model quits smoking, gains weight

Like Gisele Bundchen -- the Brazilian supermodel -- Cherish earns her living on the catwalk and has also jeopardized her career by gaining 15 pounds in weight since giving up smoking.

"Most models smoke or take drugs to keep slim," confides Cherish, "and although I hated smoking I just fell into the habit because everyone else was doing it."

"I gave up smoking because my boyfriend didn't like it -- he said I stank -- but now he's complaining I'm putting on weight!"

"I never particularly had a weight problem before I took up smoking -- you know, needing to barf up my food or anything like that -- so I never expected to gain weight when I quit," sighs Cherish, "but look at me now!"

"It's not as if I am stuffing myself to compensate for not smoking --but I must admit that food does taste a lot better since I quit. I actually enjoy sitting down and having a meal rather than eating on the fly like I once did."

"Maybe I am eating more than I did before without realizing it?"

"Whatever, I'm in trouble because everyone is noticing my weight gain and I'm not getting as much work as I once did."

"I love being a non-smoker again, but piling on the pounds and losing my living is a terrible price to pay for it."

"I'm not going to take drugs to regain my figure," says Cherish, "that would be worse than smoking."

"I just have to accept that smoking must have suppressed my appetitite and now that I've quit I either have to eat less from now on or exercise twice as much."

"I refuse to accept this weight gain as normal -- I have never been fat -- and I hate what I look like now."

"It was really easy to give up smoking -- I don't think I was too addicted," says Cherish, "but cutting down or cutting out food is impossible. I've got to eat to live and my boyfriend is really horrible for teasing me about becoming a fatty."

"Do I hate being fat more than I hate smoking?"

"Well, they are both health hazards but in my case being fat is also a wealth hazard -- I earn my living by being thin -- so if it comes down to the crunch I have to opt for smoking being the lesser evil and I'm sorry, sort of, that I ever quit."

"I'll give it a few more weeks and if I can't shake the extra pounds then I'm in deep trouble."

"Sure, there are plenty of drugs -- legal and illegal -- that suppress the appetite," says Cherish, "but I don't want to go down that road and I certainly don't want to take up smoking again."

"Because I smoked for a year it may take me that long -- even longer -- to get back to a normal weight and in the meantime I may have to change my career."

"You hear lots of stories about people putting on weight after quitting smoking -- or losing a lot of weight just to put it all back on again -- and I never thought that I'd ever have this problem."

"It just goes to show that even skinny people have weight problems!"