Quit Smoking---Gain Weight?? True or false?

Sometimes, somethings that you do that you are expecting to be really hard turn out to be relatively easy, you may have an exam coming up that you are dreading, only to find that it was indeed quite simple, you may be worried about telling someone something, only to be surprised afterwards how understanding they were or you may quit smoking after years of doing it only to find that it wasn't as hard as you expected it to be.
The latter is true for me, having smoked for 26 years,(whole of my teens and through my 20's and 30's),that when i gave up 14 weeks ago i was expecting it to be absolute hell for months and months, but in truth it hasn't been, it hasn't been a bed of roses, don't get me wrong, but it certainly hasn't been the hell that i was expecting.
So why was this so?...why did i find giving up smoking so easy?....Why? its because i ate !!.....and ate !!.....and ate !!

People often opt for NRT (nicotine replacement treatments)when they give up smoking, these come in various shapes and sizes like gum, patches etc, and do exactly as they say, they allow you to stop smoking, but keep your cravings under control at the same time by giving you small doses of nicotine. Now i didn't opt for this system as you will well know, it was something that i had read up on, and decided the best way for me to give up would be to have a clean break.....better known as cold turkey. I am now just over 14 weeks in and have now realised why my cravings haven't been as bad as i was expecting, hence why i have found it easy.....whenever i had a craving i ate food.
I did a little homework before i gave up but no where near enough, i knew that giving up smoking would possibly make me put on weight, but i really wasn't expecting to replace the cigarettes quite so much with food, which in hindsight is what i have been doing, but at the time haven't really been noticing that i have actually been using the food as a replacement treatment just like those who use NRT.

So....to answer the question...Quit Smoking---Gain Weight?? True or false?...the answer is true, but it doesn't have to be for everyone. I have just been down right stupid and naive, i didn't do my homework and i didn't take to much notice of the ever increasing waistline, as i thought it was expected, but now realising my mistake of replacing food for cigarettes, i now have to overcome the weight-gain as well as keep of the smokes.

So the moral of this story is.......stock your cupboards up with lots of fruit the day before you give up smoking, if you need to pick between meals, which you will find you will, then go grab a banana :).....it will save you the hassle of having to lose about 30lb 3 months down the line like i now have too.

Not to worry.....i live and learn

Vattie