You guys have been wonderful so far.. I have another "What do you think?" question!

As well as being fat, I am a heavy smoker. I want to give up both (food and smokes) This said, realistically I know giving up both at the same time will be very hard for me, I don't have the strongest willpower in the world and I am concerned the WHOLE thing will backfire.

I started my diet today, not following any specific diet, just trying to eat MUCH healthier for now and cut down on quantity, once I have that going on for a couple of weeks I will start a diet plan, just not sure which one yet... this said, I am still smoking like it is my job.

Do you think I SHOULD try and stop everything at once? Or get on the plan with one (food) before starting to stop the other? (smokes)

I am concerned if I stop the smokes first I will eat more meaning more weight to try and shift...

Any suggestions?

Thanks so much in advance!

Hi, OrangeNFeral!

I don't know how tall you are, but I think at 153 pounds you should stop smoking first, and then deal with any extra weight you may have gained after you are firmly not smoking.

The reason I suggest this is because I would hate for you to smoke even more as a result of dieting and be using the ciggies as a crutch/replacement for food. Plus, at 153 pounds the greater danger to your health is the cigarettes, not the weight.

Good luck!!

True...

It is a two-sided coin. I stop smoking = I eat more. I stop eating like I do = I smoke more! ARGH!

I am 5ft 5in BTW

I have known people who did it both ways. Some prefer to get all the "cold turkey" over with in one shot; others who could only handle shedding one addiction at a time. I think you should just spend some time thinking about what life with controlled eating will be like -- the upsides and the downsides, and the same with quitting smoking. Will it be better for you to do both at once, or one then the other? Either way, you're going to have to figure out what both substances do for you, what your triggers are, etc., and how to deal with them WITHOUT that substance. If you quit one at a time and simply transfer the behavior/reliance to the remaining addiction, you may not make as much progress overall.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you start to exercise, being a smoker will make that MUCH more difficult. It will take a while for the crud to clear your system after you quit, so factor that into your equation.

OK, I may be stepping over some boundries here, and I do not mean to be rude, and sorry if this sounds harsh, but Do it all...I have had cancer twice...YOU DO NOT WANT IT!!!!! Just give up those cancer stix put the money towards a trainer or something

I think going cold turkey on both is the best way to go. Get in a great walk every day and go ONE WEEK without a smoke and eating really healthy food. Just barrel through it and feel the difference in yourself. My personal, biased, opinion is that the Sugar Busters way of eating is so healthy and really easy to stick to once you get a groove going. You can check on Amazon for the book or any book store will have it. Check Borders or something. Really, if you push yourself for just one week with a good half hour walk, healty food, lots of water and no smokes, you will feel like a new person at the end of the week. The first two days will be enormously hard, but just consider it a free fall into a new healthy, happy life. Your body WILL thank you for it...after a breif couple days of torture, that is.

Keep us posted!! YOU CAN DO IT!!

I'm in agreement with the previous posts...if you are changing your lifestyle - it might be easier to change both things at once...make new habits for all of it at the same time.

On the other hand - if you are better at baby steps....lose the smoking habit first and start exercising. Then you might accomplish both goals without changing too much about how you eat. (I think the healthier eating could still be slid in there along the way.)

Now we have the height--how old are you? 120 pounds for a 5'5" frame is actually in the MIDDLE of a normal range. Just my opinion, but that is an unnecessarily LOW goal weight and makes me wonder what your current image is of yourself and possibly which movie star you want to look like when you're done. I.e., set REALISTIC goals. If you are a healthy and FIT person, then you can carry more weight, but it will look like less (i.e., muscle takes up less "space" on your body).

I'm personally with FishCamp--stop smoking. When you stop smoking, start a food journal to keep you honest on what you're eating. If your goal is to do nothing more than MAINTAIN your current weight until you have been smoke free for a couple months, I think that's good. Losing weight is going to be a PITA unless you do some exercise and if you're smoking like a chimney, it's gonna be damn tough to exercise. So...stop the smoking, concentrate on maintaining, and as soon as you're ready, start some exercise (like walking). As was said earlier, you may just find the weight slowly slipping down without really thinking too consciously about calories.

I think the other thing you need to do is take a really honest look at yourself--not just your weight, but your self-image. Just be open to the idea that while 120 pounds may be possible for your height, it may not be a realistic--not even a necessary--weight goal for you to be slim and healthy.

BTW, if you go by a rough BMI calculation, for someone of your height, a weight range of 111-149 is considered normal. Just food for thought.