newageseer, have you tried a low carb diet? That cereal nonsense is crap. I can't believe a dietician would recommend that to anyone. I know of a great support group website for all kinds of low carb diets if you're interested. So far i've lost 30 pounds since jan 2 [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/12/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 226 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,340 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $885.92 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 17 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 5 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

I no longer have health insurance, so surgery is out, as well as another visit to the dietician (can you say quack??? lol). I would consider it though. My dr. did mention it before we lost our insurance. And thanks for asking about how I was doing. I still have some health issues, but the treatment made me so incredibly ill and messed up my mind so badly with brain fog that I don't think I will ever do another round of it. So I will just go day to day and see if they ever come up with a new form of treatment. I expected to put on maybe 20 to 30 lbs after quitting, but I just don't understand how I can continue to gain weight on a 1200 calorie a day diet with up to 3 hours of hard-core aerobic type exercise a day (spinning poi). I am very frustrated by this and as some of you may have seen in my introduction post, being triggered by the weight gain and having dreams about smoking. Well, I just started spinning the poi a few weeks ago and I know I am toning up quite a bit, so maybe right now I am gaining some muscle mass? For those of you that don't know what spinning poi is, we spin glow poi, sock poi and fire poi. And I spin fire staff too. It really is an aerobic workout. My friend went from a size 10 to a size 4 in one year by spinning poi. I hope it works for me. I have noticed my clothes are looser, now if the scale will just move off that 249 mark! Wait, let me rephrase that-- if it will LOWER from the 249 mark! Thanks for taking the time to share and suggest. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/12/2003 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1414 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 103,222 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $12726 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 137 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 57 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

Newageseer, If the plan your dietician came up with isn't working for you then go back and insist she change it. I'm sure there are many other items you could eat, perhaps just in smaller portions because here's the thing: if you don't feel it suits you or that it is doable, you most likely won't stick with it. The other side of it is that a change in lifestyle is almost more successful and results more long lasting than quick fix diets. This concept is the same when it comes to exercise. If you don't like the gym, find a fun activity you can incorporate in your life. Start doing it on a weekly basis and increase the frequency as you become adjusted to having this activity in your schedule. Ex: 20 mins a day with the pup is great! When you're ready, up it to 30 minutes. 10 minutes is a manageable increase, right? When you get used to 30 minutes, increase it to 40 minutes until you reach you maximum goal whichever that may be. Ex: Going to the golf range every two weeks for an hour. Later, going to the golf range every week, ect... Have fun with the physical activity component. Mix it up. Keeps it from feeling like a chore if it's something you enjoy. Hope this helps. Danielle _________________________ The SSC Support Team

We meet again :) I'm sorry the treatment didn't work - are you ok? A good friend of mine just had lapband surgery (she uses it as a "tool" like we do with this board :). Have you thought of that? Hers was covered by insurance and it's a pretty neat tool and not too invasive. Just a thought because it's worked so well for my friend. Marie [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/3/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 79 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,373 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $592.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 21 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

Don't let the title scare anyone off of quitting smokes, it wasn't entirely due to quitting that did it. I have a chronic illness and tried a treatment for it that uses chemo-type drugs. I lost weight, lost my hair, threw up, you name it and I had the side effect. I quit smoking the same day I came off of treatment. Kind of my celebration to be done with it (it didn't work by the way, I am still sick). I was almost 39 at the time I quit, (it will be 4 yrs in May). The dr said most people gain weight when they get off of treatment, but a combination of my age, the treatment and quitting smoking "killed" my metabolism. When I quit, my favorite snacks were sunflower seeds in the shell (it kepts my hands and mouth busy) and twizzlers. They were something to hang out of my mouth. Ok they were fun-- I bit the ends off and used em as straws! After I gained the weight, I literally went to the gym and worked out between 2 1/2 hrs to 4 hours a DAY. That included everything from Yoga and Tai Chi to water aerobics to cardio and strength training. I gained 5 lbs. I was drinking 8 glasses of water a day and eating hardly anything. when I did eat it was veggies and salads. I have gone to a dietician (at the doctor's office, so she is legit) and she wants me to eat nothing but 1% milk (no can do-- makes me gag, but 2% is ok) and whole grain CEREALS and fruit as a snack. she then said that if I got tired of that, I could eat the cereal for 2 meals and maybe a healthy choice tv dinner a day. What is that?? cereal = people kibble???? Has anyone else heard of anything as nuts as this? By the way, I tried it for two months 1% milk and all and I gained another 6 pounds. I am eating 1200 or less calories a day. two weeks ago I gave up and ate 2 1/2 boxes of girl scout thin mint cookies and I LOST 2 lbs. Figure that one out. anyone have any suggestions??? I am at 250 lbs! I no longer go to the gym, but I walk my puppy for about 20 mins a day and I spin poi (I also spin fire) which is a really great workout and I do that anywhere from 1/2 hour to 3 hours a day. That and spinning the fire staff. Help please?

I haven't tried the low carb diet, mostly because I hate meat and everyone I know on the low carb diet always seems to have a plateful of meat.... I am willing to try anything. At this point I feel like giving up entirely. I have never had to diet in my life. I was always a size 9 -10 or less, and then BAM I am up to 250 in the blink of an eye. At least it sure feels that way. So yes, please send me the info so I can at least look at it and get an informed opinion. Thanks, sharon

It sounds like your diet was too calorie restricted. That's why you lost weight when you ate the cookies. I've been on severely restricted diets and almost always lost weight by increasing my eating. When you go on severely calorie restricted diets your body goes into starvation mode and expends as few calories as possible. If you are still on the cereal tv dinner diet, add two snacks a day in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon or in the evening. Add fruit and a yogurt, or something equally as healthy. Adding some calories will make those pounds melt off.

Newageseer, I'm diabetic and on the diabetic diet, I lost a lot of weight that I didn't even need to lose. It just came off. You do drop your carbs down A LOT but you have to have some carbs. Those carbs are your long lasting energy and I've heard of many people who were on the Adkins diet and became very weak. The Adkins diet completely cuts out the carbs. Then as soon as you start taking in more carbs, you gain the weight back. Try eating lots and lots of veggies and especially green veggies. Eat smaller portions of these veggies: corn, potatoes, carrots, English peas, and lima beans. Those particular veggies are loaded with sugar. You need to cut out all sugar. Anything made from flour or cornmeal, cut your portion way down. And if you know you're not going to be active, cut the carbs even further. If you can, try to eat lean meat. Protein is good for you, it's your quick energy, and it burns off fast. Carbs, they're long lasting energy, they stay in your system, and turn to sugar. You said your metabolism is shot. My doctor told me that after a good amount of exercise, my metabolism stays sped up for up to 6 hours. It's real important that you speed that metabolism up by doing a BRISK walk and other aerobic type exercises. Oh, cereals are soooo high in carbs. I can't even have a small portion of cereal without it running my glucose level way up. What I've noticed is the foods that run a diabetics sugar way up will also make you gain weight. Weird, huh? I hope your health improves. You sure have gone through a lot and I'll keep you in my prayers. I mean that too, I don't just say those words. Hugs, Tutti [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 64 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,904 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $229.76 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32

Yeah, you have to eat enough calories to loose weight, and the heavier you are the more you have to eat in order to be able to loose weight. It takes energy to loose. You know? I just joined a calorie counting website, and i'm hopefull for the future. I'm up to 250 as well, and I feel so crappy, tired, listless, and drained that I can hardly stand it. Kind of stinks.. You quit smoking and expect to look and feel on top of the world and invincible. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 280 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,407 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3640 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 24 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 33 [B]Seconds:[/B] 51