I'm not sure where else to put this, but I'm stressing out. I quit smoking on Tuesday. At my heaviest I knew I needed to do two things to be healthier- lose weight and quit smoking. Well, I'm almost to my "ultimate" goal weight and decided it was time. I'm using an electronic cigarette, but it's 100% better than real cigs.
Anyways, and I know this is going to probably sound stupid, but I'm up a pound and it's already starting to stress me out I'm a daily weigher and the last few days I've watched it slowly creep up. I know it's just a pound as of now, but what about a month from now? I have been PERFECT with my food and exercise and didn't even cheat on my birthday yesterday!
Anyone who has been in my shoes that can offer any suggestions (or even if you havent been)? I could understand if I was replacing cigs with food, but I'm not. I feel like now I'm trying to fight two things- smoking a cig AND an emotional binge
Last edited by Kendrab1223; 06-16-2012 at 06:46 PM.
I quit smoking then started weight loss a week later. It was HARD! I feel your pain. I will say that in Oct I will be smoke free three years and it is wonderful. Looking back I wish I could tell me how much better I feel now. I really had no idea how much better I would feel with out cigarettes. Hang in there! The pain and stress off quiting will pass and you will be proud you did it.
im sure its not what yu want to her, but you WILL gain weight when quitting. it has to happen, as a biologgical process. Now if you were starting out, already over weight, and THEN quit, and start exercising riht and eating in a deficit, thn the new good changes might offset the cig weight gain... as im sure someone ut there will say happend to them. But there ARE physioloical reasons you gain, that have nothing to do with replacing cigs with food...
1, cigs are a diuretic. when you quit, you will gain WATER WEIGHT that would have normally been there... 3-5 pounds,l ikely and it will come back FAST
2) cigs supress your appettite, resulting in smokers being more insulin resistant becausee your body has to produce MORE insulin whn you are a smoker to overcome the appetite supressing actions. When yu quit, your body will still be in a state of producing and releasing more insulin than you ned, untill it sorts itself out, which will take a little time to reach homeostatis in that regard.
3) cigs INCREASE you BMR by a litle. For one, beause they are a stmulant, but also because being a smoker you burn a few more calories throuhout the dy than you normaly would, because tthe act of smoking burns cals, gettng up from your desk and walking outside to take a smoke break burns cals, wlaking into gas stations to buy cigs burns cals..... plus more things that burn cals that you wuldnt be dong if you werent a smoker. these seem insignificant, but they ADD UP throught the course of a day..... NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenisis) that equals SEVERAL hundred xtra cals a day that you wont be burning now.
Yu may have to create a calorie deficit at least 10-15% bigger than you previously had to offset the metabolism stimulating effect and loss of NEAT calolries. but yur still going to gain from the water weight , and a little from the other things mentioned. if yu dont replace cigs with food, expect prob at least 5 pounds, pretty quick, then it will even out, your body wll stop freaking out, and you will reach a balance again.... then you can work on losing the weight again.....
sorry. its just the way it is. i ALWAYS gain 8 pounds or so when i quit smoking. BUT it6s (mostly) NOT FAT so dont freak aboout it, and accept it as somethng that has to happen. Just like when you reach maintenence you will rebound some in water weight as you come out of a calorie deficit.. THAT also HAS TO HAPPEN. if yu know about it, then you can be emotionall/mentally prepared.
Im not spouting BS or anectdotal evidence. This is science, and documented. the people who gain a LOT use food as a replacement.
Thank you guys for the replies! As odd as it sounds, through out my whole weight loss journey, as long as I was on plan with food and exercise, the scale ALWAYS dropped- even if just an ounce. The only times it went up was when I over ate so seeing it creep up stressed me out. Through some crazy will power that I didn't know I had, I fought my emotional binges and urge to smoke these last few days. Well this morning, I had a "whoosh" and the scale went down (I'm now almost a pound lower than when I quit thanks to the 1.8 drop this morning). I definitely needed it and am so proud of myself for staying on track!
Now that it happened I can positively focus on the tasks at hand rather than googling, stressing, more googling, etc!
It is definitely possible to quit smoking and not gain weight. I quit almost 3 years ago in the midst of losing weight for my wedding, and did not gain an ounce...and in fact continued to lose at the same rate I was when I was smoking.
If you have quit and are following your eating/exercise plan accordingly and find yourself gaining a little, it could be water weight, it could ne a normal fluctuation...just keep doing what you're doing and the scale will go back down. Best of luck! You can do it
As long as you're controlling your food intake, the weight gain will not be uncotrolled or permanent. You may have to adjust your food intake a little differently, but you can still find the "sweet spot" even if it's a slightly different sweet spot.
You may have to cut calories or carbs a bit more, or maybe you don't have to do anything different. The gain could be temporary water gain (and in fact, probably is).
The body uses water for (among other things) healing. So any time our bodies' immmune system has to work harder, we will often gain water. I forgot this last summer after a bad case of sunburn and had a bit of a panic over unexpected weight gain. Then a quick google search reminded me that yes sunburn could cause water weight gain - because of the body's inflammation/healing response - which needs the extra water.
If you don't track your calories in some way, I'ld urge you to do so now. It's the easiest way to be sure that you're not substituting eating for smoking. You may find that lower carb is helpful - for several reasons - it tends to reduce hunger more than other plans for many people, it tends to reduce water retention - and for some folks it seems to increase metabolism (any or all of those can be helpful).
The only way your weight can spiral out of control, is if you let it - if you give up instead of keep tweaking your plan until it works with your new non-smoking body.
I don't smoke, but I have felt like I was handed a "new body" with a new owner's manual many times in my life. You have to deal with the body you have today, not the one you had five years ago, or the one you had last week. If you want a non-smoking body, you need the new owner's manual (and unfortunately you have to write it).
When I first started exercising, I also experienced an initial weight gain (that darned healing water gain). Every time I increase my exercise duration or intensity, or change anything else in my life significantly, it really does sometimes seem like being handed a new body (or at least an upgrade) with a whole new learning curve.
I just remind myself everything will be fine as long as I get down to the business of updating the owner's manual - often literally. My "everything" journal helps me see patterns, record experiments, and give myself pep talks. Whatever I think should go into the owner's manual.
You'll be fine, as long as you're committed to dealing with issues as they crop up. You can't gain uncontrollably unless you refuse to change course. You always have to be ready for course corrections, because life does hand us different bodies. What you need in today's body isn't what you needed ten years ago, and may not be what you need tomorrow. You have to be willing to deal with whatever your body deals you.
Quitting smoking AND weight loss?
I'm a daily weigher and the last few days I've watched it slowly creep up. I know it's just a pound as of now, but what about a month from now? I have been PERFECT with my food and exercise and didn't even cheat on my birthday yesterday!
