Quitting Smoking – How to Avoid Gaining Weight?

For many smokers, it is a nightmare scenario: they stop smoking and should be happy. But now there are a few more pounds on the hips. And the subsequent withdrawal is just around the corner – namely from good food. It doesn’t have to be because you can do something against the annoying pounds in advance and simultaneously.

Be aware of what is happening in the body.

Most smokers gain weight (about 3 kg on average) when they stop smoking. Weight gains of this magnitude represent a negligible risk factor compared to the threat of health damage from continued smoking. The increased intake of calories and the elimination of nicotine as a calorie-burning substance are responsible for the weight increase observed.

 

Don’t fall victim to prejudice.

Smoking doesn’t make you slim. In 4,000 people examined over seven years, there was no evidence of a connection between smoking and weight loss.

What can you specifically do about it?

You should not only ensure that you take in fewer calories, but you also need to burn off those 200 fewer calories without nicotine. Climbing the stairs instead of the elevator, cycling to the bakery, going for evening walks instead of watching TV, and dancing are all ways to boost your metabolism.

 

Lose weight while you still smoke

If you quit smoking in two or three weeks, you can lose two to three kilograms without much effort. This can be excellently coupled with the replenishment of your vitamin depots. Eat large amounts of vegetables (even raw) and half a pound of fruit daily.

Drug withdrawal aids can also help.

Nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion have the desirable side effect of delaying any weight gain. You can use it to defer weight control.

After quitting smoking, don’t diet

During a diet, the body constantly receives the information that it is in an emergency, in which the primary goal is to mobilize reserves and reduce turnover. Once this artificially created emergency diet is over, the calorie consumption remains reduced for a while. In addition, the body continues to strive to create reserves for the next need.

Something similar happens on the psychological level: what we constantly forbid ourselves becomes more and more attractive. The massively suppressed desire for it then makes itself felt in uncontrollable cravings and hunger pangs. Eating attacks like a dam are almost insurmountable consequences.

 

Eat consciously and with pleasure.

It makes a lot more sense to eat consciously and enjoy the food instead of chastising yourself with diets . So eat with your senses alert and not just on the side. If you eat on the side or in a hurry and gobble the food down, you have much less of the feeling that you really had something from the food and will have cravings again more quickly. Balanced food means high in vitamins, high in fibre and low in fat.

Eating starts with shopping.

Eating regularly with three main meals and two snacks is cheaper than other divisions. In this way, the body can burn the calories best, maintain the ability to perform, and feel better than, for example, with two large meals. Children’s cutlery can also be used to outwit cravings for the main meals.

If you feel like eating unhealthy food (fatty, sweet, etc.), it is better to eat it consciously and to observe how your body feels during and afterwards – it may lose its attractiveness as a result.

Rest and activity go together.

To be or become healthy, the body needs a balanced relationship between activity and rest. In everyday life, you can restore your well-being with short phases of movement, such as climbing stairs and gymnastics, but also with short relaxation breaks (take a deep breath, think of something nice, relaxation exercises).

These breaks help you stay focused and efficient – and also provide the necessary distance when your head is smoking. In acute stressful situations, converting pent-up energy into movement is a great help.

 

Endurance sports are healthy, make you happy and keep you slim.

Use the energy you have regained to practice an endurance sport such as cycling, swimming or running. Feel your new balance as you take in as much oxygen with each breath as you need to fuel your body during the current effort. Get started today; get in slowly. The important thing is that you do it – don’t think twice about whether you want to.