Tips
Most smokers are convinced that stopping smoking is synonymous with putting on a few extra pounds… Do not dramatize! Weight gain is not inevitable. Kwit explains how to avoid it.
October 15, 2018
You want to stop smoking but you are worried about gaining weight? That’s normal! During years, ads praised the appetite-suppressant effect of tobacco, associating cigarette with dream figure.
Half the truth is useless, only the whole truth is worth tellingStefan Zweig
These are maybe not misleading advertising, but the information is however incomplete. The nicotine contained in cigarettes slows down significantly the fat storage and thus reduces appetite. It also increases the number of burned calories from 7% to 15%. According to an American study, smokers weigh around 3 kilos less than non-smokers. This same study points out that people in smoking cessation gain in average 6 to 10 pounds.
Specialists in Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies have proved that other factors have to be taken into consideration in the analysis of weight gain in period of smoking cessation. Among those, the recovery of taste and smell senses that occurs 48 to 72 hours after the last cigarette. The ex-smoker rediscovers forgotten tastes and therefore tends to become more greedy. The cigarette after meals or during the coffee break is thus quickly replaced by a desert or a snack. Researchers also remind of the anxiolytic effects of food that reduce the craving sensation and comforts the ex-smoker.
Weight gain is not unavoidable and differs from a person to another. A study relayed by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) revealed that there are statistically more chances for an ex-smoker to see his or her weight stabilize or even reduce, than to gain 10 kilos. It is also necessary to highlight that around a third of people who stop smoking do not gain any weight!