I was really debating on whether or not to post this, but I decided in the end to go ahead.. so here I go!
A bunch of stuff has helped me gain weight recently.. since they are new things I am still coping with them. These things are, as you can see by the title, the fact that I have quit smoking (today has been 9 days straight without one, yay me), and I recently started to take birth control, which we all know adds weight! =x.
Has anyone ever dealt with these things, either together or seperately? How did you get around them?
first of all, congratulations on quitting smoking. i quit recently too - it has now been 2 months and 12 days (but whose counting )
the reason i avoided quitting for so long was that i was concerned about putting on weight. however, trying to lose weight and be healthy while smoking didn't make sense at the end of the day so i bit the bullet and quit.
i have not put on weight, but have hovered around the same weight since quitting - so no loss either. i think that i still need to make better choices with food but am trying to make a conscious effort to not eat when i have a craving for a cigarette or am simply bored. i found that nicotine gum and regular sugar free gum/drops is a good substitute for me. i prefer something that takes an action rather than a patch.
my exercise has increased dramatically since april and i believe that is helping me maintain for now. once i conquor the food - the world is mine!
i am not on birth control, and haven't been for a number of years so i can't really comment on that. the birth control i was on before was depo provera and i can't say that i experienced any weight gain with it. perhaps your doctor could advise of another brand that may not encourage you to gain weight either?
Fae, congrats on the quitting smoking! keep at it!
I also haven't been on BC for a few years, but when i was, I gained weight. However, I have recently read a few articles that say that there is no medical studies that have proved that being on BC pills cause weight gain! I was shocked, then I started to think that maybe it was the relationships i was in that were causing the weight gain This might not be the case for all BC pills though.
I've heard the same things as denice - and I asked my doctor about it a little while and he asid that BC basically causes more water retention, but there's actually little evidence of it causing weight gain. I don't know myself, 'cause I went on BC just a little before I moved out on my own, and that's when my eating and exercise habits changed... I'm still on it, though, and I don't think it's hindered my weight loss so far. Hope this helps a little. And congrats on deciding to quit smoking! Just think how much easier it'll be to exercise now - good luck!
Maybe someone can help me out with the exact quote here, but I read somewhere that you have to put on something like 72lbs to hurt your health as much as smoking does. So 5lbs here or there will be much healthier for you than if you keep smoking! I quit a year and 3 or 4 months ago, and am on BC... I didn't see any BC- or quitting-related weight gain. I was just so finished with smoking by the time I finally committed to stopping that I hardly went through much psychological withdrawl, I had done all that while still physically addicted.
My roommate who had smoked for something like 8 years by the time she was 23 quit this past spring. She put on a little weight, but tried to make sure her snack food was healthy-like... dried fruit, ff pudding, stuff like that. She also found that buying freezies/popsicles with a low cal content helped, because sucking on something helped her cravings subside.
And while it may be more difficult to lose weight while dealing with quitting, it's not impossible and you'll feel better for it! You've come this far already, why not keep going?
I've never been a smoker, but I can comment on the BC. I've actually found that going on BC helps me control the PMS-food binges that I was experiencing before. I haven`t gained weight since I've been on it, and I actually lost easier because my cycle (which can totally wreck me as far as emotional eating goes) was more controlled and predictable.
When I went on birth control a few years ago, my ob gyn told me that the new forms of birth control don't contribute to weight gain (however, the old type of birth control that our mom's may have been taking, did)
Well, I am going through your same situation. I haven't completely quit smoking (shame on me), I have cut back from more than a pack a day to anywhere from 2-5 cigarettes a day. I ultimately want to quit, I just am being stubborn. Since cutting back, I have been conscious of the gaining weight factor, so I have been ever-the-more motivated to eat healthy. I am actually at my lowest weight in quite some time. I am on BC, but not the pill, I am on the "shot" (Depo) and every time I go in for it (once every three months) I had not gained or lost a single pound. But hopefully my next time I'll be down a little. Anyways, I feel that a lot of it is mental. IE, "they say you gain with BC, so that 5 pound gain is out of my control" and then you do actually gain. I don't know. Just stick to your guns and you can conquer anything!
Quitting Smoking, BC, and weight loss?
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This might not be the case for all BC pills though.
I quit a year and 3 or 4 months ago, and am on BC... I didn't see any BC- or quitting-related weight gain. I was just so finished with smoking by the time I finally committed to stopping that I hardly went through much psychological withdrawl, I had done all that while still physically addicted.
