by Dr. G. Pepper | Jan 30, 2010 | diet and weight loss, general health & nutrition, health, hormones, metabolism, weight gain, weight loss
Maya Sarkisyan, a consultant with metabolism.com, shares her life experiences with smoking, gaining weight and hypothyroidism. If you want to ask Maya questions about her methods please do not hesitate to make use of our forum page. Once on the forum look for the “Latest Discussions” column and then click on Topic “Add New”. Then you are ready to post questions or your own opinions and comments.
Here is what Maya writes about her own life:
I replied some time ago to this thread and would like to add something. Everybody here posted a personal story of dealing with weight gain after quitting smoking. I went through that too. I smoked since I was 15, quit to have a child, picked up just that one cigarette a year after…, and than quit again 7 years ago for good. I did start gaining weight and was diagnosed with hypothyroid condition right prior to quitting. However what was effective for me is to modify almost all my life habits, not only eating and exercising. I did go to gym every day (and worked out hard) , ate small portions, meditated, made peace with few people in my life, looked at the bright side of things, etc. I even got certified as a fitness trainer! By no means it was easy but it was worthwhile doing. I wrote down all my life patterns and changed them all – even good ones modified slightly. I did it to reset my system completely. All the women in my family are very overweight and I’m not – only due to the discipline and frame of mind I choose to keep.
I started helping people to quit smoking with customized individual hypnosis sessions, because it is the best thing you can do – quit smoking forever. All it takes is a firm decision and sometimes some help.
I know that you can do anything when you make a decision to do it. Real firm once-and-for-all decision. I came to Dr. Pepper four years ago as a mess on Synthroid, and now with Armour, Selenium, meditation, and holistic medicine even my antibodies levels are going down. I decided to get healthier and did everything it took that is healthy for me. We all are not getting younger so I choose to take care of my body and eliminate unhealthy habits on daily basis, and help my patients do the same.
Good luck to you all, congratulations on quitting, and I wish you health.
by Dr. G. Pepper | Jan 17, 2010 | diet, general health & nutrition, health, hormones, metabolism
Debbi and Terri:
The Comments section at metabolism.com is a place where members have the opportunity to get their questions and opinions posted to the homepage for maximum visibility. Every day thousands of people have the opportunity to see what is on your mind. I try not to intervene too much in Comments so people feel free to say whatever…including what may seem negative about the website.
Everyday, Chris (our webmaster) and I review the Comments section several times. I try to find topics that have general interest which I then turn into a blog. I hope you have noticed that many member questions wind up in my main blog. It takes me a lot of time and effort to prepare a meaningful blog post. I also try to choose a wide variety of issues to cover the whole spectrum of metabolic issues, from the Armour Thyroid crisis, to diabetes care, to smoking cessation, weight loss, low testosterone, Vitamin D, estrogen replacement, osteoporosis, adrenal disease etc.
There is a serious shortage of Endocrinologists and the situation is going to get worse before it gets better. At metabolism.com I try to share my experience with as many people as I can even though I can’t get to every question. I regret if it appears I am ignoring anyone’s concerns.
Many of my opinions run counter to the medical establishment so I am not universally appreciated by my peers. But by countering some of the less insightful policies of the medical establishment I think I reach people who have been left feeling hopeless by their healthcare professionals. My next blog on the flaws in the latest Diabetes Treatment Guidelines recently released by my professional society, is probably going to make me even less popular at my next professional meeting.
Many thanks to you and other members of Metabolism.com for your support. And thank you for understanding the mission and limitations of Metabolism.com.
All the best,
Gary Pepper, M.D.
by Dr. G. Pepper | Nov 18, 2009 | diet, diet and weight loss, fitness, general health & nutrition, health, weight gain, weight loss
Maya has been a long standing guest expert at metabolism.com. In her recent post Maya offers her expert opinion on the debate regarding weight gain (and how to lose it) when stopping smoking.
Maya writes:
I help people to quit smoking using hypnosis in combination with other healing modalities. It is always an individual approach. Not everyone gains weight after quitting, so I have noticed that people who do generally have other underlying health issues, such as underactive thyroid function. Why than smoking keeps the wight down? There are few possible explanations.
1. when you smoked you constantly had something around your mouth, so you ate less.
2.The taste buds are getting desensitized because of the nicotine.
3. according to some Chinese medical sources the nicotine is a very hot substance and upon entering your body it dries up your fluids – vital fluids as well, such as your blood. This is why cardiovascular disease is associated with smoking.
Now when people quit smoking their body has to go through some sort of rearrangement. Food starts tasting better and it is important to start adjusting your diet even prior to the quitting smoking in order to prepare yourself for the long and healthy life. Adding more vegetables and fruits to your diet helps a lot. Drinking lots of water.
Detoxification process is a good approach after quitting to help your body get rid of the gunk accumulated over the years. This way you give yourself a good chance to get back in balance. There are different detox treatments available to do at home and some of them are very mild yet effective.
And, most importantly, taking care of yourself helps to get you healthier in all aspects.
Thank you Maya for your comments. You can find more of Maya Sarkisyan’s articles at https://www.metabolism.com/author/Maya-Sarkisyan/. Maya also maintains her own website at www.transentient.com
by Dr. G. Pepper | Nov 9, 2009 | diet and weight loss, general health & nutrition, health, hormones, metabolism, nutrition, weight gain, weight loss
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.
by Dr. G. Pepper | Oct 2, 2009 | diet, diet and weight loss, fitness, general health & nutrition, health, metabolism, weight gain
Molly has seen the light as far as coping with mood and metabolism changes occurring when getting off cigarettes. Here is her story as posted to metabolism.com:
I smoked regularly (pack a day) for 13 years–from 14 until 27. Then I became a social smoker, smoking occasionally, but not on a regular basis. Now, I haven’t smoked at all for a few months and I am 30. After I quit smoking (at 27) I slowly became very depressed and put on 30 lbs. I wasn’t exercising, but I wasn’t eating more either. Changing the kinds of foods I ate is what helped me lose weight. When I cut out alcohol and switched to a high vegetable (lots of cruciferous veggies) and whole grains diet and started walking, 15 lbs came off quickly. I modeled my diet after one that would lower estrogen levels–high estrogen levels lead to excessive tummy fat and breast cancer. Also, I started taking St. John’s Wort and I think it uplifted my mood. I think everyone who quits smoking should take St. John’s Wort. It’s only side effect is slight sensitivity to the sun and it helps curb the depression quitting can cause. People who quit smoking need to be patient with themselves. Smoking does mess with the metabolism and the people who say calories in calories out are not fully understanding the issue. It might take time for your body to get used to its new way of operating without the constant dose of nicotine. I am proud of all of you who quit smoking. I am really proud of myself. I seriously thought I would never be able to quit. So, good luck with your weight loss, but a few pounds are worth not smoking! And after all of the abuse we gave our bodies, we should focus on loving and appreciating them–even if they are a little chubbier than we would like, they are still beautiful!!!!
