Great topic. I was lucky enough to lose 12 pounds before I decieded to quit and had done that through weight watchers. When I quit I put about 8 of the 11 back on but the nice part was that I hadn't gained back all the weight that I lost. I find not worrying about it is the best thing you can do. Don't let it stress you out as it is fact that you will put weight on after you quit smoking (for so many reasons...eating more, cravings salt and sweets, metabolism slows, etc) but it doesn't mean that it will stay on forever and that you can't lose it. Make small changes that suit you...start walking, pick healthier snacks instead of ones filled with empty or high calories, eat lots of fruits and veggies, start exercising, etc.
You know that smoking doesn't keep you skinny, otherwise we would have already cured obesity and I would be a size 2. Smoking keeps us at our current weight (which we may not even like to begin with) but it in no way helps us lose weight. Decide what is important to you....and start making a plan to change it. Don't even think about smoking as it sounds like you have made that conscious decision already and now you can start conquering the weight lose. Use the same tools that you had available to quit smoking and demonstrate that ability to loose weight. It is do-able as you already know and you have proven to yourself that you can quit smoking so let weight management be your next thing just don't push yourself or make yourself crazy because of it.
You can do this just put your mind to it like you did with smoking. You are strong...empower yourself. You have the power to decide.
Hope it doesn't come across as pushy but quitting smoking has sent my life into a positive upswing and I do believe that we can do anything we set our minds to. Yes it will be hard but what isn't? Stick to it and you will see fabulous results. Even if you don't loose a ton of weight off the start...eating healthy and exercising will make you feel like a million bucks.
Good luck and take care.
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]11/12/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 95
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,425
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $855.00
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 14 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2