3 Things that Triggers Weight Gain after Giving Up Smoking

Lots of smokers (especially among women) worry about adding some extra weight after they quit smoking. A few lines in the weighing scale is normal, however, too much weight gain after quitting may give rise to new health issues and affect your purpose to stay out of the habit. It will be best if you learn everything about weight gain and how to stay in control while you try to recover from your nicotine dependence.

Understanding Why Smokers Gain Weight After Quitting – 3 Things that Triggers Weight Gain

1. Smoking slightly increases your metabolism.

Smoking cessation puts your body in a temporary shock or trauma. Increased in your appetite is an after effect of quitting cigarettes. When you smoke, your body burns around 200 calories per day. For this reason your metabolism is slightly increased or bolstered.  However, you must remember that nicotine suppresses your appetite.  This means when you smoke you burn calories without increasing your food intake, so you don’t gain any weight even there was an increased in your metabolism. After quitting, a smoker normally gains 5 to 10 pounds during the first months, if there was no significant change in your eating habit, you can easily lose the extra weight with simple exercise. However, if there was a drastic change, because the nicotine level in your body has dropped and your appetite is no longer suppressed, you may gain more weight and may need more than just simple exercises to shed off the added weight.

2.  Nicotine Suppresses Your Appetite

Smokers tend to light up instead of taking in between meals or snacks. While it is true that nicotine suppresses your appetite, it is also a stimulant. Nicotine interferes with the production and release of hormones in your body like insulin. Insulin is responsible in keeping your glucose level. Nicotine in tobacco smoke messes with your brain and blocks the receptors in your brain that tells you that you’re hungry. In other words, nicotine slows down your reaction to hunger. After quitting, without the nicotine to mess with this function, you’ll feel hungrier than when you were smoking, in short your appetite will increase.

3.  Food Replaces Smoking

Nicotine is very addictive. It messes with the normal functions of your brain and your body, and creates dependence. Without nicotine you will feel great discomfort because your body is now highly dependent to nicotine. Some smokers, to ease their discomfort, or their cravings, they find emotional comfort in foods. Yes, food often becomes a substitute to smoking, and for some people. If you’re among these people, you may want to eat more vegetables and fruits that can help you ease the symptoms and cravings of smoking.

Studies have revealed that women are more likely to fail smoking cessations compared to men because they want to avoid gaining extra weight. However, if you understand how your body works and what happens after you quit, and what you can do to lessen the effects, you’ll never have to worry about the extra pound added to your weight. Anyway, you can surely lose that extra weight but you can never lose the negative effect of smoking without quitting.

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