Just quit smoking now time to lose some weight (veggies, quitting smoking, health issues)

[mkearns]

I finally just quit smoking. Been smoke free for a month now. Anyway now its time to work on my weight and health issues. Let me give you a little background about myself:
Im 24 with a 14 month old son married to my high school sweet heart. When I was in high school I was a size 3 115lbs. Its funny because back then I thought I was fat man what I wouldn't give to be back at that weight. Anyway moving on 6 years later i have now reached 198lbs..

I want to make my self over to come close on how I used to look. My goal weight is 125-130ish. I need some advice or tips on what I should be doing.. What are the best exercises for someone like me? I used to play softball and was on the swim team in high school. I know I have to do some cardio but what would be the best cardio exrcises for me? For how long should I work out? For people who quit smoking and started exercising how long was it before you felt you weren't grasping for air while exercising? How can I start running? I do go on bike rides usually twice a week for around 30-40 mins towing my kiddo behind me.

My diet right now consists of 3 meals a day. Cereal (special K) for breakfeast, usually a sandwich for lunch and a basic dinner. Im trying to cut down on carbs. I elminated soda and only drink water/gatoraid.

Any adivce or insperation you can give me I would greatly appreciate it. I really want to be healthy for my son and want to drop this weight before he realizes mommy is fat lol.

[ShepsMom]

Congrats on quitting!! I'm smoke free going on 4th month!! The day i quit, i went and join gym, best thing for me, because i can't get motivated otherwise. So, i'm at the gym every day for the last 3 month. I've only dropped 8lb, but i don't really do any type of dieting, i just try to eat smaller meals and i drink tons of water. I also noticed my body start getting more shapely
Do you have a bike? Ride it, your son is small enough for a carriage, run with him, or start with fast walking. I'm sure he keeps you busy as is!!
I'm sure many people will chime in with more info. Good luck and keep going!

[fisher33]

great job!! i'm so happy for you quitting smoking and wanting to get more healthy. i think you're on the right track and if possible, joining up with a class (yoga, pilates, spinning, etc.) would offer a lot of encouragement. i have a hard time working out on my own every day. i tend to skip more often. so find a buddy to work out with or join a gym if you can.

the gasping may be from not working out hard in a while - i still gasp when i run hard.

hopefully this bump will get others to give their input too. good luck and way to go!!

[OA 5599]

You should probably stop drinking Gatorade and switch to things like just water, coffee, and tea. Gatorade is better for your than soda, but still contains quite a bit of empty calories (around 100 I believe for a 16 ounce bottle, but you should double check that).

Running would be a great way to drop some weight rather quickly. If you aren't quite ready to dive into running, a great way to start would be by briskly walking a couple miles around your neighborhood a few days a week, and once you feel like you've gotten in better shape, start jogging some of the distance, and gradually increase your distance and speed. Cycling also helps a lot, especially pulling your son along, but isn't quite the intensity that running is (you will burn more calories quicker with running), but by all means keep doing it also! Walking or jogging will slowly increase your lung capacity and general respiratory system's ability to feed your body with oxygen, and while you may gasp a little at first, within a week or two you should see some results and start feeling better.

[mkearns]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I really really want to lose this weight and be in better shape then what i currently am. I don't believe in diet pills or diets but rather healthy eating and being active. I brought this weight on my self by being un healthy and its time to straighten myself up again.

Unfourtuantly I just cancled my gym membership as I could no longer afford it anymore. So I was looking on tips for exercising that doesn't involve spending money. I do have a park that has a trail right by my house that I have started going to. I guess what I was asking is what kind of routine should i be doing to be able to lose the most weight? I can work on muscle tone later right now the main concern is the extra pounds killing my joints and knees. If someone could just give me a layout of how much time i should be doing what exercise how many times a week. As I have no idea if what im doing is the best for my situation.

[OA 5599]

Doing some cardio on the trail next door should work great and cost you very little. You should invest in a good pair of shoes if you want to do a lot of walking and running though, but you don't need to spend a whole lot of money, you can get a decent pair of running shoes for $50-60, I've ran several hundred miles in a pair of New Balance running shoes I paid $45 for!

