Eating more

[Wendy]

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[Nicole Diver]

It's tough Wendy!

I feel like I have struggled with my weight since I quit.

Then I remember I was constantly on a diet before, too.

 

In my opinion, it is something that one has to monitor. But! It's a heck of a lot easier to monitor than all the thousand horrible things that go along with smoking. About a year and a half in, I'm 7-8 pounds more. Not thrilled about it, but I fall off the diet wagon on a very reg basis.

 

Point is: do not start worrying about your weight until you are ready to. The quit is the most important thing of all. So if you have to eat bigger dinners (I do) to stay quit, so be it.

I think a comment was made by someone not thinking it through, and thank goodness your child could not possible understand what you are going through. If you gain a ton of weight to stay quit, it's not best case scenario, but really, you can deal with that when you're ready. So it's not really a big deal if that happens. Because yipppppppeeeee you quit smoking and are a rockstar!

 

My father in law made a comment to me 13 years ago that I could stand to lose some weight, and I've never forgotten it. A smoking friend spent a weekend here last spring and we had breakfast (I don't skip breakfast on weekends anymore as a non smoker, so sorry!) and she had like 1 piece of toast and an egg and said, "oh! Couldn't possibly eat any more!" While I was just tucking into mine, and I had had no intention of only eating half. She then went out to smoke, and I stayed inside feeling like a real glutton.

 

It's a subject I think that will always be a work in progress for a lot of people. That's ok!! It's manageable. I eat a lot popcorn mini bags and fruits and veggies. They are not "fun" but you get a lot of food for lower cals. Helps with the whole oral fixation thing.

[Dentalfloss]

My appetite has finally settled somewhat and I'm 3 months in but I do eat way more than I did pre quit. I decided early on to make healthier choices. I try to eat fresh fruits and vegis when I'm mindlessly eating.

That doesn't mean I deny myself chips or candy but only in moderation.

[MarylandQuitter]

Hell yes it's normal!  We can actually taste our food when we quit!  Enjoy for now and use it as motivation to stay quit.  You can always start running or walking if you're concerned about weight gain but it's much easier to lose a few pounds than it is to quit smoking again.

 

I Know I'm Going To Gain Weight If I Quit Smoking!

This video discussing misconceptions about weight gain, and warning about physiological adjustments and changes that may occur after quitting. Stresses importance of not writing off symptoms after quitting.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeHXoqpKq1c&list=PL76365B6CE2DA076B

Related articles:
http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_Index_06...

Related videos:
Weight control concerns after quitting smoking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgIWjM...
Going back to normal after quitting smoking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUKBBc...
Using cigarettes to self-medicate pre-existing conditions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVk2Ve...

[Sazerac]

Healthy choices are part of a new smoke free you !  

[natalie_3]

As far as I know it´s normal. One of the reasons is that now we enjoy food more because we´re recovering our sense of smell and taste. There´s also the habit of hand-to-mouth. I gained 2 pounds on the second week and then went back to normal by making healthy choices. 

I have a huge oral fixation thing but I´ve replaced nasty cigarettes for drinking water and mostly iced tea.

If you can, exercise helps a lot too (honestly I have a lot of trouble on keeping an exercise routine, but it helps).

 

-Nat 

[Doreensfree]

Once you get comfortable with your quit....you will find you start to eat less and getting healthily and fit

Becomes your main concern.....

This is why I think it's a journey.....

I was lucky I only put on a few pounds...which I have lost now.....

It will happen....

[Wendy]

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[Devil Doll]

You are finally able to eat again after those awful cankers.... Sounds like you need to ride the wave a bit. :)

Your dinner plate will regulate itself again after a little while. My first three months if I set my eyes on food it ended up in my face. After that I lost the voracious appetite and went back to normal. 

[Wendy]

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[Devil Doll]

Thats the problem DD, there's a box of biscuits in the kitchen that have been calling me all day - normally not a problem I'd eat one or two, maybe three ... today I want to eat ALL OF THEM lol ...

 

Ooh just spotted the bit at the bottom, yes!  That's what I want to know ... I can get away with eating like this for a while but not for evermore ... 

I am diabetic so what I did was alternate so that I made healthy choices too. I would allow myself to reach for pretzels and cookies a few times a day but I also made sure that I had carrots and celery on hand to crunch on too. If I eat a bag of carrots it isn't near as bad for me as a bag of cookies. 

[Wendy]

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[BAT]

I'll gladly take the few extra pounds over the nasty smoking habit. :)

[Devil Doll]

So I shouldn't eat the whole box unless I throw in a banana half way through?  Sounds like a plan lol ...

You crack me up lady! Yes if you lift your head out of the box long enough to scarf down a banana you are good. 

[Still winning]

Your new normal won't be a bigger dinner plate. But it may be eating more often, I need breakfast and snacks which I never did before!! So I think to start it's like pac man, then it settles. I gained a fair bit of weight but did no exercise and ate junk tbh. Once I knocked that off and subbed snacks for fruit etc I stopped gaining.  I think the trick is things you can pick at (strawberries, grapes, blueberries etc).

 

I find it harder to lose weight whilst quit as before I'd just cut out most eating and it would fall off. Now I have to work a bit harder is all. 

 

However not eating puts me in a whole nasty "hangry" (hungry and angry lol) place and it's none too pretty!!

 

Does this help?

 

xx

[Wendy]

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[action]

Wendy, my appetite got bigger when I quit for a few weeks... Then it settled down again, and I'm back to the 'normal' appetite of not much, lol :)

[Humbled]

Everyone is different - there are plenty of people who eat large meals whether they smoke or don't smoke - if you are concerned about bigger portions the only way to combat that is to just eat smaller more frequent meals or snacks during the day - when you quit smoking your body will usually have more energy to burn -that can cause an increase in appetite but that is not a bad thing because it should also speed up your metabolism. So sorry to hear about the injury btw - but really happy to know that despite it all you are staying quit -that will power will get you through this struggle as well  :).  Good Luck!  You have proven to yourself that your will is strong, use that to influence what you decide to put into your body - have a glass of milk or water with dinner that can also assist in satisfying your appetite.

[Wendy]

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[Wendy]

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[Humbled]

Thanks humbled, actually that's a good point - I think I read somewhere that drinking a glass of water before a meal stopped you over eating. I'll give it a whirl and see if it helps.

You are most welcome - good luck. Let me know if it works for you.

[action]

Hi Action, did you eat much CHEEESE CAKE? Cake? With cheese? LOL

Yep, that and garlic bread (garlic, AND bread?!) :p

[Wendy]

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[Chrysalis]

Wendy, I think that you are going to be fine in the long run. It's been my observation that people who were going along in life with a stable, healthy weight will end up at a stable, healthy weight after they quit smoking. They may eat more food and gain some weight during the first month or two, but then "normal" reasserts itself. Especially if you feel good and are able to exercise more as a non-smoker.

 

However, people (like me) who were constantly battling their weight as non-smokers, often smoke and eat for emotional reasons. When they quit smoking they turn exclusively to eating to ease their emotions. Those people need to be careful to not let things get out of hand or they really will gain a lot of weight. Gaining 5-7 pounds, even 10 pounds, is much less dangerous to your health than is smoking. Gaining 25 or 30 pounds is more problematic.   

[Wendy]

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