Gaining weight

bglittert1979

bglittert1979

New member
Hey Guys! I need help, I hope you guys can help me. I have been trying to get back to eating normally for about a year now and just haven't been able to. I decided to quit smoking a couple of weeks ago b/c I figure I am already gaining weight might as well gain for a reason. I weighed 125-127 this time last year and now I am bouncing around from 135-139. I have been exercising 5X a week for 40-50 minutes each to avoid gaining anymore weight but it's not working. I gained 3lbs in the last 2 weeks. I know I need to get back to eating right instead of eating like a pig. I finally got exersizing down again but I need help with food! I had enough will power to quit smoking but I can't diet? I have been struggling like this for a long time and it is driving me crazy. Please help me get back to me!!
 
Many people gain weight while trying to quit, one of the reasons is substituting food for smoking. It makes perfect sense why we all do it - to satisfy the hand to mouth motion of smoking, and well, frankly, to give us something to do during the time that we used to go outside and smoke. Try your best not to fill that void with food, or at least, not bad food.

The effect of smoking on metabolism is minimal at best, so don't be over worried that your metabolism is slowing down from not smoking.

You are off to a good start with the exercising. As for the weight gain, if you are gaining odd ball amounts pretty quickly, my first look would be sodium. You might be prone to water retention, like myself. I wasn't when I was younger, but got that way around my early 20s. I have to be very careful with sodium intake or I will gain pounds overnight in water weight. Make sure you watch the salt intake (watch out for canned soups, frozen foods - even Lean Cuisine, and check labels for sodium content) and keep your water intake up.

After looking at your FitDay -

*be careful with the hot dogs and canned soups
*granola isn't always as healthy as it's cracked up to be and it's pretty high in fat
*look at the pie chart -
try to aim more for around 40% carbs/ 30% protein / 30% fat (mostly good fats) - the majority of your calories (which are pretty high) were from carbs - I am not a fan of Atkins, etc however, keeping carbohydrate intake to under 50% can help a lot (try to get your complex carbs from whole grains, brown rice, sweet potatoes) and the rest of them from fruits/veggies
*your caloric intake is pretty high for your weight, but I don't know your height/age/sex so I can't say for sure what it should be, and you are active, but 2200 is on the high side. Just guessing, I would put you around 1500 a day or so, but would need more info to get a more accurate number.
 
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I'm know a lot about what I am supposed to be eating, my problem is that I just can't seem to do it! I know I am eating too much, but I just can't seem to get on track food wise. Has this happened to you guys before and for this long?
 
Try keeping a food journal, in which you write down everything that passes your lips. It puts an extra step between seeing something tasty and eating it. I did this for a while when I was trying to improve my eating habits, and I would think `Mmm, donuts... wait, I don't want to have to write that down'. Just that added pause would make me reconsider.

For added incentive, post your food log on the boards here daily. Knowing other people will be looking at it should really help!
 
I have the exact same issue! I smoked every day for 8 months, one day I decided to stop and that was it. Wasn't even that difficult, yeah I fancy one every now and then but I never give in and haven't had one since mid September! When it comes to food I'm useless! I think a food diary is a good idea as someone mentioned, that is what I do, although its a little depressing as sometimes you think you've been pretty good then when you come to write it all out at the end of the day you've taken in more calories then you thought, but I suppose thats what its for.

Anyway, good luck!
 
bglittert1979 said:
I'm know a lot about what I am supposed to be eating, my problem is that I just can't seem to do it! I know I am eating too much, but I just can't seem to get on track food wise.
Click to expand...

If you're still as hot as you were in your avatar picture, I wouldn't worry about it too much. ;)


What exactly are you having problems with? Are you eating too much constantly, or just at certain meals, or is it the choice of food? With what little that was shared, probably the best thing you can do is start drinking a ton of water and eat more often, but smaller, healthier meals. Shoot for maybe a gallon a day. Drink it all throughout the day. When you do get the least bit hungry, eat the least bit to counter it so that you don't ever feel inclined to go crazy. If you're doing it right you'll probably end up wanting to eat something small every maybe 2 hours or so. If you are properly hydrated then feel just a little hungry, if you could just eat like one piece of fruit, things like that, then stop and wait awhile, typically your cravings go away and you never feel like eating too much. Also try to eat more protein and fiber, but don't go crazy on the meat. Check out Kashi cereal for breakfast, try to eat more beans, etc.
 
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I've read before that controlling a food addiction is harder than quitting smoking or drinking or any other addiction, because you can't just stop eating -- you need food to survive. I don't know many pack-a-day people who have quit who could have cut down to 1-2 cigarettes a day... or severe alcoholics who could have just 1 glass a day... quitting something completely, and taking it out of your life, is something you can't do with food, and makes the self-control, willpower, etc harder.

It doesn't help, but try to not think of yourself as a success with your smoking and a failure with your eating... it's not that simple.
 
I think that food journals, more often than not, discourage people and make them beat themselves up about everything they eat. This makes them feel worse and most people with eating problems find comfort in food. Plus it's a bad cycle to get into. Keep a food journal, stick to it, lose the weight you want, then what? Write down every single thing you put in your mouth for the rest of your life? Most people lose the weight then ditch the food log (their method for becoming healthy). You have to teach yourself how to eat healthy and when to eat certain things, while still pleasing your cravings. This way it's a part of your life and you don't spend 3 years worth of time throughout your life writing down what you eat.

Also, 5 days a week at 40-50 minutes of exercise is more than enough for anyone. What are you doing to exercise though? Try to stay away from building muscles and just stick to cardio. Maybe some of the weight you gain is from your work outs? Even if you're just doing cardio, maybe it's your leg muscles building. I would suggest sticking to only cardio until you've lost the fat you want to lose, then add in some muscle toning. The other thing I find is helpful, is not to look at the scale for encouragement. Use the mirror as your scale. Fat isn't the only thing that adds pounds. You have fat, muscle, water, the meal you just ate, etc..
 
Johndoe-I would love to believe that it is muscle, but I know it's not. I have been eating like maniac!! I am trying to eat better now. I want to lose 10-15 lbs.
Corndoggy- luv the name!! I gained 10 lbs since that picture! But even in my recent pictures I look the same. I don't know how that is, but I have went up 2 pants sizes since!!

I've got the food journal online. It's my signature. I just haven't been able to stop eating. We'll see how this week goes!! The good thing is that I seem to have stopped gaining weight! So that makes me happy cause if I gain anymore, I might die!!
 
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