Aa
a new beginning
im male, 33 yrs old, im 5 11 282 ilb. today i quit smoking, i usually smoke a pack a day. i never exorcise, and eat at kfc, taco bell, mcdonalds, five guys, pizza hut everyday for lunch and dinner. so today im giving it all up for a healthy lifestyle. i understand that my matabolisim will slow due to the fact that i quit smoking. what can i do to speed it up.
You can. You just remember that its going to be a hard journey, but hard and impossible are two different things.
I think i read somewhere that watermelon helps metabolism. Either way, when it gets real hard and u want to give up, remember you are the owner of your body and you can tell it to do what you want it to do. Unless you give in to the craving, your body cant (as much as it would want to) go light a cigarette. Your hand cant spend your money on fast food unless you tell it to and you have the power to say NO no matter how bad your body wants something. Im sure you get the picture :)
I wish you all the best
I think i read somewhere that watermelon helps metabolism. Either way, when it gets real hard and u want to give up, remember you are the owner of your body and you can tell it to do what you want it to do. Unless you give in to the craving, your body cant (as much as it would want to) go light a cigarette. Your hand cant spend your money on fast food unless you tell it to and you have the power to say NO no matter how bad your body wants something. Im sure you get the picture :)
I wish you all the best
COMMUNITY LEADER
Go easy on the fruit; most fruit has a lot of sugar, which can turn into fat very easily, if not used quickly. Also, avoid fruit juices.
When you eat a meal, your plate should be approximately 1/2 full of veggies, and 1/4 each protein and whole grain. Low fat dairy is an excellent source of protein, as are eggs.
When you eat a meal, your plate should be approximately 1/2 full of veggies, and 1/4 each protein and whole grain. Low fat dairy is an excellent source of protein, as are eggs.
First, let me say congradulations for working up the determination to want to make these changes in the first place. I wish my dad could quit smoking. I've seen how hard it is, and I commend you for wanting to stop, not being necessarily forced to stop! Well done!
However, I agree, please take it slow! It's very easy to get too ambitious and decide to cut everything at once. What happens is your body will go in to withdrawal---both from the nicotine in the cigarettes and the taste of the fast food. Fast food is almost like a drug in and of itself, and will make nicotine withdrawal more intense if you cut it too fast. Here's what I suggest:
First, keep up the no smoking. Awesome. Make THAT your goal first. You can lose weight from the fast food, but the damage on your lungs gets harder and harder to fix the longer you smoke. Pick up some gum (not necessarily nicorette) and chew whenever you get a craving. When my mom quit, she used spearmint gum, and had about four or five packs in her purse for whenever she got a craving. After a while, the mint start to hurt, and you learn to associate those cigarette cravings with a sick or bad feeling. It helps you quit, I've seen it work.
Second, start by giving up one meal of fast food a day. You said you eat lunch and dinner at fast food places---do you eat breakfast at all? If not, you should start, because that's an amazing way to boost the metabolism. Have a fruit, a grain, a protien, and a dairy. I personally love peanut butter toast with strawberry yogurt, which covers all these bases. After breakfast, pick a meal where you have time to sit down and stick to health choices. I would start with dinner if I were you. At first, you can go to the fast-food places, but get smaller portions. Try the kids meals instead of the adult size, or try getting a chicken or fish sandwich. After a few months, don't eat fast food for dinner at all. Make sure to have a fruit, veggie, grain, dairy, and protien for this meal. After another few months, repeat this process with lunch.
Third, start slow with exercise. Buy some five-pound weights, or use soup cans, to build arm strength. Go for a half-hour walk every day around the neighborhood. Climb the steps in your house or appartment five times. Because you don't exercise, you'll start seeing improvement right away just by getting up and moving around. There are also "office exercises", things that you could do while watching TV, for example. Suck in your stomach tight, hold for ten seconds, and release---do this ten times in one sitting. Lift your legs and bring them back down slowly. I know this all sounds silly, but it does work for toning and cardio.
Mainly, you need to sit down and think about how much time you have and take things slow so you don't fall back in to one of your old habits. If you slip or don't see results right away, don't get discourages. You're trying to kick two of the most common habits that people face in the modern world, and neither are easy to just toss to the side. Keep going, you'll get there.
If you need any more tips or if you need any help, please feel free to shoot me a private message.
I hope this helps, and good luck!
~ Em
However, I agree, please take it slow! It's very easy to get too ambitious and decide to cut everything at once. What happens is your body will go in to withdrawal---both from the nicotine in the cigarettes and the taste of the fast food. Fast food is almost like a drug in and of itself, and will make nicotine withdrawal more intense if you cut it too fast. Here's what I suggest:
First, keep up the no smoking. Awesome. Make THAT your goal first. You can lose weight from the fast food, but the damage on your lungs gets harder and harder to fix the longer you smoke. Pick up some gum (not necessarily nicorette) and chew whenever you get a craving. When my mom quit, she used spearmint gum, and had about four or five packs in her purse for whenever she got a craving. After a while, the mint start to hurt, and you learn to associate those cigarette cravings with a sick or bad feeling. It helps you quit, I've seen it work.
Second, start by giving up one meal of fast food a day. You said you eat lunch and dinner at fast food places---do you eat breakfast at all? If not, you should start, because that's an amazing way to boost the metabolism. Have a fruit, a grain, a protien, and a dairy. I personally love peanut butter toast with strawberry yogurt, which covers all these bases. After breakfast, pick a meal where you have time to sit down and stick to health choices. I would start with dinner if I were you. At first, you can go to the fast-food places, but get smaller portions. Try the kids meals instead of the adult size, or try getting a chicken or fish sandwich. After a few months, don't eat fast food for dinner at all. Make sure to have a fruit, veggie, grain, dairy, and protien for this meal. After another few months, repeat this process with lunch.
Third, start slow with exercise. Buy some five-pound weights, or use soup cans, to build arm strength. Go for a half-hour walk every day around the neighborhood. Climb the steps in your house or appartment five times. Because you don't exercise, you'll start seeing improvement right away just by getting up and moving around. There are also "office exercises", things that you could do while watching TV, for example. Suck in your stomach tight, hold for ten seconds, and release---do this ten times in one sitting. Lift your legs and bring them back down slowly. I know this all sounds silly, but it does work for toning and cardio.
Mainly, you need to sit down and think about how much time you have and take things slow so you don't fall back in to one of your old habits. If you slip or don't see results right away, don't get discourages. You're trying to kick two of the most common habits that people face in the modern world, and neither are easy to just toss to the side. Keep going, you'll get there.
If you need any more tips or if you need any help, please feel free to shoot me a private message.
I hope this helps, and good luck!
~ Em
COMMUNITY LEADER
You're making WAY too many changes all at once and it's unlikely that you will be able to sustain such a program for any length of time. Small changes, one at a time, will be easier to stick with.
Your metabolism won't necessarily slow down because you stop smoking, but most people tend to eat more when they quit, because they get used to the "hand to mouth" motion of smoking, so they replace it with food.
What did you plan to replace the fast food with? Did you plan to get any exercise? Exercise and building muscle will keep your metabolism revved up.
Your metabolism won't necessarily slow down because you stop smoking, but most people tend to eat more when they quit, because they get used to the "hand to mouth" motion of smoking, so they replace it with food.
What did you plan to replace the fast food with? Did you plan to get any exercise? Exercise and building muscle will keep your metabolism revved up.
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