I am sort of new. I come and go alot. I am ready to fully comitt. I quit smoking 40 days ago and as a result have packed on an alarming 25 pounds. I do good all day until after dinner and then I blow it big time. I have this bad way of thinking. If I blow it with something small I figure well my diet is ruined today I might as well eat whatever else I want. I am eatting large amounts of food. Its so hard they taste so good. Until I quit smoking I didnt have a problem I was still over weight but maintained by making bad food choices not because of overeating.

So anyway the quiting smoking is taken care of and I am ready to lose weight and get my lungs working, (now that they can). Any advice on how you control your overeating would be helpful. I think everyday I say ok today is the day but evening I have ruined it.
Kelly

Kelly-

First off, congrats on quitting smoking!! That's a big, big, step.

I'd recommend eating more throughout the day. While it seems disheartening when you've had "too many"calories to enjoy a big dinner/dessert, it's better off that way because (if you're anything like me, which it sounds like you are) you'll be so much less likely to binge on everything while you're cooking, or waiting for dinner to be ready, or grazing after dinner.

I usually try to work out shortly after dinner.. that way I can't eat toooo much, and I don't have time to walk around and graze on everything (we still have cookies and junk food left over from christmas! ack!!!), and when you've worked out and done something good for your body, it's easier to tell yourself to be good to your body

Good luck!

First of all CONGRATULATIONS ON QUITTING SMOKING!!!! Wow, what you have just done for yourself. You should be commended.

I too would blow it at night, usually because I told myself, I was sooo good all day an extra this and that isn't going to hurt. WRONG. When I decided to change my lifestyle, I looked at my past behaviors to see what needed changing. Well everything needed changing, but the evenings were definitely a biggie. I made myself a rule - "NO EATING PAST 7:30" Period. The only exception I gave myself was Saturday nights, we go out with friends sometimes and of course one can't possibly spend time with other humans and not eat. Once I made the rule that was that. Now I love when the end of the day rolls around and I have stuck to my plan and just the opposite of how I used to be - I don't WANT to blow it in the evenings. It is a great feeling to complete a day of healthy eating. So the biggest thing that I had to change was my THINKING.

Some things to keep me busy at night: Reading, straightening up the house, journaling (reading and writing in it), logging onto 3FC (a G-dsend), exercise, knitting, sewing, needlepoint, TV, minus the noshing of course, manicure, pedicure, bath, getting a jump on the next days chores.

Give yourself a couple of weeks and just hang in there anyway you can. Don't give into it. In just a short time it WILL become habit and secod nature to you. Good luck!!!!

Congratulations on the quitting smoking. I read somewhere that as long as you eat well for 95% of the time, you can still lose weight. So if you have that 1 meal/snack where you've binged then tell yourself, it's okay. I'm going to get back on track my next meal. Sometimes it's easier to break it down by meals instead of days. I'm one of those all or nothing gals too and it is hard to remind myself that if I mess up, it's okay. I can get it right the next meal.

You have three beautiful children, just Keep in mind you are also doing it for them....Keep up the great work

You've gotten some great tips. This has also been a challenge for me in the past. One thing I have really promised myself to do is journal my food choices each day. Knowing that I am going to have to write each bite I take and see it in black and white, seems to give me controll. Pat yourself on the back for the changes you've made and tell yourself you can handle this too.

Kathy

Congratulations on quitting smoking! That is a HUGE accomplishment.

I am just like you in the sense that if I blow it a little on a diet, I figure the diet is ruined so I might as well just ruin it in a BIG way and I binge. I have started eating more throughout the day. I'm a grazer by nature. I eat most of my calories and carbs for breakfast - that way, I have all day to work it off (taking care of kids, doing housework, etc). It's better that I don't go to bed with all of those calories and carbs freshly in my tummy. If I feel like a snack, I have one - only I have a healthy one. After I work out - if I feel hungry, I allow myself a bowl of cereal. It's usually Special K or something somewhat healthy. I LOVE the kinds with raisins in them. That way - I can keep my mouth entertained (I think I'm addicted to chewing things...haha) and it's not with bad things.

Just keep it up and it should get easier with time. I've gotten to where just thinking about doghnuts or french fries or other "heavy carb/fat" things makes my stomach turn. So - it's a start!

This board is a great place for information and encouragement! So visit here regularly!!!!!!

