Smoking can cause major health concerns, but people often put off quitting because they’re worried about lesser wellness matters; weight gain. Unfortunately, I’m not here to tell you that you don’t need to worry about weight gain when you quit smoking – four out of five quitters gain an average of four to 10 pounds. However, the good news is that most quitters typically get back to a normal weight, especially when the focus is on stopping smoking first.
According to Kenneth A. Perkins, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, ‘There’s no question that any weight gain is preferable to continuing to smoke. Emily Rubin, RD, of the Digestive Disease Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, adds. ‘You’d have to gain 100 pounds to have the same health problems that a pack-a-day cigarette habit would give you.’ In fact, being worried about gaining weight, or attempting to diet while trying to quit can have the opposite effect to the one you’re after.
‘Sometimes folks—particularly women—gain more, paradoxically, when they are concerned about weight gain, depending on how they approach the issue of quitting and weight,’ says Michele Levine, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.’ Perkins explains, ‘If you’re dieting while you’re trying to quit, there’s too much deprivation going on.’ Let’s take a look at why smoking keeps your weight down, so that you can apply these principles to other, healthier lifestyle factors:
1. Smoking burns calories: When you quit smoking, you burn about 100 fewer calories a day because smoking raises your heart rate and increases your metabolism. It can take weeks or even months for your metabolism to get back on track, so patience is key.
2. Smoking suppresses hunger: The nicotine in cigarettes encourages your liver to release glycogen, which slightly raises your blood-sugar level enough to suppress your appetite. For this reason, you should expect to gain about a pound a week until your metabolism adjusts. You might like to try eating healthy but filling foods that stave off hunger, such as foods containing fibre and healthy fats.
3. Smoking makes you feel good: The reason why most people smoke is because it relaxes you and makes your feel better. This outcome comes down to the fact that nicotine increases your brain’s levels of dopamine, which is a chemical associated with pleasure. As junk food has the same effect as nicotine, many smokers are tempted to turn to chocolate and biscuits to get their dopamine fix. You might even find yourself drinking more often, as alcohol also boosts your dopamine level. This may explain why taking antidepressants has been shown to be helpful for smoking cessation.
4. Smoking keeps your mouth and hands busy: A lot of people can’t kick the habit of smoking because they no longer have anything to do with their mouth and hands. This is why some quitters use wooden “cigarettes” so that they still have the feeling of holding something. However, eating provides the same occupation for your mouth and hands as smoking does, which means you tend to eat more in order to feel less deprived by your decision to quit.
5. Smoking hampers your taste buds: While smoking dulls the taste and smell of food, quitting helps to undo this damage, and so food begins to taste and smell better. This means you may find yourself wanting to eat more.
6. Smoking is always an option in distressing times: Smoking feels reliable when other things are not, such as when you’re bored, stressed, you need a reward or you need a crutch in social situations. People turn to food in much the same way, which leads to overeating.