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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Calling all ex-smokers......

16 replies

Beniejaney · 26/10/2018 07:24

AIBU ro think its not possibls to stop smojing without gaining weight?

I am already to trying to lose weight, already have issues with food / binge eating. Since I stopped smoking 12 days ago I havent stopped eating. Craving food non stop and esting anything & everything in sight Blush i am not going to go back to smoking but I can't carry on the way I am with food. Any one else experienced this when stopping smoking / have any ideas how to get through it?

OP posts:
Tomatoesrock · 26/10/2018 07:28

It is hard. I am natural slim and I put on 2.5 stone, I couldn't stop eating. If you can use your extra energy to walk more. I truly believe my taste buds came alive when I stopped smoking,

Vaping helps but if you staying off both take one step at a time, your energy levels will rise again soon it is weight first, fitness next. Good luck it is so hard buy worth it.

Dropiytfsa · 26/10/2018 07:29

Morning.. Yes. Me and dh gave up three years ago. Definitely gained weight but it's all about replacing one addiction with something else. Another activity using your hands maybe as a distraction. Before I survived on cigarettes and coffee with hardly any appetite and now I'm a lot heavier. Not overeating as such but having meals now which is something I'd rather have than be smoking still. Just choose healthy snacks that take longer to eat!

Tomatoesrock · 26/10/2018 07:29

*SMOKING FIRST not weight.

Sunshineandeggshells · 26/10/2018 07:31

i didnt. Read Alan Carr's EasyWay book. it takles replacing nicotine with food. Best thing I ever did!

abbsisspartacus · 26/10/2018 07:33

I gave up when I got pregnant so weight gain was going to happen reguardless however 20 years later I'm back at the same size I was then I've had three kids I've been smaller bigger and inbetween but I'm back at a 12/14 I think your body finds its own level 🤷‍♀️

PaintingOwls · 26/10/2018 07:34

Smoking suppresses appetite, so I'm not surprised by this at all.

Could you go for a 10 minute walk when you'd normally be smoking? Nice and brisk, burn a few calories instead of eating them?

Crunchymum · 26/10/2018 07:35

I stopped in 2011 and weight was fine until I got pregnant 18 months later. I've had 3 children and need to lose 3st Shock

I'm now 7.5 years a non smoker though.

MissHemsworth · 26/10/2018 07:36

Hi OP I gave up smoking 5 years when I was pregnant with DS2 so didn't really care too much about weight gain. I did gain some weight, but eventually lost it after birth.

I think smoking is so bad for you & expensive & so hard to give up just do what you need to do to make it work! Ie. Get over that difficult initial hump. If you've got the will power to give up smoking you've got the willpower to lose a few pounds a few months down the line.

Thomlin · 26/10/2018 07:37

I luckily didn't gain any weight or craved food, but I switched straight onto sweet vanilla vape so actually found I had no cravings for snacks which are usually sweet things.

How are you quitting? I tried before using patches etc and always found I wanted to eat more. Can you try chewing gum instead? Or maybe mint imperials or something sugar free to suck on all day?

HeronLanyon · 26/10/2018 07:39

Being a non smoker is better than being non overweight (massive generalisation and of course there will be different scenarios but you know what I mean I hope). When I gave up I put around a stone on. But I was underweight before and also think some weight gain was simply age related. It can come off later once you’ve won the battle re smoking. Well done by the way 12 days is significant and really good. Keep going!

Oysterbabe · 26/10/2018 07:39

I gained 2st when I quit.

Hisaishi · 26/10/2018 07:42

I didn't gain any weight. You need to cure the actual addictive tendencies, not just swap one addiction (cigarettes) for another (food).

LalaLeona · 26/10/2018 07:49

I didn't gain weight instead of eating everytime I got a craving I made a cup of tea or herbal tea. I did get discoloration on my teeth from all the tea but I have the tea up later when all the nicotine was out of my system. Give up The smoking first then wean yourself off the unhealthy food later don't try and do both together iyswim

DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy · 26/10/2018 07:54

When I gave up, I had some wise advice from a friend who had quit - don't worry about your weight for the first six months, just concentrate on doing the fabulous thing for your body that is giving up smoking, then when you get past the six month line, you can tackle your diet.

I did just that 15 years ago - I was very overweight at the time, and I did gain some weight when I gave up, but my improved health as a non-smoker actually helped me get fitter, and I subsequently lost a lot of weight. I have never gone back to being very overweight again, although I'll always be a bit chunky, I think. I did replace cigs with sugar free gum for a while, which helped, but in all honesty, giving up cigarettes was nowhere near as hard as dieting!

Good luck, you can do it @Beniejaney

Tomatoesrock · 26/10/2018 07:55

Really cold water is good to halt a craving or a munch. I drank so much water. Every time I opened the fridge for food, I'd have some water and it really helped.

Original poster
Beniejaney · 26/10/2018 09:48

Thanks for all the replies. I am going cold turkey bot using any NRT or vapes. Im the all or nothing type.
I will take the general advice - focus on staying quit and deal with the weight in a month or so.

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