM

my friend went to our local osteopath and he did acupuncture treatment to her ear 3x a week for 8 weeks. Cost her around $200 (minimal compaired to cigarettes). She not only quit smoking, but the acupuncture took away her cravings. She did put on about 5 pounds just because she was able to taste food again.

Another friend of mine used hypnosis (i did for weight loss and it didn't work for me) and she walked around cigarettes on the ground for months without realizing she did it. It worked for her.

Good luck to all who are quitting!

Friday, February 15, 2008, 10:05 AM

Cigarette

When you quit smoking, a gain of between 5 and 10 pounds during the first few months of cessation is normal. If your eating habits have remained the same as they were when you smoked, you can easily shed this small gain with a brisk, 30 minute walk daily. You can try to visit this site to learn more about cigarette.
http://stopsmokinghabits.com

Link

Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 12:16 AM

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