Why Do I Gain Weight Every Time I Quit Smoking?
When someone quits smoking, weight is often gained even if they don’t alter their diet or their exercise routines at all. That’s because smoking causes the body to burn slightly more calories in order to cope with carbon monoxide and other tobacco toxins.
When you’re no longer taking in all those chemicals, your metabolism slows down to more normal levels, which means fewer calories are burned. This can lower energy needs by as many as 200 to 500 calories and that can result in as much as a pound a week in weight gain.
Also, the need for a substitute form of oral gratification often results in increased snacking, particularly on sweets. A breath freshener called Sen Sen can be helpful as it has flavor, is something to put in your mouth, and has hardly any calories. It is much smaller than even Tic Tac’s and much stronger. One of my uncles used to take them and it helped him get off tobacco.
The problem with weight gain is one of the primary reasons many people give up on trying to quit smoking although it is far healthier to be overweight than to be a nicotine addict. Exercise can be very effective both in countering the drop in metabolic rate and the urge to snack. When you’re trying to quit a bad habit, it’s very helpful to start a good one to redirect your energy and focus.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
It is no wonder that smoking is such a difficult habit to break as nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs in the world. It is in fact at least as addictive as such hard drugs as cocaine and heroin