I stopped smoking 6 months ago and have now gained 15 pounds! I am a 5'8" female and now weigh 145 pounds up from 130. I know that this is by no means overweight, but I am bigger than I have ever been in my life and I need advice on how to lose weight without starting up my old smoking habit. I exercise a few times a week and eat pretty well but it is not working! It seems I can't stay slim without my cigarettes!

Cut back on calories where you can easily do so: stop drinking any soda and high-calorie fruit juices, and drink water and eat fruit in its whole form instead. Switch from whole milk or 2% to skim milk. Eat less bread and pastas; eat more vegetables and whole grains. Exercise daily instead of a couple days a week. You can lose about 1 - 2 pounds per week.

Quitting smoking was the best thing you could do for your health. Don't undo all the hard work you have done in quitting (and staying quit!) for the past 6 months. Just add a few more healthy habits and drop the extra 15 pounds. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers - good luck and don't give up!

To add to BurntSienna's excellent advice, dedicate half of your work-out time to strength-training of some kind; weights, bodyweight squats, push-ups, kettlebells. You will get an ongoing metabolic boost from strength training that will augment the calorie burn from any cardio you do.

Better yet, do something called "high octane cardio"; mix weight lifting with aerobics...

jog for 1 minute
shoulder presses for 10 reps
jog again
squat with weights for 10 reps
jog again, etc.

you can substitute skipping rope or jumping jacks for the jogging.

Are there any other smokers out there who have had the same experience? I had been smoking for 10 years and never realized that it kept my weight under control until now.

I quit a year and a half ago and my weight went from 185 to 215. My problem is that I like to snack and I love soda. The weight gain is common among quitters as you tend to snack in place of your cigarette (replace one habit with another). Best bet is to snack on healthy things like nuts, carrot sticks and granola. Another little trick is to brush your teeth when you get the urge. Keeps you from snacking and makes your dentist happy!

Gotta dog? Walk him every day. Seriously, my crazy dog was hyper until I started walking her. Now she's calmer and I'm thinner, just from a daily walk around the block (about a mile).

Whatever you do, do NOT go back to smoking. It didn't control your weight so much as it satisfied your urge to have something in your mouth. Try sugar free gum just don't smack it.

A nurse that works for my daughter has smoked for years. She got scans regularly but never quit. Her scan six months ago was ok. Today she's in the hospital getting radiation for lung cancer that hit so fast we're all reeling.

Hang in there. The hardest part is over. You changed your lifestyle by quitting. Now it just needs tweaking to keep the weight away.

Thanks for the advice I quit as a result of a New Year's resolution and started up again in April then quit again. My co-workers smoke so it is very difficult not to join them, especially since they opt for a cigarette break instead of a coffee/vending machine break!

I'd say 25 pounds need to be lost.

Don't eat meat or dairy products - that should do it, it's simply really.

25 pounds? You are kidding, right?

I am 5'8" tall. People told me I looked extremely thin at 130. Not unhealthy, but slim. At 145 I can't imagine what I'd look like if I lost 25 pounds!

X, seriously, how many 5'8" women do you know who weight 120 pounds?

You know your body and what feels like the "right" weight for you. If you feel a little too heavy now, then perhaps losing some pounds is a good idea. But don't get crazy about it! I'd suggest that in my opinion 120 pounds for a 5'8" woman would be far too thin.

Since you asked for input from ex-smokers, I will share that I did smoke for many years, and when I quit smoking, I gained about 12 or 14 pounds in the first 4 months after quitting. Since I was already above my ideal weight at that time, this was a serious concern for me and a very emotional and troubling issue. I knew I didn't want to go back to smoking, but I must admit that the idea entered my head briefly; I immediately rejected it. I'm proud to say I'm smoke-free for about almost a year now.

I made the decision this year that I was ready and willing to do the work to lose my excess weight. I basically followed the advice I gave you above in my post plus I did a "no flour, no sugar" diet for 4 months also, which helped me kick-start my weight loss. I'm no longer following the "no sugar, no flour" diet strictly, but am incorporating many of the principles therein. I'm focusing mostly now on eating very, very healthfully 6 days a week, and allowing myself a few (small portions of) treats 1 day a week, so long as I exercise at least 1 hour daily.

Primarily, the daily exercise (including strength training, too, as AML-Barbarian wisely pointed out - that's very important!) has turned the switch for me and enabled me to continue striving toward my goal weight. So far, I've lost a total of 32 pounds since Easter.

You can do it, Romy! Don't turn back to the cigarettes.

Excerise excersise exerxise.....
I quit on july 1 and have started running, if i wasnt running I would be stuffing my face....

Thanks BurntSienna, you are awesome! I will try my best. I feel like women have this issue when trying to quit smoking more than men.

If anyone needs tips on actually getting around to quitting, I have some good ones.

Romy, one of the reasons people gain weight after quitting smoking is because many smokers have oral fixations. There are ways to satiate your oral fixations by chewing gum or chewing on a straw etc.

When I quit smoking, I went with the smokers to the designated smoking place outside. I was using the nicotine inhaler and would only use it at the smoking place. It let me get my nicotine fix and still socialize with my friends. When I weaned myself from the inhaler (after about 2-1/2 months), I still went out occassionally to visit.

Um, why are there 2 threads about this?

one just isn't enough...

sorry about the two threads...I am relatively new to the cooler and made a mistake. thanks for all the advice. if anyone has anything else to share about the topic i would love to hear it!

Now worries...Romy..

ummm comp guy - are these the kind of snacks you eat???


I was going to suggest not snacking. i dont even buy snacks. No chips, cheezits, cheese puffs, or anything like that. No sweets either. Losing weight is all about the calories.

You don't get a body like this by snacking on what I mentioned

One.

What it takes to be a fashion-model

If you're female . . .


You should be somewhere between 15 and 22 years old, though probably closer to fifteen. Models don't have careers that last as long as say, doctors, so agencies tend to want to invest their time in someone young.


You should be tall, long-legged, and lean. The minimum height is usually about 5'8", and average weight for a model is 108-125 lbs. These characteristics are partly aesthetic and partly practical: this type of frame looks good on the runway and in front of the camera (which, they say, adds 15 pounds); and a somewhat scrawny build drapes clothing nicely and ensures a good fit in the standard wardrobe. There are always exceptions to the rule, of course - Kate Moss is 5'7" and Gabrielle Reece is a giant 6'3" - but, in general, the closer you are to the industry norm, the better your chances.

120 is going to be underweight on the BMI index. That's too thin. Watch your calories and dont snack. Thats what worked for me