How to Quit Smoking Without Gaining Weight

Do you want to know how to quit smoking without gaining weight? Many people want to quit smoking but are afraid of gaining weight because that is frequently what happens when a person does quit smoking.

There are several reasons for this. Smoking is a hand to mouth habit. There are very few hand to mouth habits available. In fact, besides smoking, there are only two… eating and drinking! It’s only natural that a person who quits smoking will experience a deep psychological need for that hand to mouth action. Unfortunately, the habit most usually indulged is eating, and more specifically, snacking… usually on unhealthy foods like cakes, candy, sweets etc. Is it any wonder that there is a weight blow out? Additionally, nicotine provides a boost to our metabolism by increasing our heart rate. Quitting smoking means that our daily calorie requirement reduces. Of course, food also tastes better once the taste buds are no longer numbed by nicotine so that makes it more tempting to indulge.

Smoking is addictive in two ways… the body is physically addicted to nicotine. Then there is the psychological addiction which covers the hand to mouth habit, the times and situations in which smoking occurs etc.

Thankfully, when a person quits smoking, the physical addiction to nicotine is usually broken within seven days. Unfortunately, the psychological addiction to smoking is much more insidious and takes much longer to conquer. In fact, have you ever heard the saying that there is no such thing as an ‘ex’ alcoholic? They are referred to as ‘recovering alcoholics’ because once the habit has been established it is very easy to slip back into it. The same is true of smoking… there is no such thing as and ‘ex smoker’. Only a recovering smoker who would find it easy to slip back into the habit if they allowed themselves to. You hear about them all the time, People who used to smoke who give in to one cigarette and are suddenly smoking regularly again.

Speak to any recovering smoker regarding this. Even if they quit ten years earlier, when asked whether there are times that they miss smoking, nine times out of ten they will answer ‘yes’. And the most common situation that triggers this desire is just after a meal, especially when around other smokers. Whenever someone lights up after a meal the first thought that goes through the head of a recovering smoker is; ‘Gosh, I’d love a cigarette right now!’ Despite the fact that it would make them feel physically ill, causing dizziness, difficulty breathing, nausea etc. Their brain still remembers how soothing that post meal cigarette was, even years after they quit smoking.

So the weight gain associated with quitting smoking is connected to both the physical effects of nicotine on the body (or lack thereof) and behavioral (psychological) addiction to cigarettes. Understanding this makes it possible to avoid the trend. The answer of how to quit smoking without gaining weight is to find an alternative to meeting those psychological and behavioral needs by eating.

Thankfully, there are many ways to address these other issues and meet the hand to mouth habit without causing weight gain. These things include;

• Sugar free gum & sweets
• Keep a glass of water on hand at all times – reach for water instead of food!
• Suck on a piece of ice, an ice cream stick or toothpick
• Concentrate on developing healthy eating habits, increase vegetable consumption and decrease carbohydrates.

So don’t allow fear of gaining weight to stop you from attempting to quit smoking. Now that you know how to quit smoking without gaining weight you are armed to deal with the challenge.