Which is harder, losing weight or giving up smoking?

[Pearly0505]

went cold turkey on smoking, a year and three months ago. still have the occassional wanting for a ciggarette mainly when i am stressed but that would envolve going out and buying a packet and upsetting my partner (he hates it)
dieting i find difficult, im loosing steadily but i stress that its not enough.

I think dieting is a lot harder because we need to eat to survive, and eating is socially accepted, whereas these days smoking isnt. eating is also easier to hide from others in an addiction sense, it doesnt make you stink or have yellow fingers like smoking does. the after affects (such as weight gain) take a lot longer to appear.

If i could loose weight like i gave up smoking i'd be the happiest person in the world but its just not happening =[

 

[Stupid]

i hate myself because i am a food addict[if such a thing exists but i do like to eat too much of the wrong foods and every day is a struggle as a result and nothing seems to take my cravings for junk food away] . smoking is recognised as an addiction food is looked at differently and i can't help but feel i should be able to give up the junk food

i must try and read that book. i once rented it from the library but never read it

 

[tigerjack]

I dont smoke but I can say with a lot of confidence iving up smoking is probably 10x harder. I know heaps of people who have been able to shed the pounds, but never give up smoking. If you can give up smoking, I reckon you could just about accomplish ANYTHING in life.

 

[Toots]

Losing weight is harder
You don't need cigarettes to survive but you do need food so still have to eat - total abstinence is not an option

xx

 

[surfinbernard]

They are similar in terms of difficult-ness as well as on other levels. I found that giving up smoking was very, very hard until I found I was pregnant and once the 'choice' was taken away- no problem at all! It was very easy once the option to smoke was gone. Eating less can be very difficult because you still have to eat, you can't avoid food and people who eat, places where eating takes place etc. like you would with another addiction so it takes a complete reworking of your mental attitude which is of course possible, but not at all easy for most.

 

[CalebM]

I think it depends on the person and their environment.

I've never been a smoker but I have been an overeater and a spender (credit card debt.)

The hardest part about quitting smoking and losing weight is the emotion. For one, it's the emotion of nicotine and the other it's the emotion of sweets and food in general.

And the science shows that you can't try to hide or ignore the emotion. You have to face it somehow and this is what people typically don't do in diets. This is why over 90% of dieting attempts fail.

I think the reason why people fail to lose weight and can't quit smoking is because there is nothing more important to them than the emotion of nicotine/food.

For some people the emotion changes overnight, and for others it takes many years. And of course for others... never.

 

[colly strings]

losing weight has definitely been harder for me than it was when i gave up smoking for 3/4 years- although saying that as of late i have lapsed back into smoking (stressed!!!) so maybe i'm not one to speak

 

[Stupid]

sorry again

yes this is something i have always wondering

they say food is not addictive[some people do] although there is such a thing as food rehab[think i need to go as i am greedy] like nicotine ...but yes food is hard as you can't just give it up

so am looking at this thread

 

[CatCrazy]

There is not a correct answer on this one. Everyone is different and everyones new attempts are likely to be different too. I guess it all comes down to your reasons for quitting the ciggies or wanting to shed the weight.

The first time I quit smoking I found it sooooo easy, used patches for 10 days then couldn't be bothered buying anymore, I had no cravings, it was a walk in the park for 5 months until I was under a huge amount of ongoing stress and during a crisis one evening everyone lit up and offered me one and I took it without even thinking. Big ooooops!

2nd time round it was/is very different. I still use nicotine gum 2 and a half years later. I can NEVER start smoking again and the gum is my crutch to make sure I never do. If I smell one I want one. I've no idea why the 2 experiences are so different.

As for weight loss, for me sticking to calories has so far been easy, the stall in loss is annoying but the "dieting" is not hard. Just need my body to release the blubber!

 

[tarotwoman]

Catcrazy,

I've had a similar experience dieting that you have had smoking. First time round, I found it easy to stick to, lost weight to my target and kept it off for 10 years.

Over the last 2/3 years it's kept creeping up and I'm just stuggling sooo much to get it off. I lose a bit then it goes back on again, why is it so much harder now?

Tracey

 

[Stupid]

good luck

i do find food/weight a struggle..for example i tried to switch from coke to pepsi max[as pepsi max is supposed to have 40 cals less per 100 ml ] and i hardly lost any weight

i always intend to be good with food but fail

happy new year to you all

 

[immynjoesmum]

quitting smoking was a hundred million percent easier for me than dieting