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Old Fri, Apr-13-07, 16:06
Lisa N's Avatar
Lisa N Lisa N is offline
Posts: 12,028
 
Plan: Bernstein Diabetes Soluti
Stats: 260/-/145 Female 5' 3"
BF:
Progress: 63%
Location: Michigan
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Camaromom, there is no possible way that your gains are fat; 2 pounds overnight is always water weight (unless you really consumed 7000 more calories than you burned). Even if your metabolic rate has slowed down, smoking doesn't increase your metabolism by more than 10% which means that if you could maintain on 2000 calories before, your body might burn a couple hundred less; if it takes an excess of 3500 calories to equal a pound gained, that adds up to a [real] pound gained in 20 days (maybe). OTOH, if you added a 30 minute brisk walk every day (how about walking when that urge hits?), it would more than counteract that slowdown.

According to this link, it's not uncommon to gain between 3 and 5 pounds due to water retention during the first week (I've heard that figure go as high as 10 pounds) but it's not permanent. Please don't let a few pounds of temporary water weight gain stand between you and your quit.

Something that helped me was to write down ALL the reasons that I wanted to quit (not just the one that was my greatest motivator) on an index card; post it in several places around the house and carry one with you in your purse. Whenever you get an urge to smoke, pull out the card and review it; it helps you to focus on all the reasons why you DON'T want to smoke instead of obsessing about how you are craving.
It also helps to time your craving episodes with a stopwatch; no physical craving should last more than 3 minutes before your brain gives up and goes off to pout. Not that there wont be a craving again later, but success breeds success; each time you successfully resist a craving, you increase your confidence that you can do it...and you CAN do it.
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