ARGH!

This is Day 2 of kicking butts. I went from smoking just over a pack a day to...nothing.

I have to confess, that I smoked one. I found it in a jar that I used to keep my extras. So it's old, stale and a really nasty kind. And you know what? It was a total mistake. Now I'm coughing, and breathing heavily and my throat feels all weird. But, my insatiable need to feed is over.

Any advice on quitting and weight loss? I feel like I've been eating non-stop. Even my plan of activity to ward off cravings isn't helping. AHHHHH

Oh, sweetie! You are doing so well to have only slipped once in the first 2 days!!!

So, here's what helps others sometimes: Taking up knitting or another activity, brushing teeth frequently or using mouthwash, having handy and eating carrots, celery, cucumber and other low-calorie foods, drinking lots of water, going for walks...all the things that help in other areas when we need to keep our mind (and hands) active!

I just celebrated my 10th anniversary of being a non-smoker. It is very difficult to quit cold . If you "eat" more than you have been doing you will gain weight. You need to replace the oral habit with something else, for me it was nicotine gum...I don't think I would have ever quit without it. I then switched to sugar free gum...which I still chew on an hourly basis.

SoulBliss has given you some helpful detractors also.

Good luck!!

I am chewing gum. I went to walmart and bought just about every kind of gum they had, single packs at first. I worked my way through them and then the ones I really liked I went and got more of.

I started off chewing it constantly, from the second I woke up to the just before going to bed. Slowly I began to forget to graba piece when I up and so on. I started eating everything in sight as well. Now when I get a HUGE craving (they are not coming as often now) I hit the tread mill.

I am doing good, one major fallback the first week, but nothing since then. I quite smoking August 19, 2007.

Honestly? I wouldn't even attempt both at once. I would personally recommend you quit smoking first, then try weight loss. Because quitting smoking won't take as long as weight loss and is likely more detrimental to your health. Both are extremely stressfull, both at once, a likely recipe for disaster and extreme discouragement.

I stopped smoking and a year later began my weight loss. It was easier taking one thing at a time. Even with weight loss, it's often suggested that you try one or two changes at a time. The same can be said with life goals like quitting smoking and losing weight. We just can't heap too much on our plates at once (pun intended).

The craving will lessen the longer you stay nicotine free. I PROMISE this is true. But you can't give in. Don't even think of having another "just one." That only keep the craving going. This is where the phrase "tough it out" applies. You gotta get through it. The first three days are the worst. Get through them and keep going!

Jay

I quit cold turkey in 1994. What was different this time than other times when I was unsucessful, was that I did not cheat one time. No bumming, no searching the garbage for butts no holding a pack of cigs for someone else. Nothing. I think cold turkey is the only way to fly (because that is the way I did it ). That way you don't get addicted to the gum/patch whatever. I seem to have known quite a few folks who couldn't get off the gum.

Only you can say for sure if you should try to loose weight and quit smoking at the same time. If you really love a challenge, go for it. Something to consider is that you could maintain while quitting. Last time I quit, I really gained a lot. If I had just tried to remain the same, it would have helped.

You've gotten lots of great advice--After watching my Grandmother die of lung cancer, I quit cold turkey 10 years ago. Honestly I never thought I could do it that way. I thought for sure I'd need the patch or the gum or something--but I did it the hard way. So, if I could do it--I KNOW you can!! Just keep at it, keep your hands and your mouth busy--knitting (sewing, scrapbooking, etc) and chewing gum are big helps with that. Anytime you get a craving just remember WHY you're quitting. You can do it--and I believe you can do both (quitting smoking and weightloss--or at least maintaining your weight)!! Anytime you start to feel weak or frustrated or feeling a craving coming on--post here! We'll help ya out!

Good luck! You CAN do this!!!

I have a sweeeet thing since quiting and a not so sweet thing.

The sweet thing is that I can now exercise and not wheeze, already! I can laugh, you know that huge belly laugh, and not start coughing! This is after only three weeks! (I smoked a pack a day for 11 years)

Now the not so sweet thing. I can smell, and you know what, my hubby has some nasty morning breath!

Thanks all! Hopefully day 3 will be a little easier, and now I have some new ideas to keep me occupied.

I quit late April of this year, cold turkey. I bought so much sugarless gum it wasn't funny. Drank loads of water and yes for the first month or so I ate like an idiot. After that was done, I began to feel better. There is no way I would have been able to start running if I was still a smoker so in the end, it did aid in my weight loss!

I think that's the key. My husband and I both quit together, 6-16-01. We smoked the last two we had and vowed to not buy anymore. Well, he started sneaking one from a co-worker now and then, and then from a friend, and eventually, he bought another pack. When I found out he was smoking, I made him AT LEAST keep them away from me. His smoking doesn't bother me now. But back then, it would make me start craving a cigarette. And my vow was to not touch one. I knew that even one would send me back. It had before. Went out for drinks one night, started smoking from a friend's pack and eventually just bought my own pack that night, then the next night and so on. So this time, I was not going to have even one. And when I found myself in a situation with smoke that was tempting me, I'd remove myself from that situation.

Congratulations! I quit smoking about 6 weeks ago. I lost 10 or more pounds before I did because I didn't want to limit myself munchies if I got cravings, but I feel great now. I don't even want to smoke.

Hey, if you want company on the journey, I started a Baby Steps Brigade Thread in the support section of the site. It's me and another lady now, but it's about making new habits, getting rid of the old ones, step by step.

In the sake of honesty, I've failed, at least for the time being. I couldn't get through the day, with 3 sick girls, 2 dogs and a business to run being as tired, anxious, depressed and upset as I was for those 3 days. I'm having a root canal on Monday, and I've been told no smoking until I had the crown on (2-3 weeks later). That may just do it for me.