quit smoking

I have quit smoking as of 1/30/2012.  I am 2 years and 9 mths out.  I have managed to maintain my weight loss until now.  I am gaining weight.  Is there anyone who has quit smoking that can offer some good sound advise?  It is driving me insane.  Don't want to begin smoking again and I surely don't want the pounds either.

Help !!!

First of all, congrats on quitting smoking.  I quit 12 years ago,I know how hard it is and it's quite an accomplishment.   To be honest, I think it's reasonable that you are going to gain a bit of weight.  It is still better than going back to the cigs.  Try to make any snacks that you are eating in place of a cig, healthy ones.   Perhaps try chewing gum?  I used to cut a straw in half and chew on it or 'smoke' it like a cigarette.  I  would inhale through the straw deeply like a cigarette.  After about 3 or 4 'puffs', it actually calmed me down - guess it was the deep breathing.  I also would suck on cinnamon sticks...

Good luck and if you do gain some weight, you can get back on track after you get quitting cigs under your belt.  Wishing you all the best - take it a day at a time; a minute at a time if need be.  You can do it.  What a gift you're giving yourself and your loved ones!! 

Thanks so much.  I have brought some cinnamon sticks but have only used one.  It did seem to help and I guess I will go back to them.  I have tried gum, but would rather not chew gum, as I am a poor gum chewer.  I smack. lol  12 years is a great accomplishment.  I surely hope I can maintain my quit smoke as you have.  I think that I am doing pretty good.  I must admit that I have smoked 1 cigarette since my quit date of 1/30.

Thanks again and good luck on your journey.  I believe that I saw that you have lost 20 lbs.  How are things going for ya?

Congrats on quitting.  I just quit again nearly 3 months ago.  I had quit before for 9 months and started up again.  Maybe I am still in my honeymoon period but I haven't gained weight, even though I was kind of hoping to.  I tried sucking on sugar free hard candy but the sugar alcohols didn't care much for me.  I also tried sunflower seeds but that really didn't help.
Like the previous poster said, right now the priority is not smoking.  You can deal with any gain later.  I heard that you can gain up to 10 lbs even if you don't change the way you eat because of changes in your body chemistry.
I try to think about all the positives with not smoking, I'm saving tons of money, I don't have to deal with the smell, I can go places and not get antsy jonesing for a cigarette.  Just make a list of all the positives you can find and think of them when you get tempted.

Thanks Ladytazz.  I have gone back to the journal;  just not about smoking.  I guess I need to spare a few pages for that and not just the weight. lol  Its worth a try.

Thanks

I recently read that people who quit smoking only gain 2-4 lbs. Now I know I gained more than that (I was several years pre-op) but like Irish and Tazz have said the most important thing is to quit the smokes THEN deal with any weight gain. Which is not to say eat a gallon of ice cream everytime you want to smoke! Make healthy choices and be patient, it's a tough thing to do but you will be so glad you did!

I have tried quitting for the past year.  I have used chantix (twice - and never ever ever again), patches, gum, straws, thinking of the money, smell, etc etc. 

I tried patches in October and found that they worked the best to reduce the need for the 'release'... but I supplemented with a cigarette or two when needed and still gained about 30lbs.  :/ 

This most recent time, I decided I was seriously done (may have something to do with starting the WLS process too) and chose to do the patches and bough an e'cig.  I figured that the patches would help the cravings and if I needed the behavioral "cheat" then I could use the e'cig. 

It worked.  I'm officially 3 weeks, 1 day, 20 hours and 7 minutes free of cigs!! 

Sooooo... maybe you could get one of those e'cigs to help with the behavioral... or (dont blast me for this) buy a pack of cigs and try to smoke one.  I tried this last week and after such a short amount of time, I about died it was absolutely disgusting.  :/

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!

I have used the patches and the logenzes for a total of 3 days.  Felt like I was in the outter limits, so I decided to just cold turkey.  It has worked for me thus far.  I have only had one cig since 1/30, opposed to a pack a day.  I believe that I have that licked.  My problem is the weight gain.  I do have a ecig but when I attended an eight week quit smoking class, I was informed that it was not good for ya.  I don't know, but I became afraid to use it.

Congratulations on your quit smoke.  It seems to be just as long as mine has been.

YOU CAN DO IT!!! Hang in one minute at a time.

I used the nicotine patch 20+ years ago, and that helped a lot. And I did gain weight. But I was so glad to quit that I didn't care. I don't think I would go back to it for any reason now- I like being healthy and I hated stinking of the smoke.

I wish you strength and persistence!!!