Quit smoking, now food addicted!
I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this problem, I quit smoking in 1999 and have been gaining weight steadly ever since. I did not have problems with weight, prior to quitting smoking.
It seems as if food has become my addiction, and once I start, I can’t stop!
I love all bad food, and will eat it until it’s gone 
I am good all day at work, my problems start in the evening, it’s like I "graze" from the time I get home until bedtime!
I hate being like this, I hate myself for having no self control, quitting smoking was far easier then controling my eating!!
I find low carb dieting is the only way I can lose weight, but it’s sticking to it that is so very difficult.
Any help that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I personally have not gone through this. I know it’s a common problem (gaining weight) when you stop smoking. My dad said that he would start smoking again if he could just to get rid of the pounds he’s gained since. He had to quit because of a heart attack. Of course the way he eats now … I can’t do anything about it and it breaks my heart.
You should stick your head in on the Beyond the Binge thread. I don’t know that anyone in there smokes/smoked but we all have issues with constant eating. Me … it’s when I’m bored and since I’m a SAHM and my only interaction is with DS (15mo) and DN (1yr) … I’m ALWAYS in the kitchen. I’ve caught myself actually eating their food while I feed them. Anyway, come on over!
Hope to "see" you soon!
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
yes this is how I gained weight I went from 115-179 in less than a year after I quit smoking but it was because I started eating junk food. well I clean up my body and now I am addicted to exercise, and photography which is something I can live with
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I hate to say it, but after quitting smoking in May my weight has creeped up 15 pounds. I was OK in the summer (I biked at least 10 miles daily), but now with less daylight/busier lifestyle/cold weather I can’t bike.
My big weakness is sweet stuff.
I can resist everything else, but I am a sugar addict. This sucks, but I am still glad of not smoking.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
The way I understand addiction is that it is a disease. The sympton of the disease is the substance, but the substance isn’t the disease. I have heard it is a 3 fold illness, physical, emotional and spiritual. That our minds are as sick as our bodies and to find the solution, we must search for a relationship with a power greater than ourselves than can restore us to full health. Some choose to call this God, but it is the God of your understanding. If this all sounds familiar to you, it is taken from the 12 steps. Dr Phil also advocates a similar approach only in a different vernacular. He uses his 7 step method.
As far a replacing one substance for another, it is common. I did it when I quit smoking 30 years ago and gained 80 lbs with my first pregnancy. I have learned today to replace my bad behaviors with healthy behaviors which improves my self esteem. I want to be loved today and I don’t have to turn to my substance to find love today. I know I am loved.
I was at a support meeting a few weeks ago at a hospital where the head nurse was advising the folks who had lost lots of weight to be wary of substituting another unhealthy substance for the food they were no longer eating. That it was common for people to turn to spending, gambling, even alcohol or drugs once they put the food down. What happens is that all the feelings start coming up, feelings that we kept in place by stuffing ourselves with food, and once the food was no longer an option, I might turn to other options that aren’t healthy too. Today I turn to prayer, exercise, meditation, talking with others via phone or computer, planning my meals ahead of time, taking care of myself. I journal my thoughts and feelings and talk them over with others who have traveled this road before me and they give me counsel.
Turning to food is not your only option when you quit smoking. If you act as if it is, then it will be. Give yourself other options. Best wishes.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
I think you will get some good advice here to help you. I sympathize. It happened to me too. Even after the desire/compulsion to smoke went away I still had the urge that I wanted "something"…….and I’d think, "…maybe I’m wanting a big beef and cheddar sandwich!" I was mistaking the subconsious urges in my brain for a cigarette, which I no longer had, to a hunger for something…
One tip I can offer you which helped me so much, because I also was just fine with my food intake thruout the day but grazed all evening, was to set the alarm and wake up much earlier and then go to bed much earlier in the evening.
I’d get up around 5:00 am, which was really early for me, and then get lots of work done around the house, have time to savor a small but tasty breakfast, etc. I was able to work in some exercise, which I always put off, saying I was too tired or didn’t have enough time.
By not having so many hours until bedtime each evening, I had fewer hours of temptation to snack, and those hours were always the ones where my willpower broke down.
Maybe this would work for you too.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
It seems as if food has become my addiction, and once I start, I can’t stop!
I love all bad food, and will eat it until it’s gone
I am good all day at work, my problems start in the evening, it’s like I "graze" from the time I get home until bedtime!
I hate being like this, I hate myself for having no self control, quitting smoking was far easier then controling my eating!!
I find low carb dieting is the only way I can lose weight, but it’s sticking to it that is so very difficult.
Any help that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated
Hi Jetta,
Do yourself a favor and don’t buy the "bad food" – if it’s not in the house, you won’t be tempted to eat it.
It sounds to me as though you may have a couple things going here:
1) Emotional eating. Using food to avoid dealing with emotions – I highly recommend a book by Linda Spangle called "Life is Hard, Food is Easy" (can I recommend books here or is that a no-no?)
2) Not eating often enough. In order to keep your blood sugar stable and the cravings monster sleeping, try eating every 2-3 hours. I’m a grazer, m’self and there’s nothing wrong with it – the trick is to graze on foods that WON’T make you gain weight. Jicama, kohlrabi, daikon, sweet peppers, cucumber, etc.
3) Dr. Gittleman (author of the Fat Flush Plan) writes that some of the foods we love the most are those to which we are sensitive and should avoid at all costs. Let’s see if I can summarize her technical explanations…
…when you eat foods to which you are sensitive (not allergic to, but a step below that), you have an immune system response which includes the release of hormones and endorphins. Endorphins – think of them as your body’s opiate response – give you a feeling of relief. As the endorphins fade, however, you start to feel uncomfortable and unconsciously try to recreate the pleasant feelings by eating MORE of the food that triggered the endorphin release. Also as part of the immune response, hormones are released that give a mood lift and burst of energy. Once these hormones are depleted, you have fatigue and low moods and as a result, you craving MORE of the foods that set all this off. The third part of immune response is destabilized insulin levels and lower blood sugar = need for energy, usually carb energy. Lastly, when your immune system has been triggered, it is so busy fighting the effects of the "invader food" that it cannot distribute serotonin (serotonin is the chemical that says "I’m FULL! STOP EATING!").
Voila! – before you know it, you’ve eaten an entire bag of potato chips and you feel ill and weak and a failure.
Your thyroid is a key hormone gatekeeper. If your thyroid gland is stressed and underfunctioning, it can greatly contribute to weight gain. Have you had your thyroid checked?
Stop hating yourself – you are unique and of value, cut yourself some slack. You have recognized a potentially destructive relationship with food. That’s a valuable insight!
(ok, that’s more than a "couple" things – I’m math-impaired so sue me.
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