Smoking and Metabolism

Coco84 wrote: »

I'm off cigarettes 5 months today using Champix. The quitting part is fine. The thing that has really bothered me is the weight gain. I've gained about 6 kg since I quit. I'm the heaviest I've ever been.

I'm using MyFitnessPal to track my food and consume 1200 calories per day while either attending an exercise class or running at least 4 days a week. I can't remember the last time I allowed myself a dinner or real lunch.

I'm guessing my metabolism has taken a hit from quitting smoking. My question is does this ever return to the way it was or even start improving a little? It's really bothering me to see the weight increasing every week despite being so hard on myself. I know I can't return to smoking but I really need a solution.

Maybe even hearing other people's experiences this far in may help.

P.S had blood tests. Was told they were fine but at the same time the doctor won't take my weight concerns seriously as I'm still in the healthy BMI range...very frustrating!

Coco84 wrote: »

Well 2 years off them now and I'd say my weight has stabilised at about 5-7kg higher than I was as a smoker and 1 size bigger in clothing. Honestly I was underweight as a smoker and I'm not going to lie, I quite liked it that way. Being skinny and being a smoker were, in a way, how I defined myself. Very sad, I know, but this is probably why the changes to my body got me down so much. That and the fact that the changes happend so suddenly. I did struggle a lot with my relationship with food since and gave it too much power over me which probably in itself contributed to my fluctuating weight. I know now that willpower is a finite resource and I was better placed to just ignore any changes to eating habits while I focused on quitting smoking. There's plenty of time to focus on eating habits once the non-smoking habit has been well established. I also realised that other people weren't nearly as aware of my weight increase as I was. I was still underweight but obsessing over my jeans getting a little tight on the hips.

Since quitting I've gotten very into fitness and wellness. I now workout 5-6 times a week including regular heavy lifting which was completely new to me. I've stopped running...because honestly who enjoys that!?! Instead I have a good mix of heavy lifting, spinning and bodyweight HIIT. I no longer workout to control my weight. Instead my motivation is fixing the damage I did over the years, optimising my mental and physical health and showing my body the respect it deserved all those years I was smoking.

Now my BMI is in the lower end of healthy whereas before it was well below the healthy range. I'm still toned but have more muscle mass, so less sharp bones and twiggy thighs and more muscle in the right places to fill out my jeans. Based on my home scales my body fat % has increased 1-2% so it's not all muscles that I've gained. Before I looked starved, now I look slim but strong. The foods I eat are a lot more nutritious and less processed however I still have a snacking (in place of smoking) habit that I've to get a hold on.

I wouldn't say I've reached a point yet where I can recap on the full effect of quitting. I still struggle with the urge to restrict calories/food guilt. I can say quitting was the best choice I ever made. I've since made many other changes but it was the first big step and now I care a lot less about the change to my body. I know it's hard to ignore the changes to weight but if you can try to just focus on quitting the smoking habit for now and investing in your body for the sake of health, not asthetics. Celebrate its improved function rather than how it looks. You can always change the way it looks later when you've more willpower to go around.