id like some honest answers here from smokers and former smokers.

(i seriously hate getting the smoking lecture so please abstain if you can!)

i know all the great reasons i should quit smoking. i really do!

last november i quit and gained 30 lbs. 30 lbs in 3 months. im so scared of that happening again. i know that most of it is because you eat like a crazy person when you quit, but i also know that nicotine is a stimulant that speeds up your metabolism to a degree..

have any of you managed to quit while losing weight? if so, how did it effect your weight loss?

also, did any of you try to quit and start gaining weight?

whenever i tell people why i started again and am scared to try quitting again they make it sound as if im just making excuses and no one gains weight when they quit. dont get me wrong, i have plenty of excuses to make and i know that quitting is awful, but this isnt one of them. i really am terrified of gaining any more weight or stalling my progress this early on.

opinions? ideas?

Perhaps you could switch to the electronic cigarette?

Where I live there is a 'learn to run' program for smokers who want to quit.
This way, it combines the support with a new habit....just a thought?

I am still a social smoker (ie; i don't buy them, but i do smoke if someone offers and i'm out and about).

Yes, I DID gain 30+ pounds when I quit... but the truth is I would do it again because I'm not going back to cigarettes. People who have never smoked just do not understand how powerful nicotine addiction really is.. heck I don't even think smokers really understand until they have succeeded in quitting.

::smack:: you said no lecture... back to the subject...

Anyway... my method to quit was the nicotine patches and suckers. I constantly had candy .... along with all the other binges I did at the time to distract myself from having a cigarette.

In hindsight I wish I had chewed shaved ice instead or had some other no calorie option. But at the time... I was more focused on quitting and no longer cared about my weight since I was already 230... what difference would a little bit more make (so I thought at the time)

Anyway if you try the patch ... stick with the program... don't try to lower your dosage early and don't quit buying the patches to soon. And finally if you cheat and have a cigarette ... don't beat yourself up... throw the cigarettes away and get back on track.

Good luck whatever you decide.

A temporary, relatively small weight gain has got to be better than continuing to poison yourself with cigarettes.

If you're going to gain weight anyway what difference does it make when you do it? Won't it feel even worse if you wait until you've hit your goal and pile the weight back on?

I'm an ex smoker and yes I gained weight but I still felt a million times healthier being a fatter non-smoker than where I was before.

It's going to be difficult but it's possible, not everyone has huge weight gains after they quit. Take up a new exercise regime, make a plan to do something healthy when you get hit with cravings etc

Good luck!

I quit smoking ten months ago. My weight loss slowed down dramatically. It took me five months to lose sixty pounds when I still smoked, and I've struggled to lose fifteen since. BUT I DON'T REGRET IT ONE BIT! Not even a little. Even if I had gained weight after quitting I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Everyday I am grateful that I don't smoke anymore. Everyday I find another reason to stay quit. No regrets. Being a former smoker is awesome, even if I'm still fat.

I gained six pounds the first week I stopped smoking. Those six pounds got me started on trying to lose weight. Three years and almost a hundred pounds later I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and tell myself that its worth it. I feel better. I look better. I smell better. Everything is easier and I have more energy.

Good luck! I used the patches to quit. I picked a date and when I got up that morning I stuck a patch on my arm and never smoked again. You can do it! It is not always easy but what is?

E-cigarettes. Quit without actually quitting!

Go straight to an e-Go T type model if you do. The gas station ones are terrible and will make you miss real cigarettes.

Haven't noticed a change in appetite or metabolism, but I quit smoking at the same time as focusing on weight training, so perhaps I traded one metabolism booster for another :P

I quit in May. I gained a few lbs at first but have since lost them. My rate of loss is about the same/a tiny bit slower than when I was smoking. But I added exercising last week so I'm hoping it will pick up. I know if I wouldn't have quit there is no way I could work out like I do now.

I'm also terrified as quitting will be my next challenge AFTER I take the weight off (plus 5 for extra cushion of quitting.) I've decided that one personal goal at a time is enough. I've stopped several times and also end up starting again and I always gain a few pounds but I can usually take them back off a few months later. I do e-cigs sometimes now and that's how I'll tackle it this time. Did Chantix once - quite for 1 1/2 years but boy I don't recommend it - took me forever to get "normal" again!!
Good luck!

honestly? i've smoked through the past 100 lbs.

to make it even worse, i smoke menthols which are really notorious for being harder to quit.

quitting is an admirable desire though- and if it's something that you feel that YOU are ready to do- based on your own decision, you should go ahead and do it!

I quit smoking (smoked for over 13 years) while in the middle of losing weight for my wedding a few years ago. I was using Champix (I think it might be called Chantix in the states, but I'm not sure) and didn't gain a thing. I contiued to lose as I had been for months prior. (I ended up gaining the weight back, but it had nothing to do with quitting smoking!) I've been completely smoke free for over 3 years now. Champix was a wonderful experience for me, and to be honest, I am really not sure I'd have been able to quit without it.

While I've never been a smoker, I do know several people who have quit smoking, and yeah, all of them gained the proverbial 20-30 lb.

HOWEVER....
may I just say that it's probably as daunting as fighting weight gain & trying so hard to lose while going thru menopause!!! UGH!!!!

Having said that... and keeping in mind that you don't want nor need a lecture... how about you just focus on GETTING HEALTHY FOR YOU... no matter WHAT it takes to do so. That can include quitting smoking, losing weight, lowering your cholesterol & triglycerides, building muscle, calming your mind, increasing flexibility, etc. AND KEEP IN MIND: those things don't have to be done all at once!

Good luck to you!!

I hear ya about not needing "the lecture"! And try not to get upset by advice given by people who never smoked. They may [or may not ]mean well, but they don't get it. I just saw the post by Beach Patrol. I am not referring to her thoughtful ideas- the comparison to menopause resonates with me. LOL!

1994 was the year of my last cigarette. It took me four "major quittings" to finally suceed. I still like the smell of a freshly lit cigarette and still occasionally wish I could have one.

My method was always "cold turkey", so I don't know anything about drugs or electronic cigarettes. It seems like some people get hooked on the patches just as bad as the cigarettes, so my method eliminates that possibility.

I gained weight every time I quit, but I wasn't trying not to gain. I think if I were to try now, I would use exercise as a distraction. I drank coffee to the point that I was wired all the time. I chewed gum and I ate. It seems to me that it didn't take too long to get over the really bad phase of wanting to eat, drink, chew etc.

The truth is that quitting smoking is hard no matter how you do it, but folks do it every day and so can you when you are ready.

I will confess to having this same problem. I am a smoker and have been a serial quitter through out the years. I know I need to quit but man, I am scared of the weight gain too.