Any quitters?

[Mags12]

Just wondering if anyone has successfully quit smoking while following SW.

I know that giving up should be priority and it is, I'm planning to stop I want to offset any weight gain though and was thinking that with free foods (in moderation!) it might be doable to do both....or am I wishful thinking lol

 

[cmcewn]

Hi I stopped in March before I started SW but started again this last week grrrr stupid me! I can't even afford it! The patches worked for me honey are you trying those?

 

[Mags12]

Hi Carole
I stopped before using patches but every time I was stepping down on them I was too weak willed to ride the craves out and started again. A friend sent me a copy of the Allen Carr book on pdf so I've been reading that (anyone that wants it let me know) and was going to try his approach...he says it's not cold turkey/willpower but it seems to me that it is lol.

Definitely want to stop again and thinking in the next few days might be the best bet, striking while the iron is hot and all that lol...going back to class tonight to get updated books etc and I would love to give it my best shot this time.

 

[mandy296]

I quit smoking a just over 3 years ago - before Slimming world - in fact not smoking probably led in some respects to the weight gain that led me to SW in the first place (biccies with a cup of tea instead of a fag etc).

So I would think that it would be pretty hard to do both - but not impossible.

It wont be easy but you are right, it should be a priority and I'm sure you can do it. If it helps, I did it with the Alan Carr book too - I never really felt when I read it that anything amazing was happening to me to make me not smoke anymore, but I finished the book and havent smoked since, so something must have worked (I was a full time, 20-30 a day smoker)

Good luck!

 

[Hayleyberrybenj]

Not me but my hubby gave up smoking the same day he started SW.He went to see the smoking cessation nurse at the doctors and was started on the patches.He just had his fortnightly check up and so far so good.Good luck with giving up xxx

 

[Mags12]

Thanks Mandy and well done on quitting I was thinking that if I got the craving (as I know I will) instead of reaching for the sweets and chocs like I have done before I could grab a bit of fruit or something else that's free....but again, that'll have to be in moderation.

Thanks Hayley I'm glad he is doing well, is he losing on SW still despite quitting at the same time? That's what I would ideally love to be doing.

Just me wishful thinking lol deep down I know it's going to be hard no matter what I do x

 

[Hayleyberrybenj]

Hiya..he lost 5 lbs the first week and we have WI tonight so I'll let you know
He's taking tons of carrot and cucumber sticks to munch his way through at his desk which he says helps and lives with 3 packs of sugar free gum in his pocket x

 

[Mags12]

that's brilliant Hayley! Would love to hear how he gets on at WI good luck for both of you xx

 

[Bige]

I stopped in January this year and put on 2 stone, I started SW about 7 weeks ago and have lost just over a stone now. I knew I was going to gain weight but didn't think I was strong enough to do both at the same time so gave up the cig's first and now that's cracked I'm fighting the flab.

A lot of people fail on just a diet let alone a diet and quitting the cigs at the same time, I think that is way to much.

Concentrate on the smokes first as despite the weight gain I felt so much better and when you have quit you can start the diet and excursive without wheezing.

Good luck

Regards

Ian

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

Hi there. im proberly a fair bit younger than you (being that im the baby here on minimins lol)

i started sw 2 years ago, and quit when i was three months in. I'd been smoking 10-15 a day for about 3/4 years when i quit. (yes. I started very young. Im ashamed!) Unfortunatly in the area i lived at the time i could easily get hold of them and havnt been id'd since i was just 13. My dad smoked heavily so he would allow me to smoke so that i wouldnt tell my mum he hadnt quite either (appauling i know)
At first it was tough, but i threw myself into food optimising and because it was SO important, i found the motivation to lose weight far stronger.. it made it all so easy. Just dont think about it.. just do. too much thinking leads to imaginary cravings.

Drink tonnes of water/ fluids..

i tell you, after about 6 months the smell of smoke made me want to vomit and still does now, its disgusting!

