Minimize Weight Gain When You Quit Smoking
Many people who want to quit smoking worry about gaining weight. Small weight gain is normal, excessive weight gain when you quit smoking can create new health problems and hinder your determination to stay off cigarettes. Learn what you can do to keep your weight under control as you go through the recovery from nicotine addiction.
Why do people gain weight when they quit smoking?
Smoking affects a person’s metabolism and also burns calories:
- Smoking burns up to 200 calories a day in a moderate to heavy smoker
- Because smoking burns calories, metabolism is boosted (increased) slightly
- Nicotine is an appetite suppressant
When you quit smoking, a gain of between 5 and 10 pounds during the first few months of cessation is normal. If your eating habits have remained the same as they were when you smoked, you can easily shed this small gain with a brisk, 30 to 45 minute walk daily.
Why do I want to eat more?
Quitting Smoking throws our bodies into shock initially. Increased appetite is a side effect of quitting tobacco for most people. One or more of the following reasons may be at play:
- Cigarettes as an appetite suppressant - Smokers often avoid between meal snacking by lighting up. Nicotine is a stimulant, and may also interfere with the release of the hormone insulin. Insulin controls glucose levels in the blood. When this function is blocked, a person will become slightly hyperglycemic, and as a result, the body and brain may slow down the hormones and other signals that trigger feelings of hunger.
- Food as a replacement for smoking - early on in a process of quitting, the urge to smoke is frequent and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s natural to look for something to ease the discomfort, and food is often used as a replacement. Not only does it fill the void left by the cigarette, food can be an emotional comfort, easing the pain of withdrawal.
Many studies have shown that women are at greater risk than men for returning to smoking as a way to avoid weight gain. By understanding what happens to our bodies when we quit smoking, and what we can do to alleviate discomforts in constructive ways that do not involve weight gain will help you stay on track.
What can I do to avoid gaining weight when I quit smoking?
There are many choices you can make to minimize weight gain:
Exercise
Because quitting smoking slows the metabolism, getting some form of daily exercise is extremely important. To combat excess weight gain, strive for at least a half hour of exercise, 5 days a week. It doesn’t have to be a high intensity aerobic workout - a brisk 30 minute walk around your neighborhood will work wonders. Exercise is also a great way to beat cravings to smoke. If you’re having a bad day, get out for a walk. It’ll clear your mind and improve your attitude. Going for walks is a good habit to get into even before you attempt quitting smoking.
Have healthy snacks on hand!
stockpile healthy snacks ahead of time so that when the munchies hit, you’ve have good food choices in easy reach:
- vegetable sticks - celery, carrot
- 94% fat free popcorn
- sunflower seeds in the shell
- Water - drink lots of it!
- hard candies to suck on
- fresh fruit
- fat free yogurt
- herbal teas
- hot cocoa made with nonfat milk
- frozen grapes
If you are truly concerned with weight gain, do yourself a favor and remove tempting, high fat foods from your home. Don’t have a candy bars and cakes available to tempt you. When you have a craving go for a walk or go outside to do some chores.
Avoid drinking alcohol
Alcohol is high in calories; it can be a huge trigger to smoke. For many people, smoking and drinking go hand and hand. Avoid the empty calories in alcohol, but more importantly, don’t put yourself at risk of relapse by drinking early in your quit.
One step at a time
Many people quit smoking and decide it’s time to clean their lives up in other areas as well. That’s great, but be careful. If you try to do too many self-improvement projects at once, you run the risk of failing at all of them.
Keep these things in mind:
- Be good to yourself. Quitting tobacco is a mass accomplishment, and you should reward yourself for your progress often. Quitting smoking will have you live differently then you are used to, you will have to re-learn different ways to do things so don’t underestimate the magnitude of what you are doing!
- Be patient. Quitting smoking is a process over time and a different way of life. It doesn’t happen overnight, but in comparison to the number of years most of us smoked, recovery from this addiction is short. Give yourself the time you need to heal.
If you happen to gain a few pounds while going through the process of quitting tobacco, that’s ok. The ultimate goal and benefits will affect your life and prolong you life as well as give yourself a healthier more productive life. A small weight gain can be countered and then overcome.