Many people fear that they will gain weight once they say goodbye to cigarettes. This can be avoided with a little planning. If you gain weight easily, remember that an extra 1-2 pounds are much less harmful to your health than smoking.

Why Do You Gain Weight at All If You Quit Smoking?

Smoking increases energy expenditure because food, especially fats and carbohydrates, are metabolized faster. This is because the nicotine in cigarettes contributes to the faster breakdown of food components. This means that smokers consume about 200 kilocalories more per day than their non-smoker counterparts. 

Nicotine suppresses appetite. Research has shown that nicotine binds to certain receptors on nerve cells in the brain and thus signals the body that it is getting enough to eat.

After quitting smoking, the taste buds become more sensitive again. This can lead to an increase in appetite and, thus, an increase in food intake. At the same time, many former smokers reward themselves with candy or other sweets for quitting smoking or distracting themselves from the desire to smoke a cigarette.

Quitting smoking can lead to weight gain for the reasons outlined above. On average, you can expect to gain up to four pounds after quitting smoking. However, how much weight you gain depends largely on your eating and exercise habits.

This can easily be compensated after quitting smoking, such as snacking on a piece of fruit or yogurt instead of chocolate or chips, drinking water instead of alcohol, or using vapes along with cigarettes.

In fact, statistics show that 70% of all smokers want to quit. But how can you give up cigarettes without losing weight? Consider this article.

Try Vaping

Since switching to e-cigarettes means the smoker stops smoking regular tobacco cigarettes, some critics suspect that the situation is similar to vaping. That’s not entirely true. Hunger is known to be suppressed by nicotine. So to avoid problems with excessive appetite, choose the best vaping devices with liquids containing nicotine. Although even with good vapes, you can gain some weight. In 2016, a scientific study was published in the famous journal Nature. The result: after the initial weight gain when switching from smoking to vaping after a year, the weight is only slightly higher – and thus significantly lower than when you quit smoking without an e-cigarette. 

Passionate smokers try to satisfy themselves in other ways after quitting and may eat more treats as a result. On the other hand, Vapers don’t have to give up their smoking habit. The likelihood of gaining weight increases slightly when smoking nicotine-free e-liquids. On the other hand, vapers often report positive side effects of flavored liquids in vaping reviews comments. For example, some taste like chocolate, so people don’t reach for high-calorie chocolate bars.

Develop Muscle Mass

Sports make it even easier to control your weight. A brisk half-hour walk a day uses up about 200 kilocalories. Sport is not only good for fighting excess weight. It also makes you feel better, reduces stress, and helps you get rid of boredom and addiction! If you exercise regularly, you will also build muscle. And muscles expend energy even when they are at rest. Thus, your metabolism is activated, and your body burns more calories.

Tasty Food in your Daily Diet

In as little as two days after quitting smoking, the sense of smell and taste is re-awakened. This is the reason why ex-smokers sometimes eat more. You continue to eat until the meal is over because you have always smoked a cigarette after that. But to prevent this, you should immediately remove all plates, pots, and dishes from the table when you feel full.

The trick is to eat a lot, but easily and, most importantly, taste good: lots of vegetables, raw vegetables, and legumes. Experiment with spices. Enjoy, consciously

Taking a break of at least four hours between meals is recommended. Drink water or sweetened tea, or chew sugar-free chewing gum when you crave food. After one or two weeks, your body will get used to the rhythm, and you won’t want to snack in between.

Carbohydrates are Important

Carbohydrates should make up most of your diet, more than 50 percent of your daily caloric intake. The brain is dependent on carbohydrates as its only source of energy. Nevertheless, you should eat them mostly in the form of fruits and vegetables. P portions should be small for bread, pasta, and rice, especially if it is not a whole-grain variety.

Avoid foods that contain large amounts of glucose and malt sugar (so-called simple carbohydrates). The same goes for honey and syrup. These sugars cause a rapid and dramatic rise in blood sugar levels. In response, the pancreas releases the hormone insulin. It transfers the sugar to the body’s cells – the blood sugar level drops again. This low blood sugar makes you starve again after a short time.

Change Old Habits

For some people, eating becomes a substitute for daily smoking. After all, smoking 20 cigarettes a day means putting your hand to your mouth about 200 times, so it’s not surprising if a person who quits smoking puts cake, candy, or chips in their mouth instead. If you do, too, think of a cigarette substitute you could chew in your mouth. This could be a lollipop (no sugar), chewing gum, pieces of carrot, etc. Toothpicks would also work as a last resort. If your cravings for sweets become insurmountable: choose sweets, wine gum, or licorice, which contain no more than 2 grams of fat per 100 grams. This is better than chocolate, which is high in fat.

Don’t think “I can’t”

A strict ban on any dessert or sausage is not a good idea. Your head struggles to cope with “no” and “not.” When you try not to think about food, you do the exact opposite by constantly thinking about it. And that makes you hungry. The first bout of hunger signifies that you need a healthy snack. Don’t clench your teeth without eating something. It is better to eat some fruit. 

Perhaps these tips will help you better control your weight. Or maybe this article will even encourage you to choose the best vapes to buy. But the most important thing is not to panic if you have gained a few pounds after quitting smoking. You would have to become considerably overweight to reach a health risk similar to smoking.