 

[Mags12]

Ian well done on quitting! As you say it might be too hard to do both that's what I'm most worried about
Fern I started smoking at 14 and 20 years later I'm smoking 20-25 a day, disgusting habit I know, when I quit before and could smell smoke on other people I couldn't believe how awful it was....it didn't stop me picking up again on a night out though I so wish I hadn't. Thank goodness you were able to quit and not let it carry on until you got older x

I will be quitting over the next few days, I'm thinking Friday as that is my least stressful day of the week and any other day I know the slightest bit of stress I would use it as an excuse to light up. I need to rid the house of everything associated with it, stock the cupboards with free food and go for it
x

 

[Littleslimmingbee]

I quit cold turkey.. only because id be kidding myself to 'cut down' Its the only way i can do things. All or nothin' kinda girl me LOL xxxx

good luck honey, you CAN do this x

 

[imso]

I quit smoking by reading Allen Carr the easy way and i joined slimming world the same week... Tbh it wasn't easy, i struggled to loose weight for many months but i did maintain, which is actually great considering the average person puts on 2 stone when they stop smoking.

Good luck

 

[Mags12]

Cutting down doesn't work for me either, I rationalise it in my own head to make smoking more enjoyable and look forward to the cigs I'm having more which isn't the way to go at all. I'm reading Allen Carr again at the moment and feel it starting to 'stick'.

Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences, it's good to know it can be done xx

 

[Hayleyberrybenj]

Just wanted to update that hubby who quit the day he started SW lost 4.5 lbs last night and won SOW(beating me by half a lb the bugger!! ) So it is possible..best of luck hun xxx

 

[Mags12]

That's brilliant hun, even to have those losses following the plan alone but not smoking as well, inspirational! Well done to him and you on your losses too x

 

[thelandlady]

hiya, i gave up the ciggys in january cos i needed surgery and was told the bone op would not work if i was a smoker, so i gave up, i ate sweets galore and put weight on, i joined sw in may and doing ok, the thing that stops me start smoking again is standing next to a smoker THEY STINK i d hate to smell like that. sorry

 

[Mags12]

hi hun
well done on quitting and I hope your op went well, I know what you mean about the smell of a smoker, I swore that I wouldn't ever light up again when I had quit for a while and had my sense of smell back but unfortunately when intoxicated my resolve isn't that great lol....so here I am months down the line back to being a full on smoker again.

When I quit I won't ever take a puff ever again, that's the slippery slope I found that slid me right back into smoking, has to be all or nothing

 

[krupskaya]

I gave up smoking when I joined SW. I put out my last fag before I walked through the door. I've used sugar free nicotine gum and lozenges so you don't have to put on weight. The patches don't work for me - I need something to put in my mouth. I would defo recommend using nicotine replacement therapy - it just makes things so much easier.

 

[Lucky7]

I smoked my last ciggie 1 year and 1 month ago. I made sure I had everything I needed in the house, bought myself some new PJ's and stayed inside for a week of cold turkey. This included ingredients for making lots of syn free yummy stuff (the cooking kept me occupied).

I did a lot of wii fit stuff, and found that the yoga in particular really helped. I think one of the things that we get from smoking is those 5 minute intervals where we stop what we're doing a focus on our breathing. It's a shame that we have to be inhaling and exhaling smoke and a load of chemicals for us to consider this worthwhile. Anyway - the yoga does the focussing on breathing which was helpful.

The first 3 days were really hard - lots of headaches and tightness of the chest / feeling jittery, etc. (Be really aware of all the possible side effects of stopping smoking, and when they are likely to kick in and subside. It's a lot easier to deal with unpleasant feelings if you understand why they're happening and know it's only short term. Knowledge IS power).

When I started going out again it was harder because then I had t deal with 'habits'. But I remembered all the hard work I'd done in that first week and somehow managed not to cave in. I changed little things, like my route to work (I always lit up at the same points in my journey, so passing certain places was a bit of a trigger).
If I was really really struggling I would wash my hands and leave them to dry naturally, telling myself that if I still wanted one once they were dry enough to hold a ciggarette, then I'd have one. Cravings geerally only last a ridiculously short time, so by the time they'd dried I felt okay enough to resist again.

This is a good website for info...

WhyQuit - the Internet's leading cold turkey quit smoking resource

I'll shut up now. Lol.
Good luck xxx