Oh gawd... hold my hand please??

[lubeybooby]

I didn't know where to post this really so going for here...

Situation is I have to come up with £1400 ish in three months. It's for moving costs and a few other things I will need to pay out for over the summer. I don't want to stick on credit if I can avoid it at all.

Basically this year, as a new years resolution which is still going (for once!) I am trying to be an organised and responsible grown up with everything... money, health and fitness, healthy eating, housework etc which before this year was always a bit haphazard and all over the place. I have done well so far, lost some weight, got things generally in order, cleared loads of clutter etc

Anyway I can do it if I can cut about £400 a month off what I spend already, plus working extra and earning a bit more, doing car boot sales/ebay, etc etc. Tough, very tough.

This also means I have to quit smoking. It feels good to have the motivation to do it at last (besides the health reasons and other reasons) but I will also have to cancel my gym membership and I'm really trying to lose weight at the moment. I have lost about 26lb so far, still have 19lb to go.

Am I insane to attempt this? I am not known for my willpower and I feel very daunted by the prospect already but I know how proud of myself I will feel if I manage it.

If anyone has any tips for quitting smoking whilst at least not gaining weight (I don't mind not losing for a while but definitely don't want to gain) I would be most grateful!

Thanks in advance for any pointers or support.

I quit smoking using hynotheraphy, did not really notice the weight gain due to the pregnancy. As for weight loss and saving money, try walking everywhere combined with public transport (except for the boot fairs). Apparently you burn nearly as many calories by walking as would do running. Also look in your area to see if you have a green gym association, you help tidy up woodlands, so vigerous exercise plus from memory it does not cost anything. Good luck!

There was a recent thread about using Champix to quit - my brother (who smoked like a chimney for years) quit recently with it - on prescription from the Drs. That might be a starting point. Good luck.

Exercise outside - much less boring

i sucked on lollipops every time i wanted a cigarette. The first 5 days were horrific but after that it started to get easier. After 2 weeks i didnt need the lollipops either.

I think it helped that after 5 days I was away from work for a bank holiday weekend and so a change of routine took me away from my regular reminders that i wanted/needed a cigarette.

I also started running (well slow jogging) and eating healthier around the same time as i was signed up to do race for life with work colleagues and didnt want to embarrass my self by walking around the route! I was also TTC and so having those goals did help me (although i had a pint and a cigarette straight after the race )

Oh thank you everyone. I am pathetically grateful for the replies.

Ok...

Walking/exercise outside... yep I can do that. I love running but no way would I do that outside, so it will have to be walking. Green gym sounds interesting. I have a lot of work to do in my garden too so hopefully that will help.

Champix... have heard about this a few times. I will definitely ask the doctor.

Lollipops... yep, can do that too. I gave up for 13 months once and used gum a lot (just normal suagr free gum) so that sounds like a good idea.

Thanks again. Please keep em coming....

I'm an great believer in Alan Carr's "Easy Way To Stop Smoking" book. Dreadfully written, you could probably condense the important bits down to something half the length, but it works.