Quitting Smoking and Weight Gain
How to Minimize Weight Gain When You Quit Smoking
Most people who quit smoking worry about gaining weight. It seems to go with the territory. While a small gain is normal, excessive weight gain when you quit smoking can create new health problems and erode your determination to stay off cigarettes. Learn what you can do to keep your weight under control as you go through the process of recovery from nicotine addiction.
Why do people gain weight when they quit smoking?
Smoking effects a person's metabolism and also burns calories:
Smoking burns up to 200 calories a day in a 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 minute walk daily.
Why do I want to eat more?
Smoking cessation 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 person's quit, the urge to smoke is frequent and 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.
Studies have shown that women are at greater risk than men for returning to smoking as a way to avoid weight gain. 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.
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Quit Meter
$54,730.80
Amount Saved
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Quit Meter
Days: 5981
Hours: 1
Minutes: 12
Seconds: 33
Life Gained
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Quit Meter
45609
Smoke Free Days
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Quit Meter
136,827
Cigarettes Not Smoked
