Stopping smoking or nicotine dependence may cause some weight gain, but most people gain fewer than 10 pounds (with the average gain around 5 pounds). On the other hand, some people don’t gain any weight at all. Having a better understanding about why people gain weight after they quit will help you to avoid this concern that keeps people from quitting.
What can cause weight gain and how can you avoid it?
Reason No. 1: The Suppressant Effect
Nicotine causes spikes in excess sugar and fat in the body. Every time a person smokes or chews, this tricks the body into thinking that it has eaten, so the person is not hungry.
Once a person quits, the body thinks that it is starving because it is no longer senses high levels of sugar and fats. It has been shown that when people quit smoking, their desire for sugar products naturally increases as a result.
Solutions:
- Control your eating by spacing meals three to four hours apart and including carbohydrates and protein with each meal (ADA 2007).
- Do not start any “new” snacking habits, and do not increase your use of alcoholic beverages or products containing fat and sugar.
- Try sugarless gums or sugarless candies, a glass of water, celery, a piece of fresh fruit, baby carrots with fat-free salad dressing, or popcorn with seasoned salt (ADA, 2007).
Reason No.2: The Stimulant Effect
Nicotine increases a person’s metabolic rate temporarily, but, whether you smoke or chew, it does so at an incredible price to your health, causing high blood pressure and raised heart rate. Once you quit, you are no longer getting this temporary effect, so you may be burning slightly fewer calories throughout the day.
Solution:
Get regular physical activity or exercise (resistance or aerobic) for at least 30 minutes each day. This can help you avoid weight gain when you quit smoking.
Reason No.3: The "Signaling" Effect
People sometimes confuse the “hunger” for tobacco as hunger for food. For many people, smoking at the end of a meal is a signal to their bodies that the meal is over. After people quit smoking, they may have difficulty “closing out” the meal, since they no longer have this “signal.”
Solution:
Plan a new ritual. This could be taking a walk around your neighborhood, reading a chapter in a book, or simply pushing yourself away from the table and beginning another new activity, such as chewing gum or brushing your teeth.
Reason No. 4: The “Something in the Mouth" Effect
Another reason that people gain weight after quitting is because of what ex-smokers often call “oral gratification.” Ex-smokers often report that they miss the feeling of having something to do with their mouth and hands.
To help consider this effect, figure out the number of times a day that you put “something” in your mouth. Calculate number of cigarettes per day (____) X 10 drags on a cigarette = _____.
Solutions:
- Have to have something in the mouth goes away over time.
- Keep hands and mouth busy with objects, such as pencils, toothpicks or straws.
- Chew on foods such as carrots, celery, or even sugar-free mints.
