Stop Smoking? How to Avoid Weight Gain

One of the worst parts of quitting smoking, apart from nicotine cravings, is the weight gain. Studies have shown that the average smoker gains around eight pounds after quitting. However, this weight gain can be curbed with just a few changes in your lifestyle. You will have to choose healthier food and exercise more.

Causes of Weight Gain after You Quit Smoking

According to studies, heavy smokers burn up to 200 calories a day. This is because smoking increases the body’s metabolic rate, the rate of burning calories and fat. When you quit smoking, your metabolism will slow down a bit. This will lead to weight gain as you are burning less calories even if your calorie consumption is still the same. Also, when people quit smoking, they tend to substitute smoking with eating and reach out for snacks often, thus increasing the calorie intake. Moreover, even food tastes better after you quit smoking. The combination of a low metabolic rate along with higher calorie consumption will result in weight gain.

What You Should Do

If you want to avoid gaining weight after you quit smoking, controlling your food habits and getting enough physical exercise will help you immensely. Exercise obviously helps to burn more calories. Apart from that, exercising will also help the smoking cessation plan. Exercising will help you in relieving stress, reducing depression and improving your mood. People who are reaching out for food as a replacement of nicotine can keep themselves occupied with exercise. Exercise also helps to beat nicotine cravings. Exercise five days a week for about half an hour. You don’t have to start high intensity workouts. Even a brisk walk for about 30 minutes will help a great deal.

Also try putting together healthy snacks, so whenever you feel the urge to eat after quitting nicotine, you don’t end up eating unhealthy high calorie foods. You could try vegetable sticks, sunflower seeds, fresh fruit, fat free yogurt or  herbal teas. Try and remove temptations such as high fat foods.

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