I'll admit I'm not an expert, but I think 4-5 days a week of exercise your neighborhood trail should do you well. Probably start walking briskly first until you loose some weight and feel comfortable running. You are still young at 24 so your knees should be relatively OK, but it is definitely a good idea to take it easy on them at first. Walking burns around 100 calories a mile (depending on person and speed, of course), and most people walk about 3 miles an hour. I would do at least half an hour a day, and increase that once you feel comfortable. Running and jogging will burn more calories quicker. When I was losing weight I usually ran around 2 miles a day, and with a good diet, I lost around 50 pounds, but over 8 months or so (I had just turned 21 and was talking in a lot of extra calories most weekends with beer though!).

Another free thing to do is calculate up your calorie needs, using an online calculator. I posted this one: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm earlier, but the website doesn't seem to be working at the moment. If its not back up later, Google search for "daily calorie needs calculator" or something like that. Using this, calculate up what you need every day compared to what you are eating. There are also other online calculators which will tell you what you are burning by exercising based on weight, sex, age, and exercise intensity which may give you a better idea on what you burn if you need it. A pound of fat is 3500 calories, so if you eat 500 calories less than you burn every day, in theory you'll drop a pound of fat a week. Your calorie needs will drop as you lose weight however, so you'll need to adjust it. From my experience and the experience of others, the first 25 pounds of so will fall right off of you stick to diet and exercise, and the reminding weight will be harder to get rid of, but its still possible.

[Callin]

In fact in many cases a big problem is gaining weight after quit smoking. Smokers are more likely to store fat on the waist and torso, rather than the hips.
Have you faced the same problem?

[pitt_transplant]

Do you breast feed? I know that sounds crazy but you need to eat more to nurse and you can actually nurse away the pounds! Obviously eat more if more needs to be made.

For workouts I would just start by picking ANY activity that you actually like and do it.
Thats it.

Also watch what you eat. 1300-1800 calories a day. You will maintain on 1500-2000 for your goal weight (unless you become a gym bunny then you can eat more)

Do not cut carbs if its what you like. Just pick whole grain versions. Carbs are not bad. Processed Carbs are. Its much easier to do it that way especially if you like carbs to begin with. At most do 1-2 low carb days a week to get you into fat burning. (diet tip trick - always kick of reductions low carb to use up stored calories and get to the stored fat. The body burns the glycogen stores THEN the fat stores)

Do count you calories.
___________________________________________

That is phase one kick off advice.
After you beat the mental game of quiting smokes, always counting cals roughly and adding a new activity..the rest is easy add-ons you can do when comfortable.

I quit smoking too..I noticed I felt better in three days...But I am fast healer I think.
Either way..the leisure activity of just getting out there and walking or playing in the park or whatever you like to do will be an easy way to deal with the "great lung clearing"

Do not run until you are a healthy weight. Any high impact cardio should be avoided until you get to a healthy weight for your height. It can injure tendons and joints to put that excessive force of running and the excess weight too.

p.s. I always recc. spark people diet for workout plans because they are free and you dont need to buy a home gym to do them. You can also log you cals and goals there. It gives you dietary advice too. Its a pretty cool diet site I think.
CalorieCount or Calorie King for looking up calories. (massive data base)

[Callin]

There are a special herbal teas which suppress appetite. I drink every day two cups and feel great us I even lost my weight.
Quit smoking products: New herbal quit smoking product (http://saysmokingno.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-herbal-quit-smoking-product.html - broken link)

[lorilly01]

Great job I am trying so hard to quit smoking again but as for you weight thing I quit smoking 2 years ago(unfortunately started again 6 months ago) but when I quit I weighed 221 lbs. my highest weight. I began speed walking and began about 2-3 miles every morning and gradually worked up to 5-8 miles per day mostly because I'm just not a runner and they say it's bad for your knees and joints. I then threw in a 40 minute Gilad step aerobic workout after a few months about 3 times per week then after a few months after that I had to change it up and did a 30-40 minute workout every morning on the stairstepper. I loved the stair stepper it really worked great. I lost 80lbs in 1 year and could breath well within about 3 weeks. The more you begin to get physical the better it gets. My lungs were clear within about 3 months. But on the weight thing. I found that if I ate 7 tiny meals a day protein rich and drank at least 64 oz. of ice water per day and did at leasta 40 minute cardio 4-5 times a week then that worked best for me. watch the carbs. Veggies , fruit and lean protein. Black beans, broccoli,eggs, grapes, low carb fruits. lots of water. and streagth training even just small weights and resistance bands at least 2 times per week mixed in with pilates or floor excercises. Good luck hope that helps.. By the way when I began smoking again I started gaining about 15 lbs back cause I stopped working out because I couldn't breath..So I'm quiting again...healthier was so much better and thinner...