Quitting smoking and weight gain...
 

I quit smoking yesterday, and I am doing okay I guess.... I keep reaching for my cigarettes and forgetting they aren't there, but I'm not suffering horribly as I did last year when I quit for four days.

I ate a little more than usual yesterday, I usually stay around 1400 calories but yesterday I was closer to 1900 calories. This morning I woke up and I was 2 lbs higher than I was yesterday morning. If that isn't a trigger to resmoke I don't know what is!! I am chewing my nicorette and still on plan, but I sure am bummed out. I don't even feel swollen or anything. And I know I didn't really gain 2 lbs overnight.

Anyone have any experience with quitting and losing weight at the same time? I am going to keep doing things the way I am doing it, and I am not going to let this make me start smoking or start eating junk.

I quit smoking while losing weight but didn't have any gain from it. For me, the key was to keep my mind busy and focused on other things. Good for you on quitting and good luck with your goals.

I quit smoking and was able to lose 20 pounds. I accomplished that through healthy eating, lots of exercise, and substitution.

By what I mean by substitution I replaced smoking with nicorette & coffee. I admit I have a major addiction to the both of them. But I think that's healthier than filling my lungs with carcinogens.

One day I'll quit the nicorette, but not now. I can't fight on too many fronts at once. Weight loss is my main concern.

In my humble opinion, if you ate 500 calories more than you usually eat, and those calories came from low calorie, high volume foods like fruits and veggies, (500 calories worth of fruit and vegetables weigh a lot!) then those 2 pounds are merely fiber and veggie matter in your colon. It'll be gone after a healthy, ahem...BM. :D

AWESOME job on quitting. I too quit smoking, (and drinking) within a few weeks of starting my healthy diet and it sucked at first, but heck, I figured if I was going to make my family miserable I might as well get it all over at once!

Congrats for quitting smoking. You can do it! Just remain strong.
Remember that if you weigh every day, the scale is going to fluctuate due to water weight. Did you eat alot of stuff that has sodium? Like LoriBell said, could be veggies.
Speaking from my own personal experience, Don't replace smoking with high calorie items, like chocolate, fast food, etc. That is what I did and still trying to lose that weight now. You can do this. Just take it one pound at a time. One day at a time. So make sure you keep the healthy stuff around you.

Well yesterday the extra calories came from homemade chocolate chip cookies, that were only in the house because I used baking to keep me busy. I don't even really like cookies.

Today I am doing a little bit better, I ate my breakfast, snack and lunch too close together so I did go a lot longer than I would have liked for dinner. I think I will be okay. I need a different keep busy activity other than baking for sure though.

I quit a few years ago and I'm a big believer in replacing an old habit with a new one. I smoked a pack a day, that means TWENTY TIMES A DAY for at least 8 minutes, I had a kind of hole where I didn't know what to do with myself. I was a very habitual smoker - wake up, smoke. Eat breakfast, smoke. Shower, get dressed, smoke (stink! omg, you don't realize how much it stinks and how stinky you must have been till you quit and then you just never want that smell in your life or on you ever again), work breaks - smoke. Meals - smoke. Twenty times a day you have to say oh, I would be smoking but...what do I do!

I ate a lot of popsicles. Then I ate a lot of Mentos. It's summer time, you can eat fruit. I learned to do embroidery (www.sublimestitching.com has fun, cute patterns that aren't nana-ish and very simple instructions, you could make all your Christmas gifts!) and I learned to knit (badly) to keep myself busy while watching tv.

It's been years since I craved smoking. It has totally lost it's appeal. I see someone outside in the heat or cold or raining, trying to get that smoke and I think - so glad that's not me. I am trying to think of giving up Diet Coke and sugar in the same way. When I think of giving those things up, I don't think I'll ever really not want them. I think I'll always want them and feel deprived - but I thought I'd feel that way about smoking and I don't so maybe someday I'll feel that way about Diet Coke and sugar.

Good luck. It's so worth it. You CAN do it!

I didnt' quit at the same time but quit 3 years ago. Keeping busy is a big help and keeping lowfat low calorie foods to help is a good option! Sugarfree gum - celery or carrot sticks

I quit in March '09, via hypnotherapy. I was fortunate as it worked the first time - I was really ready to quit. It didn't work for DH - he still smokes, but only outside in his 'man cave' on the back porch. Unfortunately, I replaced smoking with eating, so I ballooned (I'm guessing that I gained at least 40 lbs.). I was fat before, but LORDY did I go from grass-fed to feed lot, yowsers!

The reason for sharing this is to mention the option of hypnotherapy. It didn't keep me from gaining weight, but your mileage may vary since you are already on the weight loss path. I was still white-water rafting down da Nile.

Good luck!

Robin