Just wanting to rant

[LisaD0365]

I quit smoking 3 months ago....FINALLY....I still have cravings and all...but can get thru them...problem is....I gained at least 5-10 pounds....I was overweight before...but now....everytime I want a cig....I eat something...I totally know that it is all in my head....but a carrot stick doesn't do it for me....but chocolate does....
My problem is....I am getting disgusted with my weight....I am trying to exercise...but Dr told me with my pulmonary hypertension is causing me to get short of breath and to take it easy.....I know smoking is not the answer...but I keep thinking....if I started back smoking...I would lose the weight....I know....I know....quitting is better than the weight....but .....call me vain....I would rather be like I was before my open heart surgery and strokes.....but know that isn't going to happen....
Thank you for listening.....letting me just rant....

 

[Nan]

Hi Lisa, rant away! It is a very tough thing to give up smoking. But probably worth the fight when you have existing cardiac issues!

I also battle pounds all the time, I am currently trying weight watchers once again. It is the program that seems to work the best for me.

I am not going to meetings, just following the points guides etc.

If you haven't already, you might check it out, it is more flexible than most programs and I think healthy.

You could even manage some chocolate with it.

 

[bvdr]

Lisa, hang in there. You sure don't want to take up smoking again after all you've been through. Your lungs need all the breaks they can get especially with your pulmonary hypertension. You just have to find some other way to fight the weight issues.

I think Nan is right about WW being a healthy lifestyle. Others have great success with low carb which I think can also be a healthy diet if you do it right. Whatever you choose though don't resume the smoking. As bad as it is for anyone else.....it is even worse for you.

 

[Mary]

Lisa,
I can't believe that anyone would ever smoke again after having OHS. I was so grateful that I had quit 30 years ago, and my lungs were clear.
My daughter and son in law both smoke, and I told them afterwards, they would rue the day they took up smoking if they ever had any type of chest surgery--for whatever reason.

Any other method of weight loss is better than what you are contemplating.

 

[perrybucsdad]

I say just have sex 16 hours a day.... that should do the trick. Great exercise and you'll be having too much fun to want to smoke. Just think how great your abs and legs will look after a week of that.

- John

 

[Mary]

I say just have sex 16 hours a day.... that should do the trick. Great exercise and you'll be having too much fun to want to smoke. Just think how great your abs and legs will look after a week of that.

- John

Splendid idea, John!
It's amazing what we learn on this forum!

*any similarity to a previous reply to a "JOHN" post is strictly accidental in nature, and in no way reflects poorly on my post surgical communication abilities*

 

[Mary]

Just for you, Liza!

 

[mamsram]

how I quit

how I quit

ITS A BATTLE!!
One day I told myself " I am not going to smoke anymore, I don't care if I gain 100 lbs. or become a nervous wreck with tics or what have you. HOW?? I decided that I would do anything I wanted to, anything except cigarrettes. Yes even sex (wife agreed ) chew gum, suck candy, chomp on burgers and diet coke (I klike diet better than the sweet stuff) Well, it worked, but, Even a few years later I would suddenly get a craving for a good deep drag on a butt, and I would have to brush it aside. And seriously I would have dreams where I would catch myself smoking and get angry because I couldn't understand why I was smoking, of course I wasn't, That insididious hold on you is unbelievable. Its been 18 yrs now, no dreams, no sudden cravings.What do I think?--Its the best thing I ever did for myself!!!!
Oh yeah I told my wife, if I start smoking again (meaning I failed) DON'T SAY A WORD. that was important. Good luck and hang in there.

 

[Ross]

I say just have sex 16 hours a day.... that should do the trick. Great exercise and you'll be having too much fun to want to smoke. Just think how great your abs and legs will look after a week of that.

- John

Yeah but John, once you stop to rest, that's when you want that smoke. Are you saying we should all have nonstop sex?

 

[savysmommy]

Quiting smoking was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. Give yourself credit for making as long as you have.. you have made it through the hardest parts. Advise, NEVER CHEAT! Not one cigarette, not one or two drags.. nothing. I swear, your body remembers that addiction, before you know it.. you will have just one more. Then... another.. and so on. I dont think that people who were truely addicted can ever casualy smoke again. Which is a bummer, I still miss it every now and then.

