So need to gain some weight

[Eilan]

Rippetoe's Starting Strength and GOMAD.

 

[trulyperverse]

http://stronglifts.com/gomad-milk-squats-gallon-gain-weight/

Gomad. Plus heavy lifting = 25lbs in month

 

[7inchglory]

In body building terms, you sound like a 'Hard gainer". A simple solution is to eat 5 meals a day as opposed to the regular 3. Try to fill it with a generous amount of carbs, and protein so you can build muscle, and then start cutting back on carb portions if you gain too much fat

 

[jehoram]

Now what if I am at the point of my life that cigs are just too much to stop?

I'm not sure that there ever is such a point. I was a pack-a-day smoker for twenty five years, tried to quit at least once a year and never succeeded for more than a couple of weeks. Then I got a great big scare and tried one more time. That was twenty years ago, and I haven't had a cigarette since then.

Why did I finally succeed? Two things: first, I found a book in my library called "Switch Down and Quit" that explained a method of changing brands frequently, always choosing a brand with less tar and nicotine. (That information is in the book.) That weans you away from the addictive stuff while still allowing you to keep the ritual aspect of lighting, smoking, etc. When you're finally ready to go cold turkey, your body is already more than halfway there.

Second, I got this video from some famous ex-smoker (Larry Hagman? Rich Little? Can't remember.) It was designed to show you, day by day, how the withdrawal process works. I played a little of it each day. He explained what my body was going through at each stage, and how to devise methods to deal with it. That information went a long way to making it work for me. The important thing is that he stressed that it's really a question of taking it a day at a time, always knowing that after the first few weeks, it will get easier and easier every day.

Don't get me wrong. It was still a bitch to quit. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But it was possible. And it wasn't long before all the benefits started to kick in... better stamina, warmer feet (my gf really appreciated that) and a fatter wallet from not spending money on cigarettes.

As I said, that was twenty years ago. Now there are a lot of resources that weren't around then. It's easier to quit now (not easy, but easier) and you really owe it to yourself and your loved ones to give it another try.