Teresa has plateaued in her effort to lose weight after smoking cessation. Marion offers her support in what is often a frustrating battle to rev the metabolism back up.
Teresa’s story is as follows:
Hey everybody. I quit smoking 3 months ago [7/25/09] and have gained 10-12 lbs [depending on the time of day I weigh, water retention, etc…n} I’ve been doing the the calories in/calories out thing for a year n a half to loose weight… One of my biggest fears with quitting was the weight gain, as that was the reason I started smoking in the first place 18 years ago so i tried upping my activity more [went from walking 1 mile 2x a week @ 2 mph to walking 3 miles 4x a week @ 3.5 mph + kickboxing 2 x a week], decreasing my calories, increasing my food [others thought 1200 was too low]… everything…
My issue is that the muscle built from activity is not burning anything and the fat increased [I’m seeing rolls where I never had a problem before and getting BIGGER-gained 2 inches in my waist so far]. Can anyone tell me-really and honestly- how long it will take to level my non-existant metabolism?! I don’t want to start smoking again. But when I’ve worked so hard to loose weight , putting it back on has made me re-hate my body even more than I did before. I have to loose what I’ve gained and more by the summer [I was already the fat bridesmaid even before I quit].
In response to Teresa’s post Marion relates her similar story:
Don’t give up, I quit on June 14 and have gained 25 pounds so far, my husband quit a year ago in July and his metabolism is starting to level off. He gained over 40 lbs. It will take time, but keep it up and you and I will continue to be smoke free. I am very discouraged also but I have to realize that I am more healthy since I quit. I am having problems having energy. Before I would jump out the bed in the morning to smoke and now I only want to sleep all day. No reason to get out of the bed. I have alot of adjusting to do.