It will get easier as time goes on.

Best wishes,
Shannon

 

[Marguerite53]

Geez you guys!!

Geez you guys!!

Lisa. Quitting is tough. I quit when we decided to have kids (24 years ago) and managed to stay quit except for a few party drags here and there. My husband has a much more difficult time and so I COMPLETELY sympathize with you. However DO NOT START SMOKING AGAIN!! Please.

How about this? I'm overweight and not an exercise person at all. I've been walking a high school track with a friend now for a year. We are still just as flabby. Who cares. Fresh air, yakka yakka, it's great. All my numbers are improving. We decided to join Curves. I don't know if you've got one in your area, but you might check it out. It's just women. It's so easy and very friendly. Only takes 30 minutes (or less or more, as you choose). You use about 10 machines in a circle for 30 seconds each and then a walk/run/dance in place foot board in between each machine. You go around 3 times. You can go as often as you like. Maybe, having other women around you in a healthful atmosphere would help you stay away from the cigarettes. If you have a Curves close by, you could hop in your car every time you get an urge, and "workout" instead. There's a website. probably curves.com

Hang in there. If you must have chocolate, put some Nestle's chocolate chips in a freezer bag and just reach in once in awhile for afew.

GOOD LUCK! Be good to yourself!!

Margueirte

 

[perrybucsdad]

Yeah but John, once you stop to rest, that's when you want that smoke. Are you saying we should all have nonstop sex?

Yes....She's a woman, she can go MUCH longer then us men can go.

 

[geebee]

I understand the vanity thing. I have a sister who is 105 pounds sopping wet and I am, well let's just say, a bit more than that. Whenever I stand next to her I feel like a hippo. And then I had to be really stupid and see the new Angelina Jolie movie and I am ready to sew my mouth shut.

Hang in there. Better to have a chocolate addiction than smoking again. Try some fat free puddings, they help some. Also, Werther's hard candy is very satisfying and not too high in calories (unless you scarf the whole bag)

Keep on posting and we will talk you out of smoking.

 

[LisaD0365]

You men....must think alike.... ....When telling my hubby I have an 'oral' fixation...that is why I am eating alot since quitting smoking....he told me he would oblige me.... ....he said he was only doing it for my health..... ..he really sacrifices for me..... ....

PS...He has never started in smoking....he was 12 when his Dad died of lung cancer...so it was easier to quit since he didn't smoke...just that he doesn't know what a craving can be like.....

 

[tobagotwo]

I failed at quitting smoking several times years ago. And gained weight. What I found was that when I started smoking again, I didn't lose the weight, so it was a false hope for me, and a lousy excuse.

I finally was able to quit for good when my son came to me and said he had already lost his mother (acute myelitic leukemia), and didn't want to lose me, too. Totally unfair of him, really below the belt. I quit to show him how important he is to me.

I betcha hubby would say that he would trade smoker's breath for a few extra pounds of you any day. And your coworkers would probably enjoy the fresh air, too. When you smoke, you trail a whiff of sour tobacco smell behind you everywhere you go. I did. My still-smoking wife does. You did, too.

Stay clean. You're dong great, and you've come too far to punk out now. When you get the cravings, divert your attention as best you can till they go away. It gets less over time.

I really know how hard this can be. I know you can do it, though.

Best wishes

 

[Big-Chuck]

not smoking

not smoking

ok I'll throw my 2 cents in. I quit smoking 30 yrs ago and immediately became a sweet aholic, instantly went to 310 lbs and hated myself. I got sick with a disease called giardia(stomach issues). After getting rid of the disease I couldnt seem to shake some of the symptoms so a doctor suggested I quit eating all sugar, made stopping cigarettes like child's play. I immediately lost 65 lbs in 2 months. That was 25 yrs ago.

 

[LisaD0365]

Lisa,
I can't believe that anyone would ever smoke again after having OHS.

