I am trying to quit smoking and worried it will ruin my weight loss efforts. so far I have just cut down not cold turkey anyhow since 9/17/09 I have lost 24 lbs and I need to quit smoking but I don't want to gain the weight back either I know some of you have had success with quiting smoking and still losing weight how did you cope with it? I use smoking as something to do instead of eating (its a hand to mouth thing) so if I stop smoking all together I am afraid I will eat my frustrations. any advise please

I know the feeling... I really need to quit smoking, but I think the problem is that I dont WANT to quit smoking. I must admit it is one of my guilty pleasures, even though I know the harm it is doing to my body. I love nothing more than a cup of tea and a cigarette first thing in the morning But I know that I cant afford it either. It doesn't help that my flatmate and a lot of my friends smoke. Grrr...
Maybe we could do it together and support each other? I know it would be easier with someone to keep me on track!

Cat x

I know I have the same problem it seems everyone I know smokes and I like it too mine is chain smoking and coffee. then I think how it smells bad and makes your teeth yellow yuck! not to mention my lungs are probaby black double yuck. so far I can only commit myself to cutting way back but I am not too sure that will work then I think maybe cold turkey but I am so afraid I will eat and eat and get fatter and fatter until I pop.

I've decided to give up smoking and next Wednesday is the big day. I wanted to cut back a bit in the lead up, but it's almost like I've gone into panic mode and am trying to get as many into me now as I can. So bad.

I'm giving up with a couple of girls I work with. It's actually part of a quit smoking campaign I'm doing with the magazine I work for. So when they offered to take part, it was the push I needed. I'm going to use the Nicabate Minis lozenges at first, but I also don't want to be reliant on them either so I'll give it only two or three weeks on those.

But I'm exactly the same, I'm petrified I will turn to snacking when I give up. It's so true what you said - at the moment I'll have a cigarette instead of eating if I feel a bit nibbly.

So YES - let's do it together! Jump on this thread and we'll give it a go. We know it's the right thing to do. It's just so bloody hard! We are getting healthier bodies through losing weight, so it makes sense to kick the cigs. It's just toxins going through your body. I have friends who are a bit older who smoke and I see how it's ravaged their skin, and I'm quickly heading down the same path.

LETS DO IT!

ok then here we go!! as my face is stuck in a bowl of cheerio's LOL. I'm cutting back too but I'm not gonna do a patch or anything just cut down and when there are gone there gone eekkk maybe we should write what the good things are about smoking and then the bad so we can reread this thread to remind us of why we are doing this in the first place. I guess the bad should come first. ya know I read somewhere that your lungs try to start healing 15 min after your last smoke how sad is that......
1. I want to quit smoking because I wheeze when I sleep. thats BAD!)

I quit smoking after losing 85lbs in 2005. I was turning 30 that year and wanted my "next 30 years" to be smoke free. I didn't gain back a single pound. I ate things like sunflower seeds and suckers, chewed gum, and started tinkering with sewing and cross stitch to fix my hands and my mouth.

Fast forward 4 years...I'm still smoke free - but have had 2 babies in less than 2 years...sooooo - onward to re-losing that weight again!

Best wishes - and look up Onederchick - she quit last October int he middle of her weightloss journey.

I quit smoking, after nursing a 2 pack a day habit for 21 years, during my weight loss journey and didn't gain from doing so.

I also quit smoking, (and drinking alcohol) along with healthy diet all within a few weeks of each other. It has been 19 months without a cigarette. It IS possible to lose weight while going smoke free. Another thing to remember is this...smoking will probably kill you faster than being over weight. My Father and Mother both had weight issues but they both died at the age of 49 & 50 from emphysema and lung cancer respectively..from smoking!

I don't know how much cigarettes cost in your corner of the world, but here they are $5.50 A PACK. One pack a day is $37 a week, $157 a month, and a whopping $1916 a year. That's a boat load of new skinny clothes. (In the time I've quit smoking, with my pack a day habit, I've saved over $3000.00).

I wish you all the best of luck in your efforts to quit smoking.

In 2004 I lost my mother (age 53) to lung cancer. She had small cell carcinoma which is specific to smokers. I don't wish that on anyone.

I understand that quitting smoking is very hard. You can do it!

i've never smoked, but i think people gain after smoking, is because its a finger habit... what i mean is, every so often putting something up to your mouth. So what do you do instead? Eat....

yeah I know so far today I have been keeping busy and not smoking but I have found my self looking for something to eat and so far today the damage is
a bowl of cheerio's w/blueberries
a cup of vegi soup w/ 5 lf crackers
a hand full of ff chips
and 2 chocolate mousse's and its just now lunch time lord help me...

Try to get some exercise in when you are looking to fill the void. It doesn't have to be a long workout. Try jogging in place or jumping jacks or even walking in place. After about 5 minutes of getting your heart rate up, it helps with the void/cravings. Plus it helps you lose weight vs. gaining.

Hi! My boyfriend keeps begging to to quit smoking...I don't really WANT to, but I know it's better for my health...But I feel the same way...I feel like I shouldn't/Can't do both at once, or if I do, then i'll gain weight. Just like most of you, I LOVE my morning cigarette!! Its getting out of hand though. I amoke when I wake up, before I exercise, after I exercise, after I take a shower and so on...maybe i'll give it a try...I got alot of cool apps on my phone that count the days since I quit, how much money and cigs I saved, and health stuff...its cool. Good luck guys

I quit cold turkey and managed to not gain weight. I just had to look at it that it was a lifestyle change and I upped my exercise a bit to compensate and really watched what I ate.

I like cold turkey better because after 3 days all of the nicotine is out of your body and then it is more of a mind over matter raher than a physical craving.

I use silkquit on my desktop computer to keep track of my quit smoking stats. So far I have saved almost $4,000 dollars in the past 18 or so months.

Luckily I quit 2 1.2 years ago. YOu could do low calorie foods -- carrots are a great replacement and and celery. Get sugar free candies if you need those to help you. Even if you put on 5 lbs the trade off is invaluable. Think about how much more you can work out and not feel windy. Your food will taste 100% better!!

I actually used Chantix to quit and it worked very well for me after smoking for 20 years. I hope you take the plunge and quit -- you won't be sorry!