I stopped smoking 19 days ago. I smoked a pack and a half a day for 35 years. I am a 47 year old woman. I've been researching metabolic recovery after quitting and, sadly, from what I understand, there is no recovery. Nicotine speeds the metabolism. No nicotine causes the metabolism to operate as it would for a normal person. I planned ahead for my quit. I went to the doc and got some Weelebutrin, which I started a month before my quit date. I am on the patch. I also knew that if I didn't change my eating and exercising behavior, I would simply use food as my reward instead of cigarettes. I started doing research into losing weight over 40, and have been eating high protein, veg, and fruit, hard cheese, nuts, protein shakes, and cottage cheese. I quit sugar mostly except in my a.m. Coffee and I stopped eating any and all processed food. I also started lifting weights...heavy weights. I've learned that the only way to lose weight over 40 is to build muscle mass because it is your body's muscle that runs your metabolism. There is a ton of info about this on the web. Anyhow, long story short, the combination of things I'm doing is working really well. I have no food/sugar cravings which is huge for me. I haven't lost any weight but I haven't gained either, even though I've already lost 2 inches off my waist. This tells me that I'm adding muscle and losing fat. The best part is that heavy weight workouts are short and I'm no longer doing hours and hours of cardio with zero results. Plus, I'm smoke free! If you knew me, you would say it is a complete miracle. I always said I'd smoke till I die. I wish you all the best of luck! Stay strong and treat your body like the temple it is! Martha
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I stopped smoking 19 days ago. I smoked a pack and a half a day for 35 years. I am a 47 year old woman. I've been researching metabolic recovery after quitting and, sadly, from what I understand, there is no recovery. Nicotine speeds the metabolism. No nicotine causes the metabolism to operate as it would for a normal person. I planned ahead for my quit. I went to the doc and got some Weelebutrin, which I started a month before my quit date. I am on the patch. I also knew that if I didn't change my eating and exercising behavior, I would simply use food as my reward instead of cigarettes. I started doing research into losing weight over 40, and have been eating high protein, veg, and fruit, hard cheese, nuts, protein shakes, and cottage cheese. I quit sugar mostly except in my a.m. Coffee and I stopped eating any and all processed food. I also started lifting weights...heavy weights. I've learned that the only way to lose weight over 40 is to build muscle mass because it is your body's muscle that runs your metabolism. There is a ton of info about this on the web. Anyhow, long story short, the combination of things I'm doing is working really well. I have no food/sugar cravings which is huge for me. I haven't lost any weight but I haven't gained either, even though I've already lost 2 inches off my waist. This tells me that I'm adding muscle and losing fat. The best part is that heavy weight workouts are short and I'm no longer doing hours and hours of cardio with zero results. Plus, I'm smoke free! If you knew me, you would say it is a complete miracle. I always said I'd smoke till I die. I wish you all the best of luck! Stay strong and treat your body like the temple it is! Martha
October 18, 2014 - 11:21amThis Comment
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