Why Do People Gain Weight When They Quit Smoking?

Watch this video first - it will make you want to quit smoking immediately

You may be considering quitting smoking but may be concerned with gaining a bit of weight and may be wondering why do people gain weight when they quit smoking.

First of all keep in mind that gaining weight when you give up smoking is not a foregone conclusion. Not everyone who quits smoking gains weight.

Although it is true that many folks do gain between 5 and 10 pounds when they stop smoking, men a little less than women, there are steps you can take to keep weight gain to a minimum.

With a conscious effort to improve your health you may even find you are able to lose weight while you quit smoking or at worst gain no weight at all.

Let's first of all consider the question, "why do people gain weight when they quit smoking?"  Knowing the answer to this question will help you take steps to insure that this does not happen to you.

Psychological Reasons

First of all keep in mind that one component of cigarette addiction is psychological. 

We as smokers have grown accustomed to and developed the habit of bringing something (cigarette) from our hand to our mouth perhaps hundreds of times per day (10 drags on each cigarette multiplied by 20 or 40 cigarettes).

Some folks replace this habit by placing snack foods into their mouth instead of the cigarettes they were so used to in the past.  This replacement habit will have obvious consequences.

Also some folks tend to eat more when they are nervous or anxious.  As the nicotine in cigarettes tends to have a calming effect, the removal of nicotine that occurs with some quit smoking programs can result in folks feeling a bit more anxious and nervous than usual and therefore eating more.

Biological Reasons

This leads into the second component of the question, "why do people gain weight when they quit smoking?" which is biological.

First of all nicotine is thought to be a natural appetite suppressor as well as having the ability to speed up a person's metabolic rate.  It is thought that a person who smokes a pack of cigarettes per day has a metabolic rate that is 10% higher than a person who does not smoke cigarettes.

This occurs because nicotine causes the release of a hormone called norepinephrine which speeds up the rate at which the tissues in your body use energy and burn fat.

Keep in mind that aerobic exercise such as walking will also speed up the rate at which the tissues in your body use energy and burn fat.

Nicotine also affects receptors in your brain by causing these receptors to release dopamine which is the feel-good chemical that continues to make smoking pleasurable.  When you quit smoking cigarettes, this dopamine production slows.

Unfortunately foods high in carbohydrates, and in particular sweets, have a similar effect on your brain's receptors.  This can cause folks to increase their consumption of high carbohydrate foods during the quitting phase.

Keep in mind that aerobic exercise such as walking will also cause these receptors in your brain to release dopamine.

How to Keep from Gaining Weight When Quitting Smoking

Hopefully this helped to answer your questions concerning why do people gain weight when they quit smoking.

Keep in mind that research has shown that there are more dangers in continuing to smoke cigarettes than in the small amount of weight you may gain after you quit.  Being stressed out about gaining a few pounds may make it harder to quit smoking.

If the thought of gaining weight has you worried about what your friends will say, spend some time and energy getting some moderate exercise as well as eating a healthy diet.

You may want to keep some healthy snacks on hand such as fresh fruit, fat-free yogurt, low-fat popcorn, vegetable sticks such as celery and carrots, frozen grapes, sunflower seeds in the shell, and lots of water.

You might also want to consider Nicotine Replacement Therapy such as the Nicotine Gum or the Nicotine Patch which can be purchased over-the-counter without a prescription at a pharmacy or even more conveniently online.

You will greatly increase the health benefits of giving up your tobacco habit and also significantly reduce your risk of gaining weight if you eat right and develop exercise habits at the same time.

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