struggling

Well I'm really struggling. I weigh 18 st 7 the biggest I have ever been. For some years I have hovered around 15 st. I have put on 3 st since last September when I was prescribed anti depressants. I am a depression sufferer and my anti depressants were changed because the ones I was on stopped working. Also I have copd of the lungs due to heavy smoking. I have just been told to quit smoking. But I don't want to put on more weight. I am thinking of joining WW but am worried stopping smoking will stop me from losing weight as your metabalism slows down when you quit smoking. Before I was told to quit smoking I was gonna lose weight first. I can't exercise much as I get breathless very quickly. I just don't know what I'm going to do. I really want to lose the weight but giving up smoking can make you put on weight. I'm so upset. I just thought I would post on here. I'm in tears. I'm just hoping i can stick to healthy eating whilst giving up smoking but it's gonna be hard especially as I can't excersise much. I just don't know what to do. I feel frightened I know that may sound stupid. But I can't cope.

Hey Lisy,
I dont think this is something you should go through alone, its hard enough to lose weight - it'll be double hard to quit smoking at the same time.
Has your GP offered you any help? It might be a good idea to get a diet buddy too? Someone you can do this with?
I'll be honest, losing weight isnt easy and I genuinely believe you have to put your heart and soul into it so you need to be ready but all you can do is try and do your best. If you've done that then theres nothing else you can ask of yourself.
A lot of people cut down on smoking rather than going cold turkey. Maybe if you cut down and began dieting then it'll give you a kick start.
You can do it, you really can. But its not just a physical thing, its not just eating right and increasing your physical exercise its a mental thing too, its about looking at food in a different way. We should eat to live - not live to eat.

Dont worry about getting out of breath either, I'm exactly the same. I've only been dieting for 5 weeks, but I've been exercising too. And before I started dieting - I couldnt get to the top of the stairs without getting out of breath and wheezy. I lost a lot of confidence with my fiance because I would get out of breath easy doing intimate things, and I find that really embarassing. Sometimes I only had to carry a few shopping backs from the car to the front door and I'd be sweating! But only 5 weeks on and I've found that I'm getting less out of breath. I still get to the top of the stairs and am out of breath but its taking me less time to recover.
A friend of mine in my class is an elderly blind lady, and today she told me about how one of her exercise students is 82 and couldnt sit up from laying down, and just from walking every day for half an hour she can do planks - and she is 82!!!

I do the WW pro points plan, I find it really hard at times but I think that if it was too easy and I still lost weight then it would be too good to be true.

I genuinely hope you succeed in everything and I would love to know how you get on.

You can do it!

xxxxxx

Thanks for your reply. all I can do is do my best. It's probably best I tackle the smoking first and then lose the weight. I can't do both. But I will try and eat healthier to stop gaining too much weight. Eating fruit and veg rather than food replacing instead of fags. I feel a bit more positive. Thanks xxx

Good luck to you by the way xx and thanks for sharing that to me. You can do it xxx you have done well xxx

Don't be so hard on yourself I'm sure it took years to get to where you are now so it's not going to be an overnight transformation.

Do you have an idea of the times you crave your fags?

I ask this because my weight gain came from eating desserts straight after dinner and especially once I got the children to bed I would party baby just scoff my face and watch a movie in peace and quiet! Now I've realized the pattern I've been struggling to ignore the sweets calling me it's very hard but I'm getting there slowly.

Maybe make a note of the times your smoking/snacking and go from there. e.g if it's 40x spread it out to 20x a day

This is just my 2 cents, Good luck hun, All the best!

no lisy dont worry - you can do it

both being obese and a heavy smoker is very bad for your health

i know one thing - IF you managed to get started - the smoking a day at a time, either cut down first or quit altogether - the weight off

IF you lost all the weight and were quit the cigarettes you would feel like a new person - you can do it

i had a mild depression 2 1/2 years ago so i know the added problems - fatigue etc