Mary....I quit smoking for 2-3 yrs right before my OHS....why I started back up you ask?....I was married to a jerk.....just as I was being wheeled into surgery...for OHS....he leaned in.....all the nurses stepped back thinking he was going to give me words of encouragement and endearment....actually....this is what he said....."HONEY....I AM LEAVING YOU...I FOUND SOMEONE ELSE...YOU WILL HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN RIDE HOME"....there was an awkward moment with the nurses when he was walking away....but for one thing...I was so loopy...didn't care....and actually...the hospital was going to put me on suicidal watch and all that...but I was very happy he ended it....(15 yrs of abusiveness and alcoholism)...I was more or less doing a happy dance...much happier with my new and improved hubby....but when my parents went to pick me up after my surgery....My mom who smokes like a chimney....started to light one up...and I begged her for one...so she gave it to me and the rest is history...
I am checking into Curves as soon as I get the green light from my doctor...and I have had the dream also where you dream about smoking....I just keep thinking...it has been 3 months...why ruin it and start back up again...the hard part is over...don't want to have to go thru with that again...
I am going to go shopping for some hard candy and such....I found a program that will tell you how much you saved from not smoking and for right now...I have saved $450....(wondering if hubby wouldn't mind me shopping once in awhile.... )
thanks for listening...

 

[tobagotwo]

Your first husband must've been a nightmare. What a gutless waste of skin. If I'd have been a nurse there, the moment would have become more than just awkward.

I take a part of the money I used to burn up while destroying my lungs with cigarettes and put it into lottery tickets. I figure it's "found" money. And the prizes are a lot better from the state lottery ($$$) than from the tobacco lottery (emphesema, lung cancer, personal tobacco odor, etc.). The rest - and more, of course - goes into community charity issues I have become involved with.

I'm glad you're hanging in there with getting rid of the nicotine.

Best wishes,

 

[Mary]

Lisa,
You might want to consider your smoking cessation to be your final victory lap celebrating the loss of your first husband.
You could consider that you are truly showing how far you've come since the "gutless waste of skin" (Thanks, Bob) left.
You didn't, and still don't, need him.
You don't need cigarettes.
You have a new life ahead of you.
Please don't mar it by reverting to "old habits".
And I would take that $450 and spend every cent on myself, girlfriend!

 

[CCRN]

That's great!

That's great!

I quit smoking 3 months ago....FINALLY....I still have cravings and all...but can get thru them...problem is....I gained at least 5-10 pounds....I was overweight before...but now....everytime I want a cig....I eat something...I totally know that it is all in my head....but a carrot stick doesn't do it for me....but chocolate does....
My problem is....I am getting disgusted with my weight....I am trying to exercise...but Dr told me with my pulmonary hypertension is causing me to get short of breath and to take it easy.....I know smoking is not the answer...but I keep thinking....if I started back smoking...I would lose the weight....I know....I know....quitting is better than the weight....but .....call me vain....I would rather be like I was before my open heart surgery and strokes.....but know that isn't going to happen....
Thank you for listening.....letting me just rant....

Hey girl!

Do you understand the enormous accomplishment you've made already? Stopping smoking is a tremendously hard thing to do! Ya know, I had already lost about 18 lbs when I had to stop exercising due to my valve problem. Really pissed me off because it took me a year to lose 15 of them. However, I did a diary of what I ate for a week......really did'nt change anything and evaluated my diet. I didn't want to lose any more weight because I wanted "something to fall back on" fo the surgery. But I did'nt want to gain either. So, looking at my diary, I saw I was eating too many simple carbs and sugars. I cut down on those and was fine. Hey......I did'nt deny myself anything. I just treated myself to a coke one or twice a week, ate fairly sensibly, and went ahead and had a Krispy Kreme donut at an inservice. Don't beat yourself up. Just keep on truckin. Try taking a walk instead of eating or eat some celery instead of chips....it's more filling anyway. The weight smokers put on after quitting is usually lost within a year. Things will turn around for you. Have you discussed this with your physician? He/she might want to be sure this gain isn't increased fluid retention. Wellbutrin has helped many people to quit and the anti-depressive effects might help too. It's not unusual for people like us to get depressed and I find it overlooked a lot. Oh, one piece of chocolate isn't going to kill anyone. I make a game of it: If you can go 3 days being good.......you can have a whole can of coke, etc. Hang in there! What you've done so far is wonderful. Keep up the good work!