Need some reassurance

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

Hi Luna,

I don't know the answer to your question, sorry. I just want to send
good vibes and best wishes your way.

You have the strength of character to do this, you do!

Sounds like you have a good plan for when the craving hits.

Keep us informed.

Best support wishes,
PoohBear

In article said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

there is a newsgroup alt.support.stop-smoking, which is supposed to be
very good.

i

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to
overeating, or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight
when they quit? Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning
to use nicorette gum, drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into
my pillow if need be. I don't really care if I delay my weight loss
even more than it is already delayed, I just don't want to gain any
back. If I get to feeling like I'm really going nuts I'll go to the
YMCA and work out extra.

Good for you! It took my a few tries to quit myself but I can say now that
I haven't had a smoke in 15 years.
With me the weight gain was due to eating. Needed something to do with my
hands and M&Ms, candy bars, Cheezits, filled the bill as well as my waist
line. I did like you and just started doing other things. With me I
started a new hobby. As a guy, I started taking courses at the local
Vocational school like carpentry and auto mechancs. It took my mind off of
the butts.

As long as you keep to your way of eating before giving up the smokes you
should be OK. Of course the other issues of headaches and edginess and all
that will have to be dealt with too! You've done amazingly well in losing
weight. I think if you have the ability to do that, quitting cigarettes
should be easier.

Don't underestimate your will to succeed!

All the best,
-TheKidd

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

You might need an oral stimulant to tickle your lips. Do you have a
large supply of pencils? Lots of ice water and play around with the
icecubes?
I'm not sure that using the drug you are addicted to (nicotin) is the
best way to stop - you don't see alcoholics drink pure ethanol as part
of their quitting plan. I know people who tried using the gum (and the
plasters) but it did nothing more than to ease the weights of their
vallets. Doing the "cold turk" is ruthless but efficient.
Glad not to be around, though 🙂

"Luna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to

overeating,

Quoted message said:

or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

Just make this time the last time you quit smoking. 🙂
Stick with it, make up the decision to never go back to the cigarettes.

As for your question:
The biggest reason people gain weight when they quit smoking is because they
increase calories. For a variety of reasons (increased stress, nervousness,
needing something in the mouth) people quitting smoking eat more, and then
gain weight. Secondary reason is that Nicotine increases metabolism a
little, in a way similar to caffiene. Just look at how many people gave up
caffiene for Atkins, though, and lost weight. 🙂

About the stress thing: Studies have also shown that people who smoke have
more stress than people who do not smoke (even comparing similar family and
economical circumstances). Adding the cigarrettes increases your stress
level. You may feel stressed while initially quitting, but in the long run,
being rid of smoking will make you less stressed than you ever were while
you smoked.

http://www.eufic.org/gb/food/pag/food19/food191.htm
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000201/tips/4.html
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/stopsmok2.HTM
(all 3 of the above links are shortish 1-page type relating to this subject)

Good Luck!

Spring

"Luna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to

overeating,

Quoted message said:

or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

Just make this time the last time you quit smoking. 🙂
Stick with it, make up the decision to never go back to the cigarettes.

As for your question:
The biggest reason people gain weight when they quit smoking is because they
increase calories. For a variety of reasons (increased stress, nervousness,
needing something in the mouth) people quitting smoking eat more, and then
gain weight. Secondary reason is that Nicotine increases metabolism a
little, in a way similar to caffiene. Just look at how many people gave up
caffiene for Atkins, though, and lost weight. 🙂

About the stress thing: Studies have also shown that people who smoke have
more stress than people who do not smoke (even comparing similar family and
economical circumstances). Adding the cigarrettes increases your stress
level. You may feel stressed while initially quitting, but in the long run,
being rid of smoking will make you less stressed than you ever were while
you smoked.

http://www.eufic.org/gb/food/pag/food19/food191.htm
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000201/tips/4.html
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/stopsmok2.HTM
(all 3 of the above links are shortish 1-page type relating to this subject)

Good Luck!

