[Claudia1958]

Anyone else in the same boat? I quit 3 months ago and just can not seem to quit eating. There are so many side effects of quitting that you never hear about. It makes it so hard.
Anyway, I have to stop snacking and start eating better.
Support, I need support.
Claudia

[haleys]

I don't smoke, so I don't know exactly what you're going through. But it seems like a good idea to buy some celery, because it takes so long to eat that it's going to keep your mouth and hands busy and there are VERY few calories in it. And instead of picking up food, if you can, maybe you could go exercise to get your mind off of smoking and not eating?

[Claudia1958]

Haley,
Thank you for your response. I am afraid that your suggestions will not work for me. I have a disability that prevents me from exercising. As for celery...well...yuck!!! LOL, sorry, I hate the stuff. Unfortunately I dislike several things that are supposed to be great for me like yogurt and cottage chesse. I would rather eat just about anything else other than those 3 things!
Claudia

[Flower Power]

Claudia I will have been quit for 2 years this july 31...I actually lost when I quit. Shortly after I was diagnosed with diabetes. But I didn't replace a cig with food. I chewed alot of sugar free gum , sucked on hard candy and every time I wanted a cig I drank a big glass of icy cold water. It really helped me with the craves. If theres a chance that you can exercise from a sitting position I know that there are alot of exercises that you can do sitting. Not sure where you find them but I know that if you do a search you no doubt will find them. Hang in there and good for you quitting smoking. Life looks better when you aren't looking thru a cloud of smoke. If you still need some support try www.quitnet.com they have lots of forums. One of them is called weighty matters and deals with gainning while quitting. Cindi

[BBWonwheels]

i used to hate yogurt but its calm my craving for chocolate ice cream.....lol i love chocolate ice cream but i cant eat it nomore because i found out i got diabetes. im in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy. so i do arms and legs exercises. i dont smoke but i have an eating habit and habits is hard to break. just hang in there and you will make it thru.

[Luciole]

Hi Claudia

Congrats!

I quit smoking around the same time that you did! I gained some weight for the first few weeks. The biggest problem I faced was a sudden pre-occupation with sugary treats. I just couldn't get enough sugar--I went through an entire jar of marmalade in a couple of days! This is really unusual for me as I'm more the meat and potatoes type. I have to wonder if my sugar cravings weren't occuring as a dilluted means of replacing the nicotine that my body was missing.

Anyway, I finally got over it by totally cutting sugar out of my diet for a week or two. I figured if I was using it to replace nicotine, then I had better get over it. Maybe it would help you to go cold-turkey on some of the foods that you tend to over eat?

I was also greatly helped when I finally realized that if I had the power to put down my cigarettes and NOT pick them back up no matter HOW MUCH I desperately wanted too, well then, I should be able to use the same sort of resolve when holding a pint of ice-cream. Try to remember that you can be in control of your eating with the same resolve that you have over your new smoke-free decision. When you quit, you thought about smoking all of the time for a week or so, but you thought each time, "No. Not going to do it. No." I've found the same sort of thing worked with me when I would contemplate eating something bad. Say no and put it down, away, don't buy it, whatever... You did it with cigarettes, you can do it with food!

It's probably not exciting advice, but it is what worked for me. Once I stopped using sugar as a crutch and reminded myself that I had the ability to control my actions, I got a handle on my weight again and am now a pound below my "smoking" weight.

Best of luck to you !

[aphil]

My husband quit smoking about a month ago, and he took a smoking cessation (quitting) class. The instructor did something very interesting-he had them take a special quiz that showed them what "kind" of a smoker they were.
There are people who are actually more addicted to the nicotine itself (and have more withdrawal symptoms when they first quit), and there are others who are addicted to other parts of smoking.
I used to smoke when my husband and I first met, and I quit almost instantly a year later when I became pregnant. I quit within a matter of about 3 days-and it really never bothered me. My husband had a pretty hard time quitting, and he had me take the test, based on my feelings when I "used" to smoke. I wasn't addicted to the actual nicotine at all...I was what they called a "handler". It was a habitual thing for me-the handling of the cigarette-sitting down, taking it out, lighting it, having it in my hand, inhaling-and so forth. It wasn't the nicotine-but the ritual.
I remember when I got pregnant-and I immediately started reading pregnancy/baby books, and chrocheting baby blankets, and all that-and I realized why it was so easy for me to quit. I went from my hands and mind being busy with cigarettes to being busy with other things.
The class that my husband took gave coping mechanisms for each kind of smoker, depending on what type of smoker they were. It was very interesting actually.
Check around and see if that test is anywhere online-I bet that it is!!! It may help individualize quitting strategies for you.

[Claudia1958]

Thank you all so much for the advice and support!!!
Luciole, I know exactly what you mean about the marmalade! Girl, you sound so much like me
Claudia