Julie

Congratulations, Kelly, on choosing to be a healthier you both by eating better and by quiting smoking! You are doing so much GOOD for your body!! I have just a couple tips for you that tend to work for me:

1. Keep your food journal right on the kitchen counter. Make it a steadfast rule that you weigh and write down your food item BEFORE it touches your lips! This way you are thinking about it first.

2. Keep packs of gum everywhere! In the kitchen, your purse, your car. Sometimes you just want to chew something, and there are so many gums out there that aren't too bad! I'm addicted to the Orbit Cinnamint....light cinnamon flavor, and only 5 calories. I'm willing to "spend" that! I also broke the habit of eating bites while cleaning up the dinner mess this way. As soon as I'm done with dinner I pop a piece of gum in my mouth....I can't eat that last bite of steak off my DD's plate with gum in my mouth!

3. Lastly, drink a glass of water FIRST. If you think you're hungry, drink water while you're fixing your meal or snack. Sometimes you'll find you weren't actually hungry after all, just thirsty.

Good luck! You CAN do this!

Just to echo -- one of the best tools for me is to write down EVERYTHING you eat. I am less likely to "blow it" if I am really aware of what I'm eating. It's also a great way to track how you're doing foodwise over time!

Hi,

I'm just joining in the well dones about quitting smoking. You've done yourself a big favour and are hopefully over the worst bit.

With the overeating - I can recognise my own eating patterns there. Doing good for me during the day would be eating hardly anything and was probably the cause of my overeating. So the advice about planning your meals/ writing everything down and ensuring you eat enough throughout the day is good stuff. One thing that really helped me crack the avoiding overeating at night - by that time a habit - was doing things that occupied me - so I joined a few classes in the evening or went to the cinema - anything to just get me out of the house and doing something that took my mind off food. It helps to do things like that to break the cycle initially.

EM

Hi Kelly,

I'm so proud of you for quitting smoking! I have been in your shoes and I totally understand. I quit smoking in October 2005 and gained an additional 40 lbs. My problem was that I'm not really sure how to relax. I used to have a cigarette when I just needed a minute or two to myself. When I didn't have cigarettes, I turned to food. Now...I don't have food and I sometimes feel myself getting really tense. I don't want a cigarette...the thought hardly ever crosses my mind these days....but, I'm not sure how to relax. I think this might be your problem also. I posted this question on the Support thread and most people advised that exercise was the best de-stresser. Over the last 1 1/2 weeks, I've been walking every day for at least 40 minutes....and, they're right! It does work. Dr. Phil always says you replace one habit with another habit. We just have to find a habit that doesnt harm our body or anybody else. Sometimes, I sit in a hot bath with a book, a lot of times I 'surf' around 3FC. Whatever it takes.

Regarding the diet....I too have always had an all-or-nothing approach. You always hear about "this is not a diet...its a lifestyle....yada yada." Yep, they're right about that one too! Try to pick an eating plan and an exercise plan that you can live with for a long long time....then go for it. If you can quit smoking....Girlfriend, you can do anything!

Wow!! Congrats to quitting smoking!! That's the best thing you could have ever done! Woohoo!!

The ladies above me have some great advice! I'm an overeater too, and I get the urge to do it at night so I go to bed a little earlier. Good luck on your weight loss! If you can quit smoking, you for sure can loose the weight. WTG!!

So much good advice already! For me the key was sugar free candy or gum! It keeps my mouth busy - I think the oral fixation peice of smoking was the hardest part to work out for me. I quit in 1997. (It gets easier!!!)

A HUGE on quitting!!!

So I'm still working on quitting smoking... I will make it through the whole day then get home after work have dinner and get bored. Smoking is always something to do, passes the time...even though I'm doing nothing it feels like I'm doing something...and if there are no butts then I'd snack and binge and snack and binge....right now I'm trying to find things to do to distract me from smoking and late night binge snacking....basically the hand to mouth unconscious motion.... get out of the house, go to the gym, grab someone and play a board game, go for a walk, come on here and post.
I can't really chew gum anymore because I have TMJ and my jaw will lock up but I agree with the sugarless gum suggestions...if I could chew it I would. In its absence I've resorted to thieving plastic coffee stirrers from work and chewing on those since they don't bother me as much. I find that if I go to the gym in the evenings after work...by the time I get home and make dinner I'm to exhausted and just go straight to bed and never think about either.