Spring

Luna wrote:
|| I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not
|| to regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to
|| overeating, or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight
|| when they quit? Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning
|| to use nicorette gum, drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into
|| my pillow if need be. I don't really care if I delay my weight loss
|| even more than it is already delayed, I just don't want to gain any
|| back. If I get to feeling like I'm really going nuts I'll go to the
|| YMCA and work out extra.

Good for you. You can do it. PECYW.

"Luna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to

overeating,

Quoted message said:

or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

This stuff is soooo much better than American nicotine gum:

https://s0.ssl.net.nz/pharmacydiscounter/products.asp?product=nicotinell

the fruit flavor is the reason i was able to stop. Nicorette tastes like
eating a candle to me.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ignoramus2121 said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Luna

Quoted message said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

there is a newsgroup alt.support.stop-smoking, which is supposed to be
very good.

i

Yeah, I asked them too. The more advice I can get, the better.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Michael Nielsen said:

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

You might need an oral stimulant to tickle your lips. Do you have a
large supply of pencils? Lots of ice water and play around with the
icecubes?
I'm not sure that using the drug you are addicted to (nicotin) is the
best way to stop - you don't see alcoholics drink pure ethanol as part
of their quitting plan. I know people who tried using the gum (and the
plasters) but it did nothing more than to ease the weights of their
vallets. Doing the "cold turk" is ruthless but efficient.
Glad not to be around, though 🙂

Well, for me, I have tried to quit cold turkey so many times in the past
and failed. If I keep trying the same thing over and over and it doesn't
work, I'd be pretty silly to try it again.

The last time I tried to quit and didn't make it, it was because the
combination of the psychological withdrawals and the physical withdrawals
at the same time was too much for me. I just couldn't function. I was
angry and tired and frustrated and sick and dizzy and headachey, my vision
was blurred and I just broke down crying and couldn't stop, then I broke
down and smoked. I am having withdrawals now, I feel a bit edgy, but at
least I can function. I can still drive and go to work and keep my
composure, without the gum I don't think I could. My dad quit sucessfully
several months ago using the gum. He still has some pieces around in case
of emergency, but he hasn't touched them in months.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

Good job on quitting! I quit cold turkey in 3/00 and haven't had one
since. The first week was hell but it got better. The thought of
smoking is now abhorrent to me.

Think about how good you feel now that you've lost weight - your lungs
will feel that much better than they do now (the rest of you will too).
If you have the willpower to change your eating, you can do this. It
sucks for a while, but that's the way it is. As with the weight loss,
the rewards are well worth it.

With regard to the weight gain, here's a decent article explaining why
quitters gain and how to avoid it:
http://health.discovery.com/centers/quit_smoking/articles/weight.html

Good luck!

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

In article <[email hidden]>, Elizabeth M <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Good job on quitting! I quit cold turkey in 3/00 and haven't had one
since. The first week was hell but it got better. The thought of
smoking is now abhorrent to me.

Think about how good you feel now that you've lost weight - your lungs
will feel that much better than they do now (the rest of you will too).
If you have the willpower to change your eating, you can do this. It
sucks for a while, but that's the way it is. As with the weight loss,
the rewards are well worth it.

With regard to the weight gain, here's a decent article explaining why
quitters gain and how to avoid it:
http://health.discovery.com/centers/quit_smoking/articles/weight.html

Good luck!

Thanks so much! For the link and the encouragement.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

IMO, gaining weight when you quit smoking comes from two
things. Number one is that your taste buds go back to
normal and everything tastes good. Number two is you need
something to substitute the hand to mouth action, so most
people use food. It's very difficult to break the nicotine
addiction and you should be commended for trying, no matter
how many times it takes. At the risk of being ridiculed by
some people here, I used hypnosis. Maybe I am gullible, but
it worked for me, so who cares.

Marsha/Ohio

In article <[email hidden]>,

Marsha said:

Luna said:

I quit smoking today. Again. Yes, I know. Anyway, I am hoping not to
regain any weight. Is weight gain from quitting smoking due to overeating,
or is there some other reason people tend to gain weight when they quit?
Instead of eating when I get cravings, I am planning to use nicorette gum,
drink water, go for walks, cry and scream into my pillow if need be. I
don't really care if I delay my weight loss even more than it is already
delayed, I just don't want to gain any back. If I get to feeling like I'm
really going nuts I'll go to the YMCA and work out extra.

IMO, gaining weight when you quit smoking comes from two
things. Number one is that your taste buds go back to
normal and everything tastes good. Number two is you need
something to substitute the hand to mouth action, so most
people use food. It's very difficult to break the nicotine
addiction and you should be commended for trying, no matter
how many times it takes. At the risk of being ridiculed by
some people here, I used hypnosis. Maybe I am gullible, but
it worked for me, so who cares.

Marsha/Ohio

I've also read that smoking 20 cigarettes burns about 200 calories a day.
And, I was smoking . . . um, more than that. So, even if I don't eat any
more than I did as a smoker, I'd still end up gaining. I am going to try
to make up for it with extra exercise and being extra careful about what I
eat. I am giving myself a week off from exercising though, if it turns out
I need that much. No more than a week off though. I made that decision
today when I went out for a walk and got dizzy and lightheaded. I am not
trying to limit how much I eat right now, but I have actually had an
appetite decrease today, and my dad said that when he quit he didn't start
getting an increased appetite until about a month in.

Anyway, for this first week, I really don't care about food and exercise.
All that matters to me right now is getting through withdrawal and not
giving in. Even with the gum I still feel like [censored]. My stomach is upset,
my head hurts, I get head rushes every time I stand up, I keep wanting to
sleep but once I get in bed I can't, I am sweaty and clammy and my skin
itches on the other side. On the plus side, I am feeling more confident
with every hour that passes that I will make it. It feels different this
time. Unlike other times I've tried to quit, I'm not sitting here
fantasizing about smoking again, or planning who I can bum "just one" from
soon. Instead I'm fantasizing about how much healthier I will feel a month
from now, 6 months from now, a year from now, 10 years from now.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

"Luna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Marsha <[email hidden]> wrote:

soon. Instead I'm fantasizing about how much healthier I will feel a

month

Quoted message said:

from now, 6 months from now, a year from now, 10 years from now.

Yup, it's gonna stick. Congrats :-)

--
Peace,
Pen
--
Pawbreakers - The Candy for Cats!
http://www.pawbreakers.com

In article <[email hidden]>,

Penelope Baker said:

"Luna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Marsha <[email hidden]> wrote:

soon. Instead I'm fantasizing about how much healthier I will feel a

month

Quoted message said:

from now, 6 months from now, a year from now, 10 years from now.

Yup, it's gonna stick. Congrats :-)

--
Peace,
Pen

Ok, now I have to add to my list of withdrawal symptoms: very emotional.
Because I just smiled real big and cried at what you wrote. Thank you so
much. In tempting moments I am going to remember that you wrote that.

--
Michelle Levin
http://www.mindspring.com/~lunachick

I have only 3 flaws. My first flaw is thinking that I only have 3 flaws.

You can do it Luna. Post as often as you need to. We'll read it and try to
encourage you. I've never smoked so I can't begin to imagine the problems
but many people here in Poland smoke and want to quit.

Maybe posting some pics of a smoker's lung and a healthy lung in a few
places around your house would help. It's in my kids' health book. It's
really amazing. I realize that for most smokers, however, it isn't the
"facts" that seem to make any difference, it is the level of willpower and
how long you can stay away from them even when you crave them.

You can do it. Plus, it will free up some money on a daily basis for other
"fun" things. 🙂

Becky P.