A lot has happened since joining ECF

[Falconeer]

Thank you - it's been a great an inspiring read!

 

[AndriaD]

Nearly at one week of quitting, and all is well. I can't believe I just wrote that - it's like an oxymoron after past quitting experiences.

I've also been testing how I go with the weight gain that's typical when quitting. I'm at a good weight, and don't want to gain. I got on the scale this morning and I've lost nearly one pound, so yay! No weight gain when quitting with e-cigarettes.

As an early one-week gift to myself, I got myself a spare innokin Endura, and here they are.

View attachment 526045

Thanks everyone for your incredible support with this journey of mine which is the most important one of my life!

I lost weight at first, for a couple of reasons: I'd been on my post-holidays diet already for a couple of months, and it was starting to slowly be effective, and also when I was able to just sit and vape while I watched TV, snacking went completely away. So I ended up losing about 15 lbs, all told, though it was probably mostly because of already being on a diet. I stabilized, and things were fine, then I had the appendectomy, and for 4 days afterward I couldn't eat or drink at all -- which meant it took nearly a month to be able to eat normally again, and I lost another 10-12 lbs. At which point, my pants were starting to fall off me, and I thought hmm, I might oughta gain some back -- and went bananas, because by then, my tastebuds were starting to recuperate and everything tasted GREAT. After that, I ended up back almost where I started, before that post-holiday diet in early 2014 -- about 12 lbs more than I wanted, rather than 15.

Andria

 

[RoseJ]

@AndriaD - that's a good story. Luckily it's easier to lose weight than it is to quit smoking, right?

I should have added that while not on a diet, I have been taking it easy this past week with eating, to test whether I can quit smoking with e-cigarettes, AND lose (or not gain) weight. I can stand to lose a couple of pounds after the holidays anyway.

Regardless, it looks like quit-smoking related weight-gain is a non- issue when quitting with e-cigarettes.

 

[AndriaD]

@AndriaD - that's a good story. Luckily it's easier to lose weight than it is to quit smoking, right?

Hmm... That definitely used to be true. I could lose weight just by skipping breakfast. But now... with vaping... and being nearly 55.... things seem to be going the other way, nowadays.

Andria

 

[Rossum]

IMO, there are two reasons why people gain weight when they quit smoking:

1) Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, but with vaping, you're still getting the nicotine your body is used to.

2) People who quit smoking by other means tend to use food in some form as a substitute for the hand-to-mouth habit, but with vaping, there's no need for that.

Back in mid 2013 at age 54, and a few months before switched from smoking to vaping, I was getting tired of putting on roughly a pound a year since my 30s, and I was getting to the point where I was approaching needing to increase my pants size another inch. So I dropped many of the carbs from my diet. Where dinner used to consist of a meat, a vegetable, and a starch, the starch is gone. I also gave up eating starchy or sweet junk food. As a result, I'd already lost a few pounds when I switched to vaping and the trend continued. Over the space of about 18 months, I went from the mid 180's to the mid 160's, where I've stabilized and am entirely happy. This happened without me ever being hungry or feeling like I was starving myself. Bottom line: Eat all the meat, vegetables, and dairy products you want. Do not fall for eating "low fat". Fat doesn't make you gain weight -- carbs do! I could explain why in more detail, but I don't think this is thread to do so.

 

[AndriaD]

IMO, there are two reasons why people gain weight when they quit smoking:

1) Nicotine is an appetite suppressant, but with vaping, you're still getting the nicotine your body is used to.

2) People who quit smoking by other means tend to use food in some form as a substitute for the hand-to-mouth habit, but with vaping, there's no need for that.

Back in mid 2013 at age 54, and a few months before switched from smoking to vaping, I was getting tired of putting on roughly a pound a year since my 30s, and I was getting to the point where I was approaching needing to increase my pants size another inch. So I dropped many of the carbs from my diet. Where dinner used to consist of a meat, a vegetable, and a starch, the starch is gone. I also gave up eating starchy or sweet junk food. As a result, I'd already lost a few pounds when I switched to vaping and the trend continued. Over the space of about 18 months, I went from the mid 180's to the mid 160's, where I've stabilized and am entirely happy. This happened without me ever being hungry or feeling like I was starving myself. Bottom line: Eat all the meat, vegetables, and dairy products you want. Do not fall for eating "low fat". Fat doesn't make you gain weight -- carbs do! I could explain why in more detail, but I don't think this is thread to do so.

Unless of course your body just won't tolerate much fat, in which case you have to avoid simple carbs and concentrate on the complex ones.

Andria

 

[RoseJ]

12th day today, and still doing very well. Cravings are minor, and easily dealt with using the e-cigarette. I feel better and better every day.

One of the best things is that I had a blood-oxygen reading of 98% for the first time yesterday. I had been down as low as 94%, so I'm super-happy about that.

Is it common for blood-pressure to drop? I normally have low blood-pressure, but after feeling a bit dizzy this morning, I took a reading and it was 98/56! That's low even for me.

I've really inspired my husband, and he's down to 4 cigarettes per day. He's looking to quit very soon, which is amazing for him - he's been a hard-core smoker all his life.

Anyway, I hope I'm not being irritating with my quit-reports. I'm seeing the e-cigarette as a life-saver for me, no doubt.

 

[Falconeer]

Don't think anyone would find these reports irritating - they are both interesting and could help others. Keep 'em coming, say I!

 

[Douggro]

Yeah, I'm with @Falconeer on this: keep the updates coming. We need some positive light around here.
BP drop might be associated with your improved O2 sats and other factors of not being on the cigs. Worth keeping an eye on, but you may be like my mother who always has BP's that are astoundingly low.

 

[AndriaD]

WTG on the ox sat, Rose! I also struggle with low BP, but that's really nothing new for me. There's that new study that Dr Farsolinos just came out with, that vaping nicotine does seem to lower BP for former smokers; I always needed 2-3 cigarettes and a cup of coffee to even HAVE a BP! Mine has been fairly stable since I started vaping, but that might be a factor of my advancing age -- almost 55, post-menopause, and I think BP tends to rise in that situation, so maybe I switched to vaping in the nick of time to avoid hypertension, I dunno. A little bit more nicotine might fix it, though I dunno if you're interested in doing that. We really may not be getting as much nicotine from vaping as we did from cigarettes, just because the absorption process is so different from smoking.

Andria