Gaining weight is known to be an after-effect of quitting smoking. There’s really no physical connection between the two. It’s just that most smokers who try to quit cope with the craving by substituting the pleasurable act of smoking with binge eating.
In a report by a group of Californian researchers, it was found that people who quit smoking gains an average of 5 pounds. If you’re among the thousands of people who are very conscious about their weight, reading this article can greatly benefit you. Let’s talk about the top 10 ways of quitting smoking without allowing your body to gain more pounds.
1. Sweat it out
One great way to fight the craving and lose extra pounds at the same time is to keep moving. Half an hour of physical activities can help you burn more than a hundred calories. Experts recommend spending 6 hours a week for physical exercises. You don’t have to do it all in a day. You can divide this in several minutes every day until you complete your 6 hours of exercise.
2. Get some greens
Instead of those lavish steak and fatty burgers, you can spare your body from gaining more pounds by choosing greens for your regular meals – breakfast until dinner. Munch on some fresh lettuce, boiled broccoli, spinach, and the like. You may also want to treat yourself with some meat but make sure you only take a few bites.
3. Try the smoothie diet
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Aside from your usual ham and toast, you may want to add some fresh, appetizing smoothie. You’ll find a lot of smoothie recipes on the web that are very delicious and at the same time, healthy.
4. Increase your water intake
Water therapy helps flush away the toxins from your body and at the same time improve your ability to burn fats. It is also the safest and a highly effective hunger quencher. If you feel like eating even though you have just taken your meal, drink a glass of cold water. This will lessen your appetite.
5. Avoid eating from 8pm and beyond.
Your body’s metabolism slows down at night so take your dinner early. This will give your digestive system more time to digest the food you eat. You also want to keep your dinner light and healthy. Instead of some creamy sausages or other meaty dishes, you want to stick to the low-carb diet.
6. Have some pasta
Pasta is a great source of carbohydrate which is needed by your body to stay active. It will keep you full for a long period of time so you won’t feel like eating a lot.
7. Avoid eating processed foods
Processed foods contain chemicals and sweeteners that will earn you more fats in the long run. Choose fresh, healthy foods over those that are readily available in the grocery stores.
8. Maintain an active lifestyle
Try reducing the time you spend for leisure. If you’re used to watching TV for two hours a day, make it one hour. This will help you keep your weight under control.
9. Increase your fiber intake
Fiber helps your stomach digest food easily. Most of the fiber found in fruits and vegetables are non-soluble and take a lot of time to be digested, providing you a feeling of fullness.
10. Try your best to quit smoking for good.
You don’t want to start all over again with the difficult process of quitting smoking. Once you are able to maintain your weight and withdraw from smoking, do your best not to go back to this unhealthy habit, ever again.
