5 Reasons Why You Eat More After Giving-Up Smoking

Smoking is a very difficult habit to break. Nicotine found in tobacco products is extremely addictive and hard to crack once you get hooked. Once you have develop the habit, you can’t just get away so easily and you may experience cravings and symptoms of quitting. To make it even worse, several side effects may occur after you have given up your cigarettes and sometimes they are very unlikable to cope with. And among these side effects is weight gain.

Smokers are often hesitant to quit because they fear that they’ll gain extra weight if they stop smoking. This may be true but the increase is not that huge that you have to be afraid of it and it is not even permanent. One of the effects of nicotine to your body is that it suppresses you’re appetite and it kicks your metabolism to its peak. This is the reason why quitting increases your interest in food and slows your metabolism.

It is only proper to know the reasons behind the increase in your appetite so you don’t have to be afraid of the changes that might be happening after you have given-up smoking. Below are the 5 reasons why you eat more during the early weeks after you quit.

1. During your nicotine withdrawal, nicotine makes you feel restless and empty. These feelings may resemble hunger pangs and will make you think that you’re hungry.

2.  Some smokers are more likely to develop an oral fixation, wherein they substitute cigarettes with food to receive oral satisfaction. In other words they’ll eat instead of smoking a cigarette.

3.  Some smokers find it more comforting to eat. Nicotine withdrawal is a very difficult especially for long time smokers, and eating more food becomes their comfort zone. Eating becomes one of their coping mechanisms.

4.  Nicotine is a known appetite suppressant. This is the reason why most smokers tend to skip their meals more often. Without nicotine or with low amount of nicotine in your system your appetite can go back to normal, and more likely, you won’t be skipping your meals again after you have quit.

5.  Nicotine causes damages on your taste buds causing the food to taste dull and blunt. During your smoking cessation treatment, your taste buds start to recover and food starts to taste better again and it encourages you to eat more.

Don’t feel bad or be depressed if you have gained extra weight, or be afraid to gain a few pounds after throwing cigarettes out of your life. It is better than suffering from the different side effects and health risks brought by continuous smoking. Likewise, lighting up again to avoid weight gain will not do you good either. It is best that you just increase you physical activities like doing cardio exercises to cut and control your weight gain. You may also want to maintain a healthy diet and avoid fatty foods and eat more fruits and vegetables instead of meat. You are also encouraged to seek the advice of your physician or dietician before finally getting into a smoking cessation program to avoid any possible effects that could worsen your condition.

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