[Cleo1975]

well I've lost 7&1/2 pounds since the 28th of december 2010 I'm very happy about it, but I slipped with giving up smoking. The Diet is going great, not as bad as I thought it was going to be(didn't like veg). But gave up the ciggies for 4 days and started again. Am I doing it wrong?? doing them at the same time?? I'm feeling such a failure not having the will power to give up

[angelskeep]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Either task alone would be difficult. Maybe you are asking too much of yourself. Have you considered doing one and then the other? I quit smoking first, a couple of years ago and gained a LOT of weight. Last year, I decided to lose the weight plus a few extra pounds I already had, and it's working pretty well. I don't think I could have done both things at the same time, and I had a relatively easy go of it with the quitting smoking.

You have to figure out what will work best for YOU. And then focus oj doing that as well as you can. And be forgiving if you slip sometimes. And don't give up no matter what!

Barb

[stef]

I used to be a smoking cessation facilitator (bless the NHS for their job titles). One hint I would give is that whenever you want a cigarette eat something healthy like a yoghurt, apple or other food that you want to eat as part of your diet - sort of using the craving to increase your healthy eating!

Eating something means your body and brain get something that fills the feed me craving that wanting a cigarette mimics. This is why we tend to gain weight when quitting, the have a fag signal is identical to the eat something signal. Same chemicals, same part of the brain, same need/craving.

Fortunately the drink something signal is also the same. Some clients were very successful using a straw to drink from - they could twiddle the straw and drink through it too so both the do something with your hands and feed me habits were solved.

I could go on and on, sorry. But I would be very happy to help if you feel the need. Otherwise just ignore me

[Hyacinth]

Personally, I would find it to be too much change to focus on weight loss and smoking cessation at the same time. I focused on one and made sure I had tackled it before moving on to the other.

[ems81wales]

yea i couldnt do the two at once so i gave up the smoking first then i done the diet xxx

[Flamethrower]

You might find that smoking while dieting, for the first few months, might actually help, because it IS a stress relief.

Quitting smoking at the same time as starting a diet might be too much, so I would personally wait until I was in the swing of things diet-wise before quitting the ciggies.

Also, as you lose weight you will generally feel healthier all round, which might make quitting smoking slightly easier.

[Cleo1975]

thank you everyone xx



[