Can You lose Weight AND Quit Smoking at the Same Time?
Posted: Saturday, March 08, 2008
by Mr. Keith
IChooseThin
I used to smoke two to three packs each and every day of a popular name brand cigarette that comes in a red and white pack with black letters and the name begins with an "M". Enough said about that, now you know I am an ex-smoker.
Here you sit, at your computer and you want to lose weight and quit smoking. You feel as if you can not do one with out the other. Both are unhealthy and yet you are thinking you would rather smoke than gain weight. You believe that if you do not smoke you have to gain weight. Before we tackle that myth, let us look at some things learned from those who have gone before.
You may think you are addicted to tobacco and it is sad to report to you that you are not that addicted. Sure I could quote all the facts about what is really in the box with the "M", but let us try this simple test. For this test you even get to smoke. I will even let you smoke as much as you want. But I want you to change your cigarettes to the roll your own kind. No, I am not talking about smoking pot, I am speaking of using plain old roll your own tobacco. You will be able to roll smoke after smoke after smoke of pure tobacco and you will still want to smoke a cigarette with the "M". This is because you are addicted to not only the tobacco but also the CHEMICALS that are ADDED to the tobacco. Doubt this? Try it for yourself.
Death by Stupidity
You have one life to live. Every year 400,000 people DIE from smoking related illnesses. Every year 300,000 people die from being over weight. So if you are an over weight smoker then there is a pretty good chance you will die from one or the other. All too often we are "politically correct". We are afraid to tell others (especially in the work place) what truly needs to be told. So here goes, just between you and me and the solitude of the monitor you are looking into right now.---"If you are an over weight smoker and you die, it was a pretty stupid thing to do." There it was said. Yes, to die from a completely preventable death is a pretty stupid thing to do.
Oh Yes, The Diet Question
It is very possible to gain weight when you quit smoking but it in fact has little to do with the slowing of your metabolism. Sure, it is a tad bit harder to lose the weight when you quit smoking but that really is just an excuse to justify your "inability" to actually quit. The reason you gain weight will more than likely be caused by the fact that you are eating more. You can not escape the reality that fat is the result of taking in more calories than you burn. Period! Nothing more and nothing less. If you quit smoking do not turn to food to keep your hands busy. Do not use food as a crutch and for heavens sake, do not use food as an excuse to keep smoking.
72 Hours
Your body is only craving nicotine for 72 hours after you quit. So why do you still want a smoke two weeks later? This is a simple question to answer. It is either all in your mind or the chemicals added make you crave something that is not tobacco. If it is in your mind, then it should be just a matter of discipline and if it is a chemical added then why the heck would you allow yourself to inhale some chemical someone created for you to get addicted to in the first place?
Before we go I now find it amusing that I used to have a nice car and always smoked with the windows opened and held the cigarette out the window. Why was I more worried about my car than my lungs?
If you want to quit then quit. If you want to lose weight then make the choice. Just do not allow yourself to make one the excuse for doing the other.
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Top-level comments on this article: (8 total)This really helped me! thank youMy pleasure! I re-read the article and I am once again happy I chose to quit the habit. This weight loss thing is a butt kicker though!!!!!
Thank you...
This is going to help my mother soo much! Thank you and I wish all the best and only the best to you kind sir. :)
Corrections:
Weight gain and smoking cessation are VERY CLOSELY linked. And sorry, but the nicotine craving (biopsychologically) lasts for FAR LONGER than 72 hours... up to 12 weeks, depending on the patient. Your statistics are vague, have no frame of reference (and are also not referenced to any study whatsoever), and in all likelihood, are completely false.If you would like some REAL information about smoking & cessation, visit PubMed.Wow another genius know it all. I beg to differ with ALL of your statements. If I wanted to write a medical review I would have done so. But since you insist here is quick link to how long nicotine is addictive to a person....You can find it yourself at (Since this site FORBIDS external links I will just quote it)"It can take up to 72 hours for the blood-serum to become nicotine-free and 90% of nicotine's metabolites to exit the body via your urine. It's then that the anxieties associated with readjustment normally peak in intensity and begin to gradually decline.But just one powerful "hit" of nicotine and you’ll again face another 72 hours of detox anxieties. It's why the one puff survival rate is almost zero. None of us are stronger than nicotine but then we don’t need to be as it is simply a chemical with an I.Q. of zero. It does not plot, plan or conspire and is not some demon within us. Our most effective weapon against it is, and always has been, our vastly superior intelligence but only if put to work. "The article is vague to keep it short and of interest and relevant. What I wrote is not "completely false", it is completely accurate.
I quit 4 months ago and feel great. I decided to quit smoking so that I would actually have the lung power to lose weight. But, now 4 months later, I'm not exercising like I should.My doctor told me the best way to do it is to quit smoking and try to lose weight at the same time as a "full health improvement" program. Exercise will make not want to smoke or eat.Good luck to us all!!!
My Doctor told me to loose weight first then stop smoking, But aint it much better to stop smoking first and loose weight at the same time yes you do have cravings for food and cigs but its your health do both. I though doctors all want you stop smoking and live healthy my doctor toldme not stop smoking yet they dont know what there talking about.
I was just sitting here talking myself into smoking because I am so scared to gain weight. 4 days quit after a pack a day for 17 years. I feel better. thanks
I have to say that everything in your post was deff helpful, im in the process of trying to lose weight , quit smoking and stop drinking beer and in my opinion most of those go hand in hand , when ever i try to diet I find myself smoking alot more to compensate for eating, and when having a beer i crave a cigarette..so im stopping it all ,Im not in overall bad shape we can always improve our self but my husband recently passed suddenly and i need to know that im doing all I can to ensure that i'm here to see my children grow......wish me luck ..i hope that a yr from today i can post that i was able to